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Panel approves limited path to reinstate revoked teacher licenses and clarifies ethics coverage
Summary
The committee approved a bill creating a narrowly controlled path for reinstating revoked educator licenses and adopted a measure to make the educator code of ethics apply to conduct when a person held a license even if it later expired; sponsors said both changes preserve classroom safety while allowing rare second-chance petitions.
Senate Bill 382 would create a narrowly circumscribed process allowing the State Board of Education to adopt rules to reinstate revoked educator licenses in rare circumstances. Ivy Pfeffer of the Department of Education told the committee that an enumerated list of disqualifying offenses (in existing law) still bars reinstatement for the most serious conduct, but the bill would allow petitions and a rule-based waiver process for other cases.
Pfeffer summarized recent data: “Over the past 5 years, the total percent of PLSB cases that were fully investigated that resulted in a revocation were 9 percent of the total,” and many revocations involved physical or sexual misconduct that would remain disqualifying. Senator Davis described a constituent whose license was revoked for a long-ago financial offense and who has since been active in the community; she said SB 382 offers a path to be heard without creating a “floodgate.”
The committee also approved SB 307, a Department of Education bill clarifying that the educator code of ethics applies to misconduct that occurred while the person held a license even if the license later expired. Johnny Key, Department of Education commissioner, said the change reflects current practice and ensures an educator cannot avoid accountability by allowing a license to lapse during an investigation.
What happens next: Both measures passed the committee by voice vote and will be scheduled for further Senate consideration.
