DAR File No. 27310

Professional Practices Advisory Commission, Administration

R686-103

Professional Practices and Conduct for Utah Educators

NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULE

DAR File No.: 27310
Filed: 07/15/2004, 04:43
Received by: NL

RULE ANALYSIS

Purpose of the rule or reason for the change:

This rule is amended to provide new language and terminology changes to Section R686-103-7, Moral and Ethical Conduct.

Summary of the rule or change:

The changes provide new language and terminology changes to Section R686-103-7 and corrects a grammatical error in Section R686-103-3.

State statutory or constitutional authorization for this rule:

Subsection 53A-6-306(1)

Anticipated cost or savings to:

the state budget:

There are no anticipated cost or savings to state budget. The changes provide for new offenses and terminology that will not add a cost or provide a savings to the state. If anything, there may be savings to state as one ambiguous provision is deleted. This could conceivably prevent lawsuits.

local governments:

There are no anticipated cost or savings to local government. The changes are minimal and provide for new offenses and terminology that will not add a cost or provide a savings to school districts or local government.

other persons:

There are no anticipated cost or savings to other persons. The changes provide for new offenses and terminology that will not add a cost or provide a savings to other persons.

Compliance costs for affected persons:

There are no compliance costs for affected persons. The changes provide for new offenses and terminology that have no costs relating to compliance.

Comments by the department head on the fiscal impact the rule may have on businesses:

I have reviewed this rule, and I see no fiscal impact on businesses. Patti Harrington, State Superintendent of Public Instruction

The full text of this rule may be inspected, during regular business hours, at the Division of Administrative Rules, or at:

Direct questions regarding this rule to:

Carol Lear at the above address, by phone at 801-538-7835, by FAX at 801-538-7768, or by Internet E-mail at clear@usoe.k12.ut.us

Interested persons may present their views on this rule by submitting written comments to the address above no later than 5:00 p.m. on:

08/31/2004

This rule may become effective on:

09/01/2004

Authorized by:

Carol Lear, Coordinator School Law and Legislation

RULE TEXT

R686. Professional Practices Advisory Commission, Administration.

R686-103. Professional Practices and Conduct for Utah Educators.

R686-103-3. Commission Action if a Licensed Educator Violates the Provisions of Professional Practice and Conduct for Utah Educators.

A. The individual conduct of a professional educator at all levels reflects upon the practices, values, integrity and reputation of the Utah educational profession as a whole. Violation of this rule may result in the following:

(1) A disciplinary letter that may [e]affect the educator's ability to obtain employment as an educator;

(2) A letter of reprimand that would be placed in the educator's certification file and in the personnel file(s) of the district(s) where the educator is employed or seeks employment;

(3) A designated period of probationary status for a license holder. The probation may be for a specific or indefinite time period;

(4) Suspension of the educator's license(s) that would prevent the educator from practicing education in the state of Utah or other states during the period of suspension; and

(5) Revocation of the educator's license(s) for a minimum of five years.

B. This rule does not preclude alternative action by the Commission consistent with Utah law and Utah State Board of Education rules warranted under the facts of the case.

R686-103-7. Moral and Ethical Conduct.

An educator shall:

A. not be convicted of domestic violence or abuse, including physical, sexual, and emotional abuse of any family member;

B. not be convicted of a stalking crime;

C. not use or distribute illegal drugs, or be convicted of any crime related to illegal drugs;

D. not be convicted of any illegal sexual conduct;

E. not attend school or school functions under the influence of illegal drugs, [or ]alcohol, or prescription drugs if the drug [affects]impairs the educator's ability to perform regular activities;

F. not participate in sexual, physical, or emotional harassment or any combination toward any student or co-worker, nor knowingly allow harassment to continue;

G. not participate in inappropriate sexual contact with a student or minor;

H. not knowingly fail to protect a student from any condition detrimental to that student's physical health, mental health, safety, or learning;

I. not harass or discriminate against a student or co-worker on the basis of race, color, creed, sex, national origin, marital status, political or religious beliefs, physical or mental conditions, family, social, or cultural background, or sexual orientation;

J. not interfere with the legitimate exercise of political and civil rights and responsibilities of colleagues or a student acting consistently with law and district and school policies;

K. not threaten, coerce, [or ]discriminate against, or create a hostile environment toward any fellow employee, regardless of employment classification, who reports or discloses to a governing agency actual or suspected violations of law, educational regulations, or standards;

L. conduct financial business with integrity by honestly accounting for all funds committed to the educator's charge and collect and report funds consistent with school and district policy;

M. not accept gifts or exploit a professional relationship for gain or advantage that might create the appearance of impropriety or that may impair professional judgment, consistent with Section 67-16-1 through 14, Utah Public Employees Ethics Act; and

N. not use or attempt to use district or school computers or information systems in violation of the district's acceptable use policy for employees or access information that may be detrimental to young people or inconsistent with the educator's role model responsibility.

O. [avoid not only impropriety but also the appearance of impropriety in actions towards students and colleagues.]not knowingly possess, while at school or at any school-related activity, any non-curriculum related sexually oriented material in any form.

KEY: disciplinary actions, educators

[October 16, 2002]2004

Notice of Continuation May 5, 2004

53A-6-306(1)(a)

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

PLEASE NOTE:

• Text to be deleted is struck through and surrounded by brackets (e.g., [example]). Text to be added is underlined (e.g., example). Some browsers may not depict some or any of these attributes on the screen or when the document is printed.
• Please see the DISCLAIMER regarding information available from state web pages.

For questions regarding the content or application of this rule, please contact Carol Lear at the above address, by phone at 801-538-7835, by FAX at 801-538-7768, or by Internet E-mail at clear@usoe.k12.ut.us

For questions about the rulemaking process, please contact the Division of Administrative Rules (801-538-3764). Please Note: The Division of Administrative Rules is NOT able to answer questions about the content or application of these administrative rules.