DENVER—Gov. Bill Ritter has quietly signed a bill that requires teachers convicted of child abuse or illegal sexual behavior to agree never to teach again anywhere in this country.
The law requires the Department of Education to release the names of teachers and school employees convicted of such violations if it takes any action against their licenses.
It also requires school districts to notify the state if a teacher is dismissed or resigns because of allegations of illegal behavior with a child, including sex assault.
The law stipulates that if a teacher signs a settlement agreement with the Department of Education, the teacher must agree to never teach at a public or private school in this country.
During the debate, Rep. Cory Gardner, R-Yuma, read a long list from newspapers of accusations that Colorado teachers had assaulted children, then noted those cases occurred in just one month.
He said many of those cases still haven’t shown up in Department of Education public records, and parents shouldn’t have to read a newspaper to protect their children.
Gardner said teachers unions, school executives and school boards opposed the bill, saying it would hurt rural communities that are having trouble finding teachers.
“The Department of Education needs to realize this is about protecting kids,” said Gardner.
According to records obtained by The Associated Press under the Colorado Open Records Act, the board over the past decade has signed settlement agreements with teachers convicted of serious crimes that allowed them to return to the classroom, even though the crimes included sexual assault on children.
The records show the board agreed to keep crucial details secret in some instances, including the case of a Northglenn teacher convicted of sexual assault on a child and allowing a minor to consume alcohol. The teacher received a two-year suspension, but the settlement agreement lists only the state statutes he violated, without saying what happened or where.
The board has said it was only following a law passed by the Legislature in 2003 requiring that teachers convicted of felony violent crimes be disciplined.
Rep. Gwyn Green, D-Golden, said she sponsored the bill after learning that teachers have resigned after sexual misconduct with students and then gone on to molest other children at other schools because they were not subjected to proper background checks.
She said school districts do background checks when teachers are hired, but the state currently has no way to determine if teachers are accused of misconduct or committed a crime after they were hired.
Gardner said too many teachers are allowed to sign settlement agreements permitting them to avoid a disciplinary hearing before the Board of Education and to continue teaching private schools or universities, even though they were accused of serious crimes and can no longer teach in Colorado public schools.
A report to the state Board of Education earlier this year showed that 293 disciplinary actions were taken against Colorado teachers from 1998 to 2007, including 51 sexual assaults on children and four sexual assaults involving adults.
The number of incidents increased sharply the past few years, the report showed.
