Los Angeles Unified’s “Teacher Jail”
Brian Hayes is a veteran teacher in Southern California. His piece refers to how, after a child predator on staff was caught and removed from MIramonte Elementary School, hundreds of teachers who had no connection to the predator were also removed and kept in isolation. Many are still there or have lost their jobs. Read The Nation’s full investigative report, “Where Shame Is Policy: Inside LA’s ‘Teacher Jail.’”
How many of us would protest vehemently if we were suspended from our job by our CEO and placed in a “company jail” without due process? That’s exactly what has happened to 450 teachers in the Los Angeles Unified School District.
When Mark Berndt, a third grade teacher at Miramonte Elementary, was removed from his classroom in January, 2011 amid suspicions of lewd conduct, LAUSD Superintendent John Deasy removed all of the school’s 76 faculty along with administrators and staff. In addition to Berndt, who is now serving a 25-year sentence, second grade teacher Martin Springer was later charged with committing lewd acts. None of the other Miramonte teachers were found guilty of any wrongdoing. Instead they were placed in an empty high school close by, sitting in limbo in what is known as “teacher jail” for six months and collecting full salaries.
In the fall, forty-six of the Miramonte teachers and a new principal returned to their original positions, while 30 educators either transferred to other schools or retired.
At its April 16 meeting last year, the LA Board of Education approved a resolution from District 3 member Tamar Galatzan which provided support for the impending passage of California State Assembly Bill 375, legislation designed to speed up the investigation and prosecutorial process of teachers removed from their classrooms on suspicion of unprofessional and/or criminal activity. However, on October 10, Governor Jerry Brown vetoed the bill citing limits on depositions and a school district’s ability to amend charges, even when new evidence had come to light. While sharing the bills’ authors’ “desire to streamline the teacher discipline process,” Brown viewed it as “an imperfect solution.”
Consequently, LAUSD’s “teacher jail” has remained open for business despite Galatzan’s resolution. Today, approximately 450 K-12 News Network | Los Angeles Unified’s “Teacher Jail”: