STATE OF IOWA

STATE OF IOWA

BOARD OF EDUCATIONAL EXAMINERS

Grimes State Office Building – 400 East 14^th Street

Des Moines, Iowa 50319-0147

Minutes

March 31, 2005

Table of Contents

Page

Motions 2

Meeting Called to Order 6

Licensee Discipline 6

Consent Agenda 8

Communication 8

Clean-up of Special Education Rules – Notice 11

Family and Consumer Sciences Rules – Notice 12

Class A License as Bridge to Standard License – Notice 12

Penalty for Failure to Have Appropriate Licensure – Deferred 13

Out-of-State Applicants – First Reading 13

Board Calendar 13

Adjournment 13

STATE OF IOWA

BOARD OF EDUCATIONAL EXAMINERS

Grimes State Office Building – 400 East 14^th Street

Des Moines, Iowa 50319-0147

Motions

March 31, 2005

Anita Westerhaus moved, with a second by William Haigh, that the Board go into closed session for the purposes of discussing whether to initiate licensee disciplinary proceedings and discussing the decision to be rendered in a contested case, pursuant to Iowa Code sections 21.5(1)(d) and 21.5(1)(f). MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.

William Haigh moved, with a second by Anita Westerhaus, that in case number 05-06, In the Matter of: Jeremy David Hendricks, the Board accept the Respondent’s waiver of hearing and voluntary surrender and that the Board issue an order permanently revoking the Respondent’s license with no possibility of reinstatement. Roll call vote: Aboud – yes; Robinson – yes; Carter – yes; Seeland – yes; Chen – yes; Paulsen – yes; Jeffrey – yes; Wellborn – yes; Westerhaus – yes; Haigh – yes and Hathaway – yes. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.

Jacqueline Wellborn moved, with a second by William Haigh, that in case number 04-27, the Board find that although factual allegations in the complaint were substantiated, the investigation found that the Respondent was unconditionally released from her teaching contract; so there was no violation of Board rule. Roll call vote: Aboud – yes; Robinson – yes; Carter – yes; Seeland – yes; Chen – yes; Paulsen – yes; Jeffrey – yes; Wellborn – yes; Westerhaus – yes; Haigh – yes and Hathaway – yes. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.

Jacqueline Wellborn moved, with a second by William Haigh, that in case number 04-28, the Board find that although factual allegations in the complaint were substantiated, the investigation found that the Respondent was unconditionally released from her teaching contract; so there was no violation of Board rule. Roll call vote: Aboud – yes; Robinson – yes; Carter – yes; Seeland – yes; Chen – yes; Paulsen – yes; Jeffrey – yes; Wellborn – yes; Westerhaus – yes; Haigh – yes and Hathaway – yes. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.

Anita Westerhaus moved, with a second by Jacqueline Wellborn, that in case number 04-29, In the Matter of: Timothy John Fienup, the Board find probable cause to establish a violation of the following provision of the Code of Professional Conduct and Ethics: 282—25.3(6)(c), and order this case set for hearing. Roll call vote: Haigh – yes; Westerhaus – yes; Wellborn – yes; Jeffrey – yes; Paulsen – yes; Chen – yes; Seeland – yes; Carter – yes; Robinson – yes; Aboud – yes; and Hathaway – yes. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.

William Haigh moved, with a second by Anita Westerhaus, that in case number 04-22, the Board extend the 180-day deadline for issuance of the final decision, due to delay in investigation due to prioritization of cases and court disposition of pending criminal charges. Roll call vote: Aboud – yes; Robinson – yes; Carter – yes; Seeland – yes; Chen – yes; Paulsen – yes; Jeffrey – yes; Wellborn – yes; Westerhaus – yes; Haigh – yes and Hathaway – yes. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.

Jacqueline Wellborn moved, with a second by William Haigh, that in case number 04-23, In the Matter of: Sidney Lawrence Graham, the Board extend the 180-day deadline for issuance of the final decision, due to the need for additional time to conduct a hearing, prepare a proposed decision, and review the proposed decision by the Board. Roll call vote: Aboud – yes; Robinson – yes; Carter – yes; Seeland – yes; Chen – yes; Paulsen – yes; Jeffrey – yes; Wellborn – yes; Westerhaus – yes; Haigh – yes and Hathaway – yes. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.

Anita Westerhaus moved, with a second by Jacqueline Wellborn, that in case number 04-25, Loess Hills AEA 13 Board of Directors v. Korrie A. Conners, the Board extend the 180-day deadline for issuance of the final decision, due to the need for additional time to conduct a hearing, prepare a proposed decision, and review the proposed decision by the Board. Roll call vote: Aboud – yes; Robinson – yes; Carter – yes; Seeland – yes; Chen – yes; Paulsen – yes; Jeffrey – yes; Wellborn – yes; Westerhaus – yes; Haigh – yes and Hathaway – yes. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.

Jean Seeland moved, with a second by Greg Robinson, to approve the March 4, 2005, minutes, as distributed. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.

The vote for election of the vice-chair was as follows: Seeland – Aboud; Carter – Paulsen; Chen – Paulsen; Haigh – Paulsen; Jeffrey – Paulsen; Robinson – Paulsen; and Wellborn – Paulsen. Thomas Paulsen was elected vice-chair.

John Aboud moved, with a second by Jean Seeland, to file under Notice of Intended Action, the changes to the rules in Chapter 15 that are needed to clarify the rules that are being enforced and that would eliminate any conflict that may exist between the old rules and the new rules for the special education endorsements. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.

John Aboud moved, with a second by Greg Robinson, to file under Notice of Intended Action, the proposed changes to Chapters 14 and 16 that update the language in the endorsements to reflect the national standards by which practitioners in the field of family and consumer sciences (formerly home economics) now teach. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.

John Aboud moved, with a second by Anita Westerhaus, to issue a Class A license as a bridge to the standard license to those applicants in the second year of the mentoring and induction program, but whose license expires before the second year is completed, and to those applicants who have taught for two years in a nonpublic school setting and need one additional year to convert to the standard license. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.

John Aboud moved, with a second by Greg Robinson, to move the proposed amendments regarding out-of-state applicants with respect to recognized non-Iowa institutions, exchange licenses and the Class A license to the next level of the rulemaking process. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.

STATE OF IOWA

BOARD OF EDUCATIONAL EXAMINERS

Grimes State Office Building – 400 East 14^th Street

Des Moines, Iowa 50319-0147

Minutes

March 31, 2005

The Board of Educational Examiners held its monthly meeting on March 31, 2005. Board Chair Peter Hathaway called the meeting to order at 8:34 a.m. Members attending were John Aboud, Brian Carter, Ying Ying Chen, William Haigh, Peter Hathaway, Judy Jeffrey, Thomas Paulsen, Dr. Greg Robinson, Jean Seeland, Jacqueline Wellborn and Anita Westerhaus. Also in attendance were Dr. George Maurer, Executive Director of the Board; Christie Scase and Jeanie Vaudt, Assistant Attorneys General and legal counsel to the Board; Barbara Hendrickson, Board Secretary; and other visitors. Ms. Scase and Ms. Vaudt joined the afternoon session at 12:42 p.m. and 12:47 p.m., respectively.

The Board reconvened into open session at 9:24 a.m.

Jean Seeland moved, with a second by Greg Robinson, to approve the March 4, 2005, minutes, as distributed. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.

Department of Education (DE) Director and soon-to-be senior member of the Board, Judy Jeffrey, acknowledged the eight and four years of service, respectively, of outgoing Board Members Peter Hathaway and Anita Westerhaus. She thanked Mr. Hathaway for his guidance and leadership and Ms. Westerhaus for her research that led to significant Board action. She presented Mr. Hathaway and Ms. Westerhaus each with a personal letter from the Governor and Lieutenant Governor, expressing gratitude for the two board members’ contributions, Ms. Jeffrey emphasized the wording, "to the people
of the State of Iowa." She stressed that in their service on the Board, they had protected the children of Iowa, probably the most important contribution they could make. She also gave each one a certificate of appreciation from the Board. Mr. Hathaway and Ms. Westerhaus expressed their own thanks and felt that their time on the Board had been an honor and a privilege, and they were deeply moved by the experiences and camaraderie they had shared with board members.

Board Chair Peter Hathaway then conducted election of the vice-chair, to whom selected duties might be delegated and who would serve in the absence of DE Director Judy Jeffrey, following her resumption of the position of Board Chair. Candidates John Aboud and Thomas Paulsen had the previous month indicated interest in the position. They chose to abstain and left the room while vote was taken; retiring members Peter Hathaway and Anita Westerhaus also abstained. The vote for election of the vice-chair was as follows: Seeland – Aboud; Carter – Paulsen; Chen – Paulsen; Haigh – Paulsen; Jeffrey – Paulsen; Robinson – Paulsen; and Wellborn – Paulsen. Thomas Paulsen was elected vice-chair.

Mr. Hathaway explained that appointments to subcommittees were made based upon a balance among teacher, administrator and public members; balance between males and females; continuity of service of those who had good background and perspective; and previous indication of interest in serving.
Mr. Hathaway named the following appointees to the Professional Practices Subcommittee: William Haigh (public member and subcommittee veteran), Jacqueline Wellborn (teacher and subcommittee veteran) and Ying Ying Chen (administrator); on the Executive Subcommittee will serve: DE Director Judy Jeffrey (public member and ex officio), Brian Carter (teacher and subcommittee veteran), Greg Robinson (administrator) and Vice-Chair Thomas Paulsen (teacher, subcommittee veteran and ex officio), raising membership on that subcommittee from three to four.

Board Member Jean Seeland is a mentor teacher. The day before the board meeting, Ms. Seeland had conducted two sessions on ethics for the people involved in mentoring in the Area Education Agency (AEA) 267 area, an idea she had proposed earlier for second-year teachers. She distributed some of the brochures recently developed by the Board. She said she is always amazed at the interest in licensure and the questions that people have. Ms. Seeland recommended posters in teachers’ lounges with Board contact information as one avenue of continuing pubic awareness of the Board’s role. She suggested that the Board contact the AEAs to see about getting on the agenda at an AEA for one of their mentoring and induction meetings, and she urged continued efforts for public awareness of the Board’s purpose. Board Members Jacqueline Wellborn and Judy Jeffrey echoed potential heightened awareness through the mentoring and induction program. Ms. Jeffrey saw an upcoming mentoring and induction institute at UNI as an ideal opportunity to urge instruction at training meetings throughout the year. Board Member Ying Ying Chen proposed making a graphic item available that could be duplicated and distributed by school districts and AEAs, thus saving the Board some costs. Ms. Seeland proposed information in professional association newsletters, as well. Ms. Wellborn then complimented Kathy Collins, Director of Legal Services for School Administrators of Iowa (SAI), for her March 2005 newsletter article on cases before the Board involving inappropriate Internet use by licensed practitioners in the past few years. Ms. Wellborn said that copies of the article are being more widely distributed in her area.

Board Chair Peter Hathaway asked if there were any public comments. There were none.

Executive Director Dr. George Maurer reported on a number of issues. Partway through, the Board recessed from 10:09 to 10:41 due to a statewide tornado drill.

The service fee for credit card usage on renewal and duplicate licenses was approved by the several committees whose authorization was required.

2) Full implementation of the new computer system is scheduled around April 12.

The new computer system will be tooled to record disciplinary actions according to the instructions of the Board. Discussion of the way to track Letters of Reprimand will continue at the May board meeting.
In a legislative update, Senate Study Bill 1287 and House File 816 treat the Board’s budget differently. Of the Board’s fees, the Senate bill allows the Board 90% and the General Fund 10%, with 10% maximum carryover and any amount over that to the General Fund, effective July 1, 2004. The House bill allows the Board 73% and the General Fund 27%, with 10% maximum carryover and any amount over that to the General Fund, effective July 1, 2005. Dr. Maurer is working on spreadsheets to reflect to legislators the impact on the General Fund of the two proposals. The other House bills affecting the Board—121, 526 and 529—have left the floor and have been sent to the Senate.
The Board looked at an updated outline for the board retreat on June 20-21, 2005. The Board agreed to hold the retreat at Simpson College in Indianola.
Board members reviewed a checklist for board orientation the morning of the May meeting. Incoming board members are Dr. Beverly Smith of the Waterloo CSD and Jeffrey Henderson of the Archdiocese of Dubuque, both associate superintendents.

Special Education Licensure Consultant Jane Heinsen then made a presentation in response to board member discussion that had occurred at the March 4, 2005, meeting, of a possible change in endorsement to a K-12 instructional strategist. The suggestion had arisen during review of superceded rules that needed to be eliminated by Board action. Ms. Heinsen gave a history of the various recommendations of the 1999 Task Force on the restructure of the special education rules to maintain the K-6 and 7-12 grade levels as separate endorsements, and she indicated the ramifications of a change to a
K-12 instructional strategist as one endorsement. She distributed a chart and outline showing how the instructional strategist endorsement aligns with what constitutes a highly qualified special education teacher in Iowa under No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) 2004. Ms. Heinsen recommended that the Board eliminate the old rules in Chapter 15, as originally intended, and make no revision to the instructional strategist one endorsement. John Aboud moved, with a second by Jean Seeland, to file under Notice of Intended Action, the changes to the rules in Chapter 15 that are needed to clarify the rules that are being enforced and that would eliminate any conflict that may exist between the old rules and the new rules for the special education endorsements. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.

Administrative Consultant Susan Fischer had the Board consider the text of recommended changes in administrative rules in the area of family and consumer sciences (formerly home economics). John Aboud moved, with a second by Greg Robinson, to file under Notice of Intended Action, the proposed changes to Chapters 14 and 16 that update the language in the endorsements to reflect the national standards by which practitioners in the field of family and consumer sciences (formerly home economics) now teach. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.

Licensure Consultant Geri McMahon reviewed with the Board rules to accommodate conversion from the initial license to the standard license by those whose birthday falls at an inopportune time of the year, or by those who teach in a nonpublic school, who must teach for three years before eligibility for conversion. Currently, these two sets of practitioners must pay additional fees to maintain their initial license before becoming eligible to obtain their standard license. John Aboud moved, with a second by Anita Westerhaus, to issue a Class A license as a bridge to the standard license to those applicants in the second year of the mentoring and induction program, but whose license expires before the second year is completed, and to those applicants who have taught for two years in a nonpublic school setting and need one additional year to convert to the standard license. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.

The Board recessed for lunch at 11:45 a.m. and reconvened at 12:38 p.m.

The Board once again looked at a penalty fee for a licensed teacher that does not hold a valid endorsement in the area of service for which the person is employed. Administrative Consultant Susan Fischer distributed a sheet with actual instances of anonymous teachers and an administrator functioning invalidly out of their area, including teaching without an Iowa license altogether. The Board deemed the latter situation particularly egregious. Brian Carter and Jean Seeland, respectively, moved and then withdrew the motion to notice the new subrule with significant changes. The Board, instead, deferred action in order to see clean copy of the subrule at the next meeting, when the irregularities would be categorized by lack of valid endorsement and lack of Iowa teaching license, and penalty fees assessed accordingly.

The Board considered, as a first reading, changes to rules regarding out-of-state applicants. John Aboud moved, with a second by Greg Robinson, to move the proposed amendments regarding out-of-state applicants with respect to recognized non-Iowa institutions, exchange licenses and the Class A license to the next level of the rulemaking process. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.

Board members discussed briefly the possible need to change administrative rules so as to broaden the eligibility of the Board office to initiate complaints. Following input from the Board office, the Board will confer about the issue again at a later meeting.

The Board achieved consensus on proposed board meeting dates for the balance of calendar year 2005: May 5, June 20-21 (Board retreat), July 29, September 12, October 7, November 4, and December 9. Proposed meeting dates for calendar year 2006 occur on the first Friday of the month, and the Board will decide on dates for 2006 at a future board meeting.

There being no further business, Board Chair Peter Hathaway adjourned the meeting at 1:45 p.m. He then returned to DE Director Judy Jeffrey the gavel that she had passed to him at the January board meeting. Ms. Jeffrey will henceforth hold the position of Board Chair, as directed by statute.