School district seeks more data on troubled teachers

By Emily Richmond (contact)

Wednesday, Jan. 12, 2005 | 8:46 a.m.

The Clark County School District wants to make it more difficult for Nevada teachers with troubled workplace histories to jump from one district to another without having their past problems revealed.

A bill draft request, up for review by the Clark County School Board at a special meeting Thursday, calls for the state's 17 school districts to share information about serious disciplinary actions taken against teachers.

Craig Kadlub, director of public affairs for the Clark County School District, said the bill draft request would require all districts to notify the state education department of allegations against a teacher that could result in suspension or termination of the employee's license.

The Nevada Department of Education makes public details of teacher license suspensions and revocations. But individual school districts do not automatically report disciplinary action taken at the local level, either to each other or to the state, said Keith Rheault, Nevada's superintendent of public instruction.

In some instances school districts agree to withhold details in exchange for an employee "leaving quietly," Rheault said, a practice, he added, that's common in the private sector as well.

The problem, said George Ann Rice, associate superintendent of human resources for the district, is that future employers get an incomplete picture of the individual's work history.

"I'm concerned that a person can quietly exit Elko (County School District), quietly exit Washoe (County School District) and then quietly exit Clark County (School District)," Rice said. "We want to be sure that if something occurs that is serious enough to result in suspension or firing, or a person accepts resignation in lieu of termination, that we know about it."

Terry Hickman, president of the Nevada State Education Association, said his organization shared Rice's belief that student safety was a paramount concern but asked if the bill draft request were circumventing the employee's right to due process.

School districts are already required to report serious allegations of wrongdoing to the state for investigation and possible action, Hickman said. Because the allegations must be verified independently by the state department's investigators, it offers employees some protection against targeted retaliation, Hickman said.

The bill draft request appears to seek permission to skip having allegations substantiated, Hickman said.

"There's a question of fairness here," Hickman said. "You really don't want to jeopardize a person's entire career with allegations before the entire process is complete."

Richard Segerblom, a Las Vegas attorney who has represented numerous Clark County School District workers in employee rights suits, agreed.

"A lot of times these deals are worked out for everybody's sake, not just the school district," said Segerblom, who ran unsuccessfully in November for a seat on the Clark County School Board. "There's a reason why judges allow some court records to be sealed. School district employees should have the right to the same protection."

Also at issue is the fact that Clark County represents 70 percent of Nevada's public schools, Segerblom said.

"If an employee gets blackballed here they're out of the running for 70 percent of the jobs," Segerblom said.

A second school district bill draft request seeks to revise the state statute prohibiting employers from blacklisting former employees. Under the proposed legislation, employers would have more leeway to share unfavorable information when school districts call to check references, Rice said.

The bill draft request is critical as the district draws most of its support staff -- including bus drivers, food service workers and custodians -- from the private sector.

"At this point when we call up a hotel or a casino and ask about someone's work history, all they'll tell us are the dates of employment," Rice said. "If there's any time that it's critical to know the whole story, it's when we're talking about having individuals working with children."