Teachers who are forced to leave their districts due to misconduct are usually able to continue teaching in other districts for years.
The case of James Himmelsbach was written about in The Voice of San Diego. Himmelsbach has a history of making unwanted sexual advances towards female coworkers. According to The Voice, Himmelsbach was able to continue as a substitute teacher for four years while California’s credentialing committee reviewed the case.
The four year gap may seem excessive, but it is actually the norm. The median amount of time is 888 days for the process of revoking a teaching credential to be completed. Many teachers are able to continue teaching for years, despite having committed crimes against students. Josh French is another such example.
The Voice article went on to say, “The federal government insisted, as part of the 2015 Every Student Succeeds Act, that states pass laws to prevent situations like these from happening. If they don’t, the federal government may withhold funding or take other enforcement action, according to a letter published by the Department of Education last summer. But so far, just a handful of states, including Connecticut and New Jersey, have passed laws that force schools to inquire about whether educators have a history of abuse.”
The SAFE Act – The Sexaual Abuse-Free Education Act – proposed last year, was an attempt to crackdown on teacher misconduct. It would have required that a potential new employer ask the previous employer about any egregious misconduct. It was proposed by a Republican, but opposed by the state’s teachers’ union and the American Civil Liberties Union, who argued that the the school district’s investigation would not be as thorough as an investigation done by law enforcement.
Currently, California’s credentially committee decides about 105 cases a month. The backlog affects schools and children. The longer it takes for the California Teachers Commission to get through the cases, the longer a teacher remains in the classroom. That time may be extended further if a teacher decides to appeal the decision. If the teacher goes this route, the case is given to the Department of Justice for a hearing.
In the future, the CTC and the DOJ hope to reduce their time on each case to 365 days each. This means, at minimum, teachers who have potentially committed crimes against students may remain teacher for at least two years.
Photo by Marília Castelli
