Teachers and Children’s Services Investigations
Investigations by Children’s Services are NOT legal proceedings. Therefore, BEFORE talking with ANYONE from Children’s Services, please follow these important steps:
- If you are notified that a complaint against you has been filed with Children’s Services regarding your treatment of a student in your care, DO NOT make any statement regarding the allegations until you contact the Association President.
- After briefing your local president and principal on the allegations, immediately contact your OEA Labor Relations Consultant (LRC). An attorney will be assigned for any Children’s Services hearings or investigations.
- You are NOT entitled to have an attorney for meetings with the administration and parents if Children’s Services is NOT involved. Your local association will provide representation for meetings such as this.
- NEVER agree to meet with a Children’s Services representative regarding allegations against YOU as a teacher until you have followed steps 1. and 2. above. You DO NOT have to meet on their schedule and you always have the right to consult with legal counsel. Your future as an educator is at stake – don’t risk it. OEA provides assistance; please avail yourself of that assistance.
Teachers’ Duty to Report to Children Services
Ohio Revised Code Section 2151.421 (Key Provisions)
A.1. (a) — Duty to Report
Persons in certain official positions who know or suspect that abuse or neglect has occurred to a child under eighteen (18) or mentally retarded, developmentally disabled or physically impaired child under age twenty-one (21) shall immediately report that knowledge or suspicion to the county public children services agency or the municipal or county peace officer in the county in which the child lives.
A.1. (b) — People Required to Report
Total of twenty-two (22) are listed including licensed school psychologist, speech pathologist, or audiologist, school teacher, school employee, or school authority.
G.1 — Immunity for Making Report
Persons making the report or participating in the investigation IN GOOD FAITH are immune from civil or criminal liability.
Ohio Supreme Court Decision: Campbell v. Burton (imposing individual liability for failure to perform duty to report known or suspected child abuse)
In Campbell v. Burton, decided on July 25, 2001, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled that a school teacher and her school district could be sued for the teacher’s negligent failure to report her knowledge or suspicion of child abuse to the public children services agency of the jurisdiction.1 In so holding, the Supreme Court reversed the decisions of lower courts that had relied on Ohio’s sovereign immunity law to dismiss lawsuits against teachers and school boards alleging negligent failure to report child abuse.2 The Court held that the abuse reporting statute expressly imposes liability on the individuals designated as mandatory reporters, and thereby creates an exception to sovereign immunity for the teacher and school district. The decision therefore opens the door to lawsuits against school teachers should they have knowledge of possible child abuse and fail to report such knowledge to the appropriate children services agency.
The decision does not expand the mandatory duty of school teachers to report knowledge or suspicion of child abuse; these laws have existed for many years. In this regard, teachers already face the possibility of criminal liability for failure to report suspected child abuse.3The Ohio Supreme Court also noted that individuals who report suspicions of child abuse in good faith are granted immunity from civil and criminal liability pursuant to R.C. §2151.421(G). By granting broad immunity to individuals who report suspicions of child abuse in good faith, the law encourages reporters to err on the side of disclosure in all instances of suspected child abuse.
The decision increases the likelihood of teachers becoming defendants in lawsuits where a third party is the actual child abuser, and the teacher has failed to report her suspicion of abuse. OEA members should be aware that boards of education have a duty to defend and indemnify teachers and other employees from such lawsuits under R.C. §2744.07. Even though school districts have a duty to defend and indemnify employees from such lawsuits, teachers and support staff will still face the burden of litigation, including time and inconvenience required to participate in litigation. The best advice to give teachers and support staff is to always err on the side of disclosure of suspected child abuse to the appropriate children services agency.
1School teachers have a mandatory duty to report knowledge or suspicion of child abuse pursuant to §2151.421(A) of the Ohio Revised Code.
2Ohio’s sovereign immunity statute provides: “In a civil action brought against a political subdivision or an employee of a political subdivision to recover damages for injury, death, or loss to property allegedly caused by any act or omission in connection with a governmental or proprietary function . . . the employee is immune from liability unless one of the following applies: (a) His acts or omissions were manifestly outside the scope of his employment or official responsibilities; (b) His acts or omissions were with malicious purpose, in bad faith, or in a wanton or reckless manner; or (c) Liability is expressly imposed by a section of the Revised Code.”
3A violation of R.C. §2151.421(A), i.e. the failure of a mandated reporter such as a school teacher to report known or suspected child abuse, is a fourth-degree misdemeanor.
Disruptive or Violent Students
If you have a Concern with a Student
Emergency Removal
- You have the right to remove a disruptive student from the classroom.
- You have the right to impose necessary disciplinary action to students in keeping with Board policy.
Physical Assault Involving a Unit Member
- You have the right to defend yourself and/or obtain assistance.
- The principal should be immediately notified to call police, parents, and the Superintendent.
- You have the right to legal aid from the County Prosecutor’s Office.
- You need to be sure to document the entire incident in writing by including the date, time, witness (es) present, location; any events leading up to the assault, and specifically, what took place during the assault.
For Your Own Protection
You should immediately contact your Association President and the Superintendent, and file charges with the local police department
Employee Use of the Internet
In the past several years, OEA has had a rash of contractual and legal issues regarding alleged misuse of the Internet – school and personal. Therefore, we wanted to remind you of the following common sense applications of Internet usage.
- You have Internet access at your school, you probably have signed a copy of the District’s “Acceptable Use Policy.” PLEASE READ IT!
- Do NOT visit Internet sites from your school computer that would be objectionable if a student saw the information posted there.
- Be VERY CAREFUL in your e-mail correspondence to students. Do not send even marginally questionable jokes, notes, etc. to students EITHER from your school computer or from your home computer. Your e-mail correspondence to students should ONLY be classroom-related. In fact, it would be better to e-mail to the PARENT, rather than the student.
- Do your best to monitor what students are viewing over the Internet sites in your workplace. Be sure that you have a classroom policy on use of the computers and Internet sites.
- Always remember that SOMEONE can read any e-mail you send or receive from the school’s computer.
- Illegal use of the Internet and e-mail ARE grounds for termination.
- When in doubt, DON’T! YOUR career is at stake!
If A Member Is Assaulted
If a member is the victim of an assault while on school property, the following procedures are recommended:
- Write down as soon as possible after the assault incident all particulars of the situation, including names, witnesses, date, time(s), location, and general conditions.
- Contact the proper school authorities.
- Contact the local association.
- Have the person determine his/her rights to assault leave under the Ohio Revised Code or the collective bargaining agreement.
- Take pictures, if relevant and possible, of injuries or property damage.
- Get a doctor’s statement if there is even a remote possibility of personal injury.
- File all appropriate police reports.
- Press charges against the assaulting student(s) or others.
- Avoid talking to anyone representing the student or others without prior counsel.
- Remember, members are covered by the OEA/NEA Legal Services Program if charges are filed against them.
For Member Protection
Under Ohio law, public employers bear responsibility to indemnify their employees against certain tort claims for acts occurring within the scope of their employment. However, as OEA members, individuals have the additional protection of $1 million in professional liability insurance. This program provides for: *
- Liability Protection. Payment of up to $1 million in damages assessed against a member as a result of a lawsuit.† There is a $3 million aggregate limit per occurrence for this coverage. This is excess coverage, meaning that it is available when the employer declines to provide coverage or where liability limits are exceeded.
- Legal Costs. Payment of all legal costs in defending such cases.
- Civil Rights. Payment of up to $300,000 in damages, attorney fees, and court costs if a member is charged with the violation of the civil rights of an individual.†
- Criminal Cases. Reimbursement of attorney fees and other legal costs up to $35,000 if a member is charged with violating a criminal statute in the course of employment, provided the member is found innocent of the charges or the charges are dropped. If charges stem from an incident involving corporal punishment, the member can be reimbursed up to $35,000, regardless of the outcome of the case.
- Bail Bond. Reimbursement of up to $1,000 of the bail bond premium if the member must post bond.†
- Personal Property Damage. Payment of up to $500 for damages to personal property when caused by an assault in the course of employment. If you believe there is a claim under the liability protection program, contact your local OEA/NEA Labor Relations Consultant immediately.
†In an incident arising out of the member’s education employment.
* In civil actions related to your education employment activities. Please note: This is not a full description of the coverage. For a complete description of OEA/NEA liability coverage, please contact your Labor Relations Consultant.
ESSA Fact Sheet
For 14 long years, students and educators have lived under the deeply flawed No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act. The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) returns decision making for our nation’s education back where it belongs — in the hands of local educators, parents, and communities — while keeping the focus on students most in need.
Summary of ESSA Workgroup Collaborative Items
Statement of Purpose
Education organizations and stakeholders across Ohio embrace the opportunities provided within the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) to set forth a vision of high-quality education in Ohio. Our group of education stakeholder organizations has identified five key areas that must be improved to ensure a better learning environment for students. Embedded within these opportunities is an emphasis on providing all students the support and resources needed to succeed in school and prepare them for college or careers.
Early Childhood
- Focus on early literacy and childhood education — providing needed support to students in their earliest years of learning rather than intensive interventions later in their educational career.
- Equity in resources serving our neediest learners in order to improve services to children and their families.
- Coordination among Head Start, early childhood initiatives (Birth-Age 8), and Title funding. Using best practices and educator professional development on the academic, social, and emotional needs of learners to ensure educational opportunities for the whole child.
ESSA provides for Professional Development Grants through a competitive Preschool Development Grant. These grants provide funding to states to promote coordination and collaboration between existing early childhood programs and systems to improve the access to quality programs for low income and disadvantaged children. ESSA authorizes a new $250 million early childhood education program. Whether or not Ohio is a recipient of these funds, the fact that these funds are being provided within ESSA demonstrates the need for quality programs with a focus on interventions, support, and equity for our youngest learners.
Assessments
- Identify and articulate the purpose and use of state mandated assessments. Assessments should be communicated in a language that is easily understood by families, educators, and other education stakeholders. This would include a description and purpose of each assessment, valid uses of the data, and a clear explanation of the results.
- Audit the current assessments utilized for Ohio’s accountability and explore alternative methods of assessment in order to assess students in the least invasive way possible. The amount of time spent on state mandated testing should be further reduced to absolute minimums in order to provide more time for learning and local formative assessment.
- Apply the 1% limit on alternative assessment for students with significant cognitive disabilities on a statewide basis, as opposed to being applied at the district or school level.
- Establish a period of stability for tests and testing windows. Provide timely feedback to allow for the testing data to be used to inform instruction and enhance student learning.
- Utilize test data for the purposes identified by the selected assessment to ensure validity. Assessment results should not be utilized in making high-stakes decisions concerning students, staff, or schools. The impact of student growth/test scores on educator evaluation and school effectiveness should be eliminated.
ESSA provides the opportunity to further reduce the amount of standardized testing. It decouples testing and high-stakes decision making for students and educators. It further allows states to set a cap limiting the amount of time students spend taking annual standardized assessments. The SMART Act provides funding for states to audit and streamline assessments, and eliminate those that are duplicative. Reducing the amount of time spent on testing results in more time for teaching and learning to take place in the classroom.
Accountability/State Report Card/School Improvement
- Focus on the purpose of Ohio’s Report Card including what is being reported as well as how the results are reported and interpreted within the community.
- Develop an easily understood guide for community members to be able to make sense of the data being reported about their schools/districts.
- Simplify the state report card, while allowing for a district’s unique circumstances (such as poverty level) which can be identified within a non-academic indicator as provided for in ESSA.
- Provide an opportunity for schools and districts to add explanatory comments to the report card in order to provide additional context to the community.
- Identify those schools needing comprehensive supports and interventions for lowest performing schools based on “what works,” including evidence-based interventions and resource equity. The development of any intervention strategies should allow for local decision making in the school improvement process.
ESSA gives states discretion to choose at least one school quality and student success indicators within two parameters: the indicators must (1) allow for meaningful differentiation in school performance; and (2) be valid, reliable, comparable, and statewide. Additionally, ESSA provides five examples of indicators and then adds that the state may use “any other indicator the state chooses that meets the requirements of the school quality and success clause”. ESSA allows for more than one non-academic indicator. Any selected indicator(s) must be applied across the state.
Of note, the four academic indicators in the aggregate must have greater weight than the 5th non-academic indicator (school success/student support). Discussions around the non-academic indicators of school success or student support allowed within ESSA can provide schools and districts an opportunity to tell their story and focus on the varied educational supports/opportunities that are provided for all students through a well-rounded curriculum but are not reflected in the academic indicators.
Family Engagement
- Provide equity of resources for “special families” – special education, English Language Learners, military families, and socioeconomic status throughout the state. These needs are large and evolving as the student population of Ohio continues to diversify.
- Invest more than 1% of Title I funding for family engagement. A key component in family engagement is providing for supportive professional learning on effective family engagement practices for teachers and school leaders.
- Use clear, consistent language with communities and families to develop stronger connections and school/family partnerships that endure.
ESSA authorizes Statewide Family Engagement Centers to support and provide comprehensive training on parent education and family-school partnerships. Multiple provisions in ESSA ensure that every student has access to a high quality education, regardless of zip code, and that strategies to engage families and communities are central to school improvement efforts. ESSA includes provisions for the Community Support for School Success program, which provides grants for Full-Service Community Schools. A focus on families and communities prepares all stakeholders to truly partner in student-focused programs and supports when education, accountability, interventions, and successes are shared. Collaborative partnerships should focus on valid programs and supports for students with a shared sense of accountability and success.
Educator Capacity
- Promote professional learning that provides time to collaborate, work with data to make informed decisions, and be involved in guiding the instructional decisions.
- Decouple assessments from educator evaluations (teacher and principal) in order to emphasize educator performance and growth.
- Adjust OTES and OPES to drive professional growth rather than serve as compliance checklists.
Consider the interwoven relationship between educator capacity and other key decisions within ESSA. ESSA provides that Title II grant funding continues to be used to increase student achievement while increasing quality and access to effective teachers, principals, and other school leaders. Title II also ends federally mandated evaluations. States will be allowed to develop, improve, and implement educator evaluation systems, so long as they consult with stakeholders including educators, paraprofessionals, and their unions. ESSA makes resources available to states that could be used to develop or strengthen educator induction and mentoring programs. This is of particular importance given recent polls that show that fewer college bound students are electing to go into the education profession. Further, ESSA allows district funds to be used to enhance collaboration and teacher-led professional development aligned with students’ learning needs. Quality professional learning opportunities support growth in educator learning which in turn impacts student learning.
Collaborative Educator Stakeholder Organizations:
- Buckeye Association of School Administrators
- Ohio Association of Elementary School Administrators
- Ohio Association of School Business Officials
- Ohio Association of Secondary School Administrators
- Ohio Education Association
- Ohio Federation of Teachers
- Ohio Parent Teacher Association
- Ohio School Boards Association
For more information, visit NEA’s ESSA site, getessaright.org.
Ohio School Districts Can Receive Funds For Breakfast In The Classroom
COLUMBUS – October 6, 2016 – Beginning today, Ohio school districts can apply for a grant from Partners for Breakfast in the Classroom (the Partners) to provide a much-needed healthy and nutritious morning meal to local students and help increase participation in the federally-funded School Breakfast Program. School districts will be selected based on the number of students that qualify for free or reduced priced meals, the average daily participation in the school breakfast program, as well as district and school-provided support.
The Partners, which is a consortium of national education and nutrition organizations, selected 10 states to participate in the program based on need and the potential for success. They include Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas, and Utah. The goal is to increase access to a morning meal for 30,000 students in the 10 states.
Through a $7.5 million grant from the Walmart Foundation, the Partners will offer a school breakfast to students at no charge and will move it from the cafeteria to the classroom. This is intended to improve participation in the School Breakfast Program and boost learning and health.
While most U.S. schools currently participate in the federal School Breakfast Program, nearly half of low-income children who are eligible for a free or reduced-price breakfast are not eating it, according to a 2015 analysis by the Food Research & Action Center. Barriers include school bus schedules, late arrivals to school, pressure to go directly to class, and reluctance to be labeled “low-income.”
The grants from the Partners for Breakfast in the Classroom to help bring healthy morning meals into the classroom would have an invaluable impact on students and we encourage school districts across the state to apply,” said Scott DiMauro, vice-president of the Ohio Education Association. “The proven benefits of moving breakfast from the cafeteria to the classroom include better attendance records, less tardiness, and fewer behavioral and discipline problems. Those benefits are what the students in Ohio deserve.”
Since 2010, 35 school districts in 18 states have been awarded a grant by the Partners to implement the Breakfast in the Classroom programs. This has resulted in more than 63,000 students starting their day off with a healthy breakfast. The Partners’ grant will provide funding to school districts to assist with the upfront costs typically associated with starting a breakfast in the classroom program. That includes assisting schools with the purchase of equipment, marketing and communication needs, staff training, and the hiring of short-term food staff.
For more information and to find out if a district is eligible, visit www.BreakfastintheClassroom.org.
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About Partners for Breakfast in the Classroom
The Partners for Breakfast in the Classroom came together in 2010 in response to their shared passion for childhood nutrition and the potential to improve educational outcomes and child health. The Partners include the Food Research & Action Center (FRAC), the National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP) Foundation, the School Nutrition Foundation (SNF), and The NEA Foundation. The Partners provide technical assistance and support to school districts to implement the Breakfast in the Classroom programs. The mission of the Partners is to increase breakfast consumption among schoolchildren and spark the academic and nutritional gains associated with the morning meal through the implementation of Breakfast in the Classroom programs.
The Ohio Education Association (ohea.org) represents 123,000 teachers, faculty members and support professionals in Ohio’s public schools, colleges and universities
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Donald Trump Is ‘Clueless About What Works’ For Students, Public Education
Trump Double-Downs On Failed Education Policies At Failing, For-Profit Charter School
CLEVELAND – September 8, 2016 – With just weeks to go until Election Day, voters have been frustrated with Donald Trump’s failure to provide detailed plans on major issues such as education, the economy and foreign policy. Trump today visited a for-profit charter school in Cleveland to talk education.
“Donald Trump isn’t serious about doing what’s best for our students, and he’s clueless about what works. His silver bullet approach does nothing to help the most-vulnerable students and ignores glaring opportunity gaps while taking away money from public schools to fill private-sector coffers. No matter what you call it, vouchers take dollars away from our public schools to fund private schools at taxpayers’ expense with little to no regard for our students,” said NEA President Lily Eskelsen García.”
“Today we saw Donald Trump desperately throw a bunch of failed education policies against a wall to see if any of them would stick. In contrast, Hillary Clinton believes a child’s chance of success should not depend on living in the right ZIP code. And she is fully committed to supporting educators and to ensuring that they not only we have a partner in the White House but that we also have a seat at the table,” added Eskelsen García.
Decades of research have found that vouchers fail to improve student achievement in any impactful way, do not help the students most in need and ignore the real opportunity gaps that exist in public schools. And the backdrop of a failing for-profit charter school for today’s campaign stop shows just how clueless and out-of-touch Trump is from what kids need to succeed.
“Donald Trump’s campaign has been smoke-and-mirrors with no substance,” said Becky Higgins, a first-grade teacher serving as president of the Ohio Education Association. “Donald Trump has no understanding of what kids need to succeed in school or in life. He’s only concerned with his bottom line.”
A recent study by the Center for Research on Education Outcomes at Stanford University found that charter schools fail at higher rates than they succeed. On the Ohio state report card, more charter schools received F grades than As, Bs and Cs combined. Last year, more than $500 million in state aid was sent to charter schools that performed the same or worse than the local school district from which students transferred, according to KnowYourCharter.com.
Trump’s lack of a real education plan isn’t the only thing that concerns educators in this highly unusual election. With his divisive campaign, Trump has taken hate mainstream.
“We teach our students to view the president as a role model, but when Donald Trump promotes a campaign built on racism, sexism and xenophobia, he’s no role model I would want for my students or my family,” said Dan Greenberg, a high school English teacher in Sylvania, Ohio. “It doesn’t matter who you are — Democrat, Republican, or Independent — we have to vote our conscious over political party. Donald Trump is not fit to be Commander-in-Chief.”
In the last days of Election 2016, Trump’s attempt to “soften” his tone can’t change how his campaign has been built on racist prejudice and paranoia.
“We’ve seen behavior from Donald Trump that we would never accept in a classroom,” added Eskelsen García who was the 1989 Utah Teacher of the Year before being elected president of the 3 million-member National Education Association. “We teach children to reject prejudice and stereotypes like the ones Donald Trump embraces every time he hurls racial slurs, insults immigrants and women, and talks about banning Muslims from entering our country. We need a president who stands up to bullies — not one who embraces their tactics.”
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Keep up with the conversation at #StrongPublicSchools
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The Ohio Education Association (ohea.org) represents 122,000 teachers, faculty members and support professionals in Ohio’s public schools, colleges and universities
The National Education Association is the nation’s largest professional organization, representing more than 3 million elementary and secondary teachers, higher education faculty, education support professionals, school administrators, retired educators and students preparing to become teachers. Learn more at www.nea.org.
OEA Member Resource Guide 2016
Use this guide as an overview to help you make the most of your OEA Membership. Within, you’ll learn more about:
- Ways to Become Involved
- Fighting for Public Education
- OEA Staff, Leadership, and Board of Directors
- OEA Higher Education Benefit
- Awards and Scholarships
- Valuable NEA Member Benefits and Services
Throughout our more than 150-year history, OEA members have been involved in every struggle and effort to advance the finest of America’s dreams: a quality public education for every child.
If you have additional questions, contact us at 1-844-OEA-Info (1-844-632-4636) or send us an email to: membership@ohea.org.
Moved recently? Contact the OEA Member Hotline to update the address on file at 1-844-OEA-Info (1-844-632-4636) or email, membership@ohea.org. Representatives are available Monday-Friday, from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. | OhioSchools — Past Issues
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September 2016 Ohio Schools
- IN THIS ISSUE
- Leaders, Advocates & Educators: OEA members demonstrate their power to take action on issues that matter to their students and their profession
- Fanfare for the Common Man
- 2015-2016 Ohio teacher salaries
- Shutting Down the School to Prison Pipeline
Moved recently? Contact the OEA Member Hotline to update the address on file at 1-844-OEA-Info (1-844-632-4636) or email, membership@ohea.org. Representatives are available Monday-Friday, from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. | OhioSchools — Past Issues
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June 2016 Ohio Schools
- IN THIS ISSUE
- Celebrating School – Award-winning artwork for Create a Cover contest highlights what students like most about school
- Celebrating the joy of reading
- President’s Message – Here’s how we win: Connect with our members and allies, stand up, and take the lead by acting decisively and confidently
Moved recently? Contact the OEA Member Hotline to update the address on file at 1-844-OEA-Info (1-844-632-4636) or email, membership@ohea.org. Representatives are available Monday-Friday, from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. | OhioSchools — Past Issues
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