Illinois lawmakers want to expand due process rights for teachers when they face an accusation of misconduct, but there are concerns this could erase documentated patterns of abuse.
The bill, which passed in the Illinois Senate last month, would allow teachers to challenge what's called a notice of remedy [a warning to fix a behavior that goes against school policy] by going to arbitration to potentially overturn the warning.
Once an administrator writes such a warning, according to the bill, it goes to the school board for a final decision. Teachers who wish to contest the warning can either write to the school board or go before the board ahead of its final vote.
Teachers then have 10 days to start the arbitration process, if the board upholds the warning.
Supporters said the bill would not erase documentation, unless the notice of remedy is decided to be unfounded.
Teachers currently do not have any way to challenge a warning form school administration.
Faith's Law
Faith Colson is a survivor of abuse by a teacher at her suburban Chicago high school in the early 2000s. She is the Faith behind Faith’s Law, which strengthens requirements intended to stop grooming in schools. Colson opposes the bill, saying it could make it harder to find a pattern of child abuse if it is not documented in every instance.
“I'm concerned that it could open a door to remove documentation of something that occurred that then later, if a pattern continues, it would make it harder to address that behavior,” Colson said.
Supporters note the bill moving through the General Assembly removed a provision that would have enabled a warning to later be removed from their permanent record.
Colson said these warnings give teachers a chance to take correction active for more minor violations, what the bill calls remediable, but they can demonstrate a pattern.
Colson said in her situation if there had been documentation of the pattern of the abusive teacher spending an abnormal amount of time with her, it could have led to a faster investigation.
“If that were to be documented, hey, this teacher is spending a lot of time with a student even though she's not his student, and he's basically taking on a counseling role even though that's not his professional role. We're going to document that,” Colson said.
A path to removing unsubstantiated claims
Illinois Education Association President Karl Goeke supports the bill. He said if there's no evidence to back up an accusation, it shouldn't be included in a teacher's permanent file.
He noted if there is a pattern of child abuse then warnings will still be used in the investigation.
“If there is a pattern and it's substantiated by facts, this wouldn't negate that process. This is about when something is found to be unsubstantiated,” Goeke said.
Supporters note the bill would not allow teachers to seek arbitration for more serious allegations, including grooming or sexual abuse, such as in the case of Brandon Knapp, a teacher at Chiddix Junior High who has been criminally charged with grooming students.
Knapp was charged in April. Last December, Unit 5 reprimanded him for "inappropriate and sexually suggestive conduct and grooming behaviors toward students," and ordered him to take correction action.
The bill wouldn't necessarily mean Knapp could appeal disciplinary action that's in his file, but Andrew "Drew" Miller, another Chiddix teacher who is on paid leave while a separate police investigation unfolds, could have.
Miller was issued a notice to remedy by Unit 5 in 2019 after allegations surfaced related to an alleged incident with a student at a cheerleading camp while he was a cheer coach at University High School.
Democratic state Rep. Anna Moeller, representing a suburb of Chicago, said the bill has been amended because of negotiations with school administrators to preserve documentation of a potential pattern of abuse.
“The only thing that's left in this bill that was in the original bill is the opportunity for a teacher to have due process when they are given a notice to remedy by their school administration,” Moeller said.
Moeller said it gives a teacher the chance to seek arbitration because multiple warnings can end a teacher’s career, even if it's for behavior that's not substantiated.
“This just gives one an added level of protection in the cases where notices of remedy are not being used appropriately,” Moeller said. “And give teachers just that ability to defend themselves where they feel like they've been wrongly accused.”
Democratic state Sen. Meg Loughran Cappel, representing a suburb of Chicago, supports the bill.
Cappel said this bill could let teachers get clarifications on warnings so they can address their behavior.
“You can't just put vague language in a letter and call it a warning and say you need to change your behavior without having remediable behaviors that you can change,” Cappel said.
Lawmaker opposition
Republican state Sen. Sally Turner, representing an area between Bloomington-Normal and Decatur, was one of nine Republican senators who voted against the bill. She said preserving a written record of disciplinary action is important.
“Usually, I would assume in a school there is something minor they take care of it within but if there comes a point where it’s something that has to be placed into a file I think that sends a signal,” Turner said.
Republican state Rep. Regan Deering, representing an area between Bloomington-Normal and Decatur and a member of Mt. Zion School Board, said she's against the measure.
Deering said the policies of the school district and punitive actions should be left to individual school districts and teachers unions.
“When it comes to collective bargaining agreements, those things are negotiated and put in place for a certain purpose and to undo some of those things can sometimes get sticky,” Deering said.
Deering said the bill would take away power from administrators when enforcing school policies when it applies to teachers.
"There are situations arising from an educator being let go from a district or having an incident in the district,” Deering said. “I think it should be taken seriously and I think that record should follow them.”
The bill awaits a vote in the Illinois House, which is expected this week.
