Misconduct accusations give fewer educators paid leave
COURTESY
Barbara Krieg:
The DOE has tried to investigate more quickly, she said
The number of public school employees on leave after being accused of misconduct has dropped substantially after a push to ensure cases are resolved faster and discipline is appropriate.
Out of 22,000 school employees across the state, 37 were on paid leave as of March 4, while their cases are pending. That’s a big drop from 63 in December 2014 and a high of 120 in January 2013. Most of the current cases involve allegations of “inappropriate conduct toward students” by teachers.
Barbara Krieg, assistant superintendent for human resources at the state Department of Education, presented the data to the Board of Education’s Human Resources Committee on Tuesday.
In December 2014 the Hawaii State Teachers Association complained that cases were lingering for more than a year without resolution, tainting reputations of teachers who in many cases were eventually cleared. Board members have also pressed for action, citing the cost of paid leave.
Over the past year, the Department of Education has made a concerted effort to train administrators, develop guidelines for when it is appropriate to put people on leave, and expedite investigations.
In the vast majority of cases now pending, the employee has been out for six months or less, Krieg told board members. Investigations are also wrapping up more quickly, she said.
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“So we are starting to see the results of the increased training and the results of the increased attention on these circumstances,” Krieg said. “We are encouraged by these results.”
Since September the number of employees on “department-directed leave” or “leave pending investigation” has hovered at about 40, she said.
Fewer employees are being placed on leave in the first place. In 2015, 62 people were put on leave in misconduct cases, down from 111 the year before and 106 in 2013.
“I think we’ve come to a better understanding of what would be appropriate conditions under which a person could be placed on such leave,” Committee Chairman Brian De Lima said.
The 37 pending cases involve teachers, custodians, security attendants, educational assistants and others. Allegations include inappropriate conduct, sexual harassment, failure to follow protocol and financial improprieties. Two teachers and one counselor are accused of having sexual relations with students.
De Lima maintained that some administrators still take too long to make decisions once investigations are complete — and he proposed a solution: “Have the person come to the board and explain why they haven’t made a decision.”
Board member Jim Williams said he appreciates the progress the department has made. He asked a hypothetical question, based on a case a few years ago that has since been settled: “If I’m a teacher and I did yell at a student and I did kick a desk, why would that be sufficient to put me on department-directed leave for six months to a year?” he asked. “That’s not the way to handle it.”
Krieg said such a case would be handled differently now. But she added that administrators don’t have all the facts at their disposal when they make the initial decision to put someone on leave pending investigation.
“It’s always a judgment call,” she said. “There are some cases in which if you are not sure and there is a risk of harm to students, you err on the side of protecting students.”
16 responses to “Misconduct accusations give fewer educators paid leave”
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Clearly the BOE/DOE/HSTA supports two systems of justice. Zero tolerance for the students, months to years of paid time off for staff members who commit incidents far worse than their students.
Fix this problem in a heartbeat by applying “Zero Tolerance” rules to every educational employee. Willfully violate the rules and you are gone, fired, out of your job forever. After all, unlike students whose mind is still growing and learning, the adult employees already know the rules and consequences. Union collective bargaining, etc, would all be bypassed, not needed.
This new policy would show justice truly is blind, everyone treated the exact same, no issues for management other than to fire the loser worker. Unions will get new members so no issues there. Welcome to the new working world.
Like students, employees have rights also. You never know when or if someone is falsely accused. I don’t know where you been, but it is much better for both sides now then ever before!
students don’t have a union
Coming from a college graduate, what a profound statement. Are you suggesting that students should form a Union? WAKE UP!
They have the same thing teachers do? Parents with Lawyers !
Students have the right to substantive and procedural due process among other constitutional guarantees. Adult employees have similar protections. (In the grievance hearings in which I’ve participated, a union representative usually is there to make sure that due process has been followed.)
Substitute teachers have ZERO rights, being non-union, and can be accused, falsely or otherwise, at any time, for any reason, and the calls for work will either stop or greatly diminish or be for jobs no one else wants. They will have no clue that they’ve been accused nor will they have any right to that info.
What a worthless story. Nobody held to account. No information on how many were terminated. Paying someone to stay home for 6 months is lunacy, but typical for yet another government employee union.
Agree
22,000 employees and only 37 on paid leave. That is an outstanding figure. Why not have them do jobs at the DOE Office in areas not related to their case. Make them useful and you can monitor their behavior. They are getting paid, put them to work.
agree-however, the bane of the state, union, will argue that they weren’t hired to do “other” jobs. They were hired to do a specific job and their doing the “other” job takes away from another union member or managerial worker. Hey – that’s how they do things where union workers are involved.
True!
it may be true – but it is not RIGHT. LEVEL THE PLAYING FIELD – if you are collecting a pay check for NOT DOING WHAT YOU WERE HIRED, THEN WHY GET PAID FOR NOT DOING THAT JOB? if one wants to maintain getting paid a pay check during the investigation period, let them do another task or job and get paid that rate – not the rate for the job for which they were hired!
Yup cops under investigation go to Records Division, Dispatch… other divisions that have non police functions…
Do you think the Chief of Police would qualify as someone who should be held out of service?? Hmmmm. I think leave w/o pay would be justified, with back pay pending outcome of litigation.
after all, he is a public servant just like the teachers