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 BackHOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Committee Report
| Legislation: | HS 1 for HB 259 |
| Sponsor: | Miro |
| Long Title: | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 14 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE DENIAL, SUSPENSION, REVOCATION AND LIMITATION OF EDUCATOR LICENSES AND CERTIFICATES. |
| Committee: | EDUCATION |
| Number of Committee Members: | 15 |
| Date of Report: | 03/20/2008 |
| Committee Vote: | Favorable: | On Its Merits: | Unfavorable: |
| 0 | 9 | 0 |
Purpose of the Bill : This Act clarifies existing code relating to the denial and revocation of educator licenses. This Act also provides for the authority of the Secretary of Education to suspend or limit an educator license under certain circumstances.
This Act provides that the Department of Education shall have the discretionary authority to deny an applicant’s application for licensure as an educator for any of the causes for which an educator license may be revoked. The Act further provides that written notice must be given to the applicant of the reasons for denial and an opportunity must be given for a hearing before the Professional Standards Board. The Act clarifies, consistent with current regulation that the burden of proof in a license denial action is on the applicant to show by a preponderance of the evidence that he or she meets the applicable laws and regulations relating to the issuance of a license.
This Act further provides that the Secretary of Education shall have the authority to suspend, revoke or limit a license. The Act further delineates between when the Secretary’s authority to suspend, revoke, or limit a license is discretionary and when revocation is mandatory. The Act clarifies that the list of causes mandating mandatory revocation is generally consistent with school bus driver qualifications in § 2708(b)(7) of Title 21.
The Act provides that the Secretary may automatically suspend a license without a prior hearing if the license holder is arrested or indicted by a Grand Jury for a violent felony as defined in § 4201(c) of Title 11. The license holder, however, is still entitled to notice and hearing before the Professional Standards Board if requested within 20 days of notice of suspension.
The Act provides that any license holder who is convicted of a crime in a court of law which would constitute grounds for revocation, suspension or limitation shall notify the Secretary of such conviction in writing within 20 days of such conviction and the failure to do so is grounds for revocation.
The Act provides that the Secretary will not take action to revoke a license holder’s license, with the exception of arrests or indictments by a Grand Jury for a violent felony, without providing the person with written notice of the charges and with an opportunity to for a full and fair hearing before the Standards Board.
The Act further provides that a license may be suspended for a period of time not to exceed five years. The license may be reinstated upon proof that all requirements for license renewal have been satisfied.
The Act provides that the Secretary may place limitations on a license including, restrictions on the ages of students with whom the license holder may work, additional supervision requirements, and education, counseling, or psychiatric examination requirements.
Lastly, the Act provides that an individual whose license was revoked under subsection (a) may petition the Secretary for reinstatement of the license not sooner than five years from the date of revocation. The Secretary shall only grant such a petition after finding that it is the best interest of the public schools in Delaware and after considering (1) the nature and circumstance of the individual’s original misconduct; (2) the individual’s subsequent conduct and rehabilitation; (3) the individual’s present character; and (4) the individual’s present qualifications and competence to teach.
Committee Findings: There were no committee findings.
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