A proposal to require Colorado school districts to alert parents when teachers and staff are arrested or charged with serious crimes seems to be a reasonable way to ensure transparency between schools and parents while also serving as a useful safeguard for children.
As long as key elements of the rule are clearly thought through and properly implemented, the Colorado Board of Education should usher in the new requirement.
The chairman of the state Board of Education, Bob Schaffer, has drafted a proposal that will be the subject of a public hearing today.
Schaffer’s rule would require school officials to notify parents within 24 hours after they learn that an arrest has been made or charges have been filed against faculty or staff for felony cases, misdemeanor crimes involving children and any unlawful sexual behavior. The requirement also would extend to DUI arrests.
Schaffer tells us he crafted the proposal after consulting with school officials and considering those infractions that would disqualify a teacher’s license.
We have no problem with school districts passing along information that’s already a public record to parents. However, we’re also aware that some cases resolve without charges or convictions.
Exercising judgment in the publication and review of details concerning arrests and charges is vitally important. Remembering that someone charged with a crime is to be deemed innocent until proven guilty must remain part of the equation.
Critics of Schaffer’s proposal argue that all too often in child custody disputes, divorce or other situations, spurious allegations are made. The Colorado Association of School Boards argues that the notification ought to occur only after charges are filed. The Colorado Education Association argues that Schaffer’s rule is unconstitutional.
When someone is arrested, the paperwork is considered a public record in most circumstances. Dealing with that information is all Schaffer is advancing, and we agree that information is important to parents.
Schaffer says nothing in his rule would preclude a school from providing further context, which we think is very important, and the rule requires that parents be reminded of the presumption of innocence.
“This just describes the minimum standards,” Schaffer tells us.
The proposed rule comes after the Fort Collins Coloradoan newspaper reported the arrest of a school paraprofessional in the abuse of a 13-year-old student. The paper obtained an e-mail that suggested the Poudre School District did not intend to inform parents until reporters found out.
The paraprofessional had pleaded guilty to felony Internet luring of a child and a charge of misdemeanor unlawful sexual contact.
We understand the need to preserve due process rights and the danger to reputations that details of such arrests and charges engender.
But parents have a right to know what’s going on in their schools.
