Motions

Meeting Called to Order

Licensee Discipline

Consent

Communication

Board Goals

Out-of-State Applicants – Deferred

Expansion of Eligibility to Initiate Complaints – Deferred

Requirements for a Substitute Teacher’s License –

Petition for Waiver

Letter of Reprimand – Website Information

Board Calendar

Ethics Presentation

Adjournment

Ying Ying Chen moved, with a second by Jacqueline Wellborn, 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. Roll call vote: Aboud – yes; Carter – yes; Smith – yes; Seeland – yes; Robinson – yes; Chen – yes; Wellborn – yes; Henderson – yes; Haigh – yes; and Paulsen – yes. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.

Jacqueline Wellborn moved, with a second by William Haigh, that in case number 04-08, In the Matter of: Joshua Steele, the Board not initiate review of the proposed decision and allow the proposed decision to become the final decision of the Board unless an appeal is taken by one of the parties within the time allowed by rule. Roll call vote: Aboud – yes; Carter – yes; Smith – yes; Seeland – yes; Robinson – yes; Chen – yes; Wellborn – yes; Henderson – yes; Haigh – yes; and Paulsen – yes. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.

William Haigh moved, with a second by Jacqueline Wellborn, that in case number 05-10, In the Matter of: Paul Deyo, 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: Haigh – yes; Henderson – yes; Wellborn – yes; Chen – yes; Robinson – yes; Seeland – yes; Smith – yes; Carter – yes; Aboud – yes; and Paulsen – yes. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
Ying Ying Chen moved, with a second by William Haigh, that in case number 05-08, In the Matter of: John Richard Nees, the Board find probable cause to establish a violation of the following provision of the Code of Professional Conduct and Ethics: 282 IAC 25.3(6)(c), (d) and (e) and order this case set for hearing. Roll call vote: Aboud – yes; Carter – yes; Smith – yes; Seeland – yes; Robinson – yes; Chen – yes; Wellborn – yes; Henderson – yes; Haigh – yes; and Paulsen – yes. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.

Jacqueline Wellborn moved, with a second by Ying Ying Chen, that in case number 05-09, the Board find that the evidence gathered in the investigation, including witness statements and the documentary evidence, does not corroborate the allegations in the complaint, and that the Board, therefore, lacks probable cause to proceed with this matter. Roll call vote: Haigh – yes; Henderson – yes; Wellborn – yes; Chen – yes; Robinson – yes; Seeland – yes; Smith – yes; Carter – yes; Aboud – yes; and Paulsen – yes. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.

Ying Ying Chen moved, with a second by William Haigh, that in case number 05-12, the Board find that, although one or more of the allegations in the complaint may be substantiated by the witnesses interviewed in the course of the investigation and the documents gathered in the course of the investigation, and the allegations may constitute a technical violation of the board’s statute or administrative rules, the evidence before the board indicates that the alleged violation was an isolated incident, and adequate steps have been taken to remedy the violation and to ensure that incidents of a similar nature do not occur in the future. Taking into account these circumstances, and the Board’s mission to act upon those complaints which involve a threat to the health and safety of students and the public, the Board will not pursue formal disciplinary action in this matter. Roll call vote: Aboud – yes; Carter – yes; Smith – yes; Seeland – yes; Robinson – yes; Chen – yes; Wellborn – yes; Henderson – yes; Haigh – yes; and Paulsen – yes. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
William Haigh moved, with a second by Ying Ying Chen, that in case number 05-15, In the Matter of: Carol Lynn Walthart, the Board find probable cause to establish a violation of the following provisions of the Code of Professional Conduct and Ethics: 282 IAC 25.3(1)(e)(5) and 25.3(6)(c) and order this case set for hearing. Roll call vote: Haigh – yes; Henderson – yes; Wellborn – yes; Chen – yes; Robinson – yes; Seeland – recuse; Smith – yes; Carter – yes; Aboud – yes; and Paulsen – yes. MOTION CARRIED.

Jacqueline Wellborn moved, with a second by Ying Ying Chen, that in case number 05-19, the Board find that the evidence gathered in the investigation, including witness statements and the documentary evidence, does
not corroborate the allegations in the complaint, and that the Board, therefore, lacks probable cause to proceed with this matter. Roll call vote: Aboud – yes; Carter – no; Smith – yes; Seeland – yes; Robinson – yes; Chen – yes; Wellborn – yes; Henderson – yes; Haigh – yes; and Paulsen – yes. MOTION CARRIED.

William Haigh moved, with a second by Jacqueline Wellborn, that in case number 05-07, the Board extend the 180-day deadline for issuance of the final decision, based upon delay in investigation due to resignation of the Board’s investigator and subsequent budget cuts. Roll call vote: Haigh – yes; Henderson – yes; Wellborn – yes; Chen – yes; Robinson – recuse; Seeland – yes; Smith – yes; Carter – yes; Aboud – yes; and Paulsen – yes. MOTION CARRIED.

Greg Robinson moved, with a second by Beverly Smith, to approve the July 28-29, 2005, minutes, as distributed. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.

Thomas Paulsen moved, with a second by John Aboud, to approve the three goals derived from the board retreat. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.

John Aboud moved, with a second by Thomas Paulsen, to file under Notice of Intended Action, the proposed changes to the rules for a substitute teacher’s license so that those who completed a teacher education program in the past but never applied for an Iowa teacher’s license can obtain a substitute teacher’s license and be able to substitute while they are completing the requirements for full licensure. In addition, an individual with an administrative license would be able to substitute teach while holding the administrator license. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.

John Aboud moved, with a second by Brian Carter, that in PFW 05-03,
Brian P. Horn, the Board grant the Petition for Waiver. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.

The Board of Educational Examiners held its monthly meeting on September 15, 2005. Board Vice-Chair Thomas Paulsen called the meeting to order at 8:32 a.m. Members attending were John Aboud, Brian Carter, Ying Ying Chen, William Haigh, Jeffrey Henderson, Thomas Paulsen, Greg Robinson, Jean Seeland, Beverly Smith and Jacqueline Wellborn. Also in attendance were Dr. George Maurer, Executive Director of the Board; Christie Scase, Assistant Attorney General and legal counsel to the Board; Barbara Hendrickson, Board Secretary; and other visitors. Following an appointment at the Governor’s office, Board Chair Judy Jeffrey arrived at the board meeting at 9:58 a.m. and assumed conduct of the meeting. Assistant Attorney General and legal counsel to the Board Jeanie Vaudt was unable to attend the meeting.

Ying Ying Chen moved, with a second by Jacqueline Wellborn, 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. Roll call vote: Aboud – yes; Carter – yes; Smith – yes; Seeland – yes; Robinson – yes; Chen – yes; Wellborn – yes; Henderson – yes; Haigh – yes; and Paulsen – yes. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.

The Board reconvened into open session at 9:37 a.m.

Jacqueline Wellborn moved, with a second by William Haigh, that in case number 04-08, In the Matter of: Joshua Steele, the Board not initiate review of the proposed decision and allow the proposed decision to become the final decision of the Board unless an appeal is taken by one of the parties within the time allowed by rule. Roll call vote: Aboud – yes; Carter – yes; Smith – yes; Seeland – yes; Robinson – yes; Chen – yes; Wellborn – yes; Henderson – yes; Haigh – yes; and Paulsen – yes. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.

William Haigh moved, with a second by Jacqueline Wellborn, that in case number 05-10, In the Matter of: Paul Deyo, 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: Haigh – yes; Henderson – yes; Wellborn – yes; Chen – yes; Robinson – yes; Seeland – yes; Smith – yes; Carter – yes; Aboud – yes; and Paulsen – yes. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.

Ying Ying Chen moved, with a second by William Haigh, that in case number 05-08, In the Matter of: John Richard Nees, the Board find probable cause to establish a violation of the following provision of the Code of Professional Conduct and Ethics: 282 IAC 25.3(6)(c), (d) and (e) and order this case set for hearing. Roll call vote: Aboud – yes; Carter – yes; Smith – yes; Seeland – yes; Robinson – yes; Chen – yes; Wellborn – yes; Henderson – yes; Haigh – yes; and Paulsen – yes. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.

Jacqueline Wellborn moved, with a second by Ying Ying Chen, that in case number 05-09, the Board find that the evidence gathered in the investigation, including witness statements and the documentary evidence, does
not corroborate the allegations in the complaint, and that the Board, therefore, lacks probable cause to proceed with this matter. Roll call vote: Haigh – yes; Henderson – yes; Wellborn – yes; Chen – yes; Robinson – yes; Seeland – yes; Smith – yes; Carter – yes; Aboud – yes; and Paulsen – yes. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.

Ying Ying Chen moved, with a second by William Haigh, that in case number 05-12, the Board find that, although one or more of the allegations in the complaint may be substantiated by the witnesses interviewed in the course of the investigation and the documents gathered in the course of the investigation, and the allegations may constitute a technical violation of the board’s statute or administrative rules, the evidence before the board indicates that the alleged violation was an isolated incident, and adequate steps have been taken to remedy the violation and to ensure that incidents of a similar nature do not occur in the future. Taking into account these circumstances, and the Board’s mission to act upon those complaints which involve a threat to the health and safety of students and the public, the Board will not pursue formal disciplinary action in this matter. Roll call vote: Aboud – yes; Carter – yes; Smith – yes; Seeland – yes; Robinson – yes; Chen – yes; Wellborn – yes; Henderson – yes; Haigh – yes; and Paulsen – yes. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.

William Haigh moved, with a second by Ying Ying Chen, that in case number 05-15, In the Matter of: Carol Lynn Walthart, the Board find probable cause to establish a violation of the following provisions of the Code of Professional Conduct and Ethics: 282 IAC 25.3(1)(e)(5) and 25.3(6)(c) and order this case set for hearing. Roll call vote: Haigh – yes; Henderson – yes; Wellborn – yes; Chen – yes; Robinson – yes; Seeland – recuse; Smith – yes; Carter – yes; Aboud – yes; and Paulsen – yes. MOTION CARRIED.

Jacqueline Wellborn moved, with a second by Ying Ying Chen, that in case number 05-19, the Board find that the evidence gathered in the investigation, including witness statements and the documentary evidence, does
not corroborate the allegations in the complaint, and that the Board, therefore, lacks probable cause to proceed with this matter. Roll call vote: Aboud – yes; Carter – no; Smith – yes; Seeland – yes; Robinson – yes; Chen – yes; Wellborn – yes; Henderson – yes; Haigh – yes; and Paulsen – yes. MOTION CARRIED.

William Haigh moved, with a second by Jacqueline Wellborn, that in case number 05-07, the Board extend the 180-day deadline for issuance of the final decision, based upon delay in investigation due to resignation of the Board’s investigator and subsequent budget cuts. Roll call vote: Haigh – yes; Henderson – yes; Wellborn – yes; Chen – yes; Robinson – recuse; Seeland – yes; Smith – yes; Carter – yes; Aboud – yes; and Paulsen – yes. MOTION CARRIED.

Since the Board dismissed case number 05-09, the Board did not act upon the extension of the 180-day timeline in the case.

Greg Robinson moved, with a second by Beverly Smith, to approve the July 28-29, 2005, minutes, as distributed. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.

Several board members had items to share at the time of Board Reports. Greg Robinson mentioned that on Back-to-School Day, representatives of a local television station came to the Urbandale CSD to do a story on security cameras. Other district employees were unavailable at the time, and district counsel advised the media of a more newsworthy story of the district promulgating among all its employees the new ethics procedures being advanced by the Board of Educational Examiners. The television station accepted the suggestion and followed through with news pieces later in the day.

John Aboud made sure that the ethics brochure was distributed to staff at his school’s in-service.

Beverly Smith and Jean Seeland set up a table on opening day and provided ethics information to teachers. They also will be making a presentation to administrators on those issues. Ms. Seeland said that people are becoming more aware of licensure and ethical issues and are calling or e-mailing her with questions. She thanked Licensure Consultant Susan Fischer for her responsiveness in providing answers to those questions.

Jacqueline Wellborn has also had requests for ethics information. Knowing that a PowerPoint presentation on the topic would be made at this board meeting, Ms. Wellborn told people that materials will be forthcoming.
At the time of Public Comment, Barry Wilson of the University of Northern Iowa (UNI), President of the Iowa Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (IACTE), thanked the Board for the invitation to the group to participate in the Board’s July retreat and said attendees appreciated the opportunity. He said the association looks forward to working with the Board to improve teacher quality.

Executive Director Dr. George Maurer reported on a number of issues:
1) He reviewed the fiscal year 2006 monthly financial report, which he had recently developed, for the months of July and August. Board Member William Haigh suggested inclusion of a column showing the percentage of funds spent. Dr. Maurer said that, based upon Board goals, he will provide the Board with an account of practitioner shortage areas. At a previous meeting, he had informed the Board of the smaller number of those projected to graduate this year from teacher preparation programs, 500 fewer at the elementary and 200 fewer at the secondary level. The trend will be monitored and will affect how the Board moves things forward. Board Member Jean Seeland expressed appreciation for the data that the new monthly financial report provides.
2) He appeared before the Administrative Rules Review Committee the previous Tuesday with regard to the fee increases. Comment was made at that time that financial matters are really not emergency, but the rules did pass. Dr. Maurer advised the Board against future adopted and filed emergency rules, but he expressed the hope that, with the financial tracking report, the Board will never be in a position to have to do it again. Scenarios could be developed and monitored so as to predict trends and timeframes in order to follow the normal rule making procedure. In addition, Dr. Maurer was available to address the committee on the adopted rules to impose fees for failure to have appropriate licensure. Senator Michael Connolly asked if there is a penalty for an administrator making such an assignment, and Dr. Maurer said he would report back to the senator.
3) Beth Myers has been hired as the new investigator. Board members had met her briefly at the beginning of the day.
4) Ashford University is discontinuing its teacher intern program, although it will finish with the current cohort. Reasons cited were the generally weak reception and interest in the program and the inability to obtain an internship. A couple of institutions are considering the program, but none have taken the next step to establish one. Mention was then made of a central source for school district job vacancies at the Department of Education’s website http://iowaeducationjobs.com/.

IACTE’s Barry Wilson commented that a group of the organization’s members met five times during the previous summer to study how to collaborate and develop the teacher intern program. They discovered that there did not seem to be a critical mass for them to respond to, something necessary for fiscal accountability. They felt caught between securing help in shortage areas and fulfilling requirements by way of assessing and assuring teacher quality. He said that (UNI) is trying to develop and articulate a teacher intern program yet this year, but it will be conditional on sufficient enrollment to make it happen. Dr. Wilson believes that most of the colleges and universities try to make their programs accessible to non-traditional students. The desire is there to be responsive, but there certainly is a need to do better, particularly in the shortage areas, and ways are being sought to do that.

Discussion concluded with comments regarding other avenues for possibly determining how positions are filled and attempts that might be made to determine interest in pursuing non-traditional routes to teacher licensure.

5) At the next board meeting, Dr. Maurer will have for review a document on pre-filed bills for the next legislative session. It will contain, from last year, the proposal to change the Iowa law mandating resolution of a complaint within 180 days to investigation of complaints and determination of probable cause by the Board within 120 days. Also, the funding formula needs to be put in statute, and Dr. Maurer will develop a number of spreadsheets for Board discussion, which will reflect good positions for determining the Board’s finances. He welcomed input from board members for any other pre-filed bills.
6) The rules hearing on the fee increases had been held the previous week. No one attended the hearing, and no written comments were received.
7) In the coming months, several staff members will be looking at how office personnel can be more efficient and effective with the Board’s technology systems and requesting some type of grant to enhance technological capabilities.
8) Licensure Consultant Susan Fischer expedited the licensure of two Louisiana teachers who arrived in this area in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. They will be able to substitute for the next several months, and this gives them a measure of the support they need as they begin their recovery from the natural disaster. Board Chair Judy Jeffrey told attendees that, following information she had provided to him, the Governor has publicly noted how responsive the Board of Educational Examiners was to the evacuees.

The Board next looked at goals staff derived from the themes developed at the board retreat in July, utilizing a gap analysis: Where are we now? Where do we want to be? During the discussion, Judy Jeffrey reported that the Department of Education (DE) had done an analysis of teachers by their endorsements, and by the number of those eligible to retire along with the number of those in the practitioner preparation programs. Significant gaps and, therefore, challenges are the result. Ms. Jeffrey said that she and Executive Director Dr. George Maurer would present a report on the shortage areas and ideas for addressing the matter to the Board at the November meeting. Dr. Maurer recommended that the board goals document be considered a two-year program, with feedback to the Board at the end of each year and a board retreat at the end of the third year similar to the one held this July. He also said he would like to report to the Board about every other month on each of the goal items. Thomas Paulsen moved, with a second by John Aboud, to approve the three goals derived from the board retreat. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
The Board considered rules presented for notice to provide a means for out-of-state applicants to demonstrate an equivalent assessment similar to the multiple measures used by in-state teacher preparation programs. Significant discussion resulted, and Board members once again wrestled with portions of the rules. During the discussion Board Chair Judy Jeffrey stated that the DE had received preliminary information from the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) that Iowa will be fully approved under the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation. The performance assessments in place will stand. The teacher preparation programs in Iowa now have a common rubric across all of the institutions, which they are using for student teaching or looking at content knowledge. She stated that the problem is meeting highly qualified teachers coming into the state with no way of demonstrating their content knowledge. The dilemma is two-fold: 1) some individuals are applying in Iowa to get a license to teach because they could not pass the test in the state in which they are teaching or wish to teach and 2) there is the need to meet highly qualified definitions under NCLB. Practitioner Preparation Consultant Arlie Willems said that she believed that in many of the states the programs require testing both for licensure and for the students to graduate from the program, and she offered to do some research on the matter. The Board decided not to act upon the rules at this meeting.

Executive Director Dr. George Maurer informed the Board that not all the materials were ready for a First Reading of rules to broaden the eligibility of the Board office to initiate complaints. The Board, consequently, neither discussed nor acted upon the matter at this meeting.

With no discussion, John Aboud moved, with a second by Thomas Paulsen, to file under Notice of Intended Action, the proposed changes to the rules for a substitute teacher’s license so that those who completed a teacher education program in the past but never applied for an Iowa teacher’s license can obtain a substitute teacher’s license and be able to substitute while they are completing the requirements for full licensure. In addition, an individual with an administrative license would be able to substitute teach while holding the administrator license. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.

Brian Horn filed a petition to waive the three years of administrative experience necessary for the superintendent endorsement. He holds a master educator teaching license with endorsements for elementary principal, secondary principal and evaluator. He completed his administrative program in January 2004 and will have the superintendent content requirements completed in December 2005. He has served as Director of Curriculum and Technology since 1999, a position that does not require an administrative endorsement. He would like all of his experience as a curriculum director to count as administrative experience, even though he did not hold an administrative license for all of that time. The superintendent will retire in June 2006, and Mr. Horn would like to be eligible to serve as the superintendent thereafter. John Aboud moved, with a second by Brian Carter, that in PFW 05-03,
Brian P. Horn, the Board grant the Petition for Waiver. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.

Board members discussed the length of time a Letter of Reprimand should remain on a practitioner’s website licensure screen. It was noted that the current database does not display any information regarding the suspension of a license once the person has returned to active status. The next update of the system will permit modifications to the information available, depending on what the Board desires, but that will not be for at least 12 months, during which time staff will plan what information will be accessible and seek grants to fund the upgrade. Assistant Attorney General and legal counsel to the Board Christie Scase said she could check into what is done by other boards. In addition, she mentioned the possibility of the Board revising the process and, prior to hearing, having an informal resolution that may include the option of a private Letter of Warning (not a public record). That would serve as a non-public penalty of sorts for less-than-major inappropriate behavior, while, nevertheless, maintaining a confidential record of the issue in the Board’s files. Board members agreed that, whatever is decided, the record in the Board’s files and on the website should be the same. Ms. Scase agreed to do some research and to bring some options back to the Board.

The Board confirmed the following dates for calendar year 2006: February 2 (legislative reception on preceding day), March 3, April 7, May 3, June 22-23 (board retreat), August 7, September 6 (telephonic at 4 p.m., if needed), October 6, November 3 and December 1.

The Board recessed for lunch at 11:51 a.m. and reconvened at 12:40 p.m.

School Improvement Consultant Anita Westerhaus and Professional Development Consultant Sue Swartz from Heartland Area Education Agency 11 gave a PowerPoint presentation on ethics that they had developed. Ms. Westerhaus had served on the Board in the recent past, when she was principal at Sacred Heart School in West Des Moines. She had spent a sabbatical and time thereafter researching ethics in the teaching profession. She had created a brochure that the Board is disseminating through a range of venues. This production through Heartland AEA 11 will be another avenue for broadcasting the content and importance of ethical behavior on the part of practitioners. The presenters invited questions and comments from the Board, to which board members readily responded, providing feedback that refined and honed the substantive material. Ms. Westerhaus and Ms. Swartz gave the Board an idea of how they envisioned utilizing the material and sought additional direction from the Board. It was generally agreed that delivery through a multiplicity of venues was the best approach. Board members expressed their appreciation and complimented the two for their fine work. Executive Director Dr. George Maurer said he would confer with Ms. Westerhaus and Ms. Swartz and bring to a future board meeting short- and long-term strategies for implementation of the ethics material.

There being no further business, Board Chair Judy Jeffrey adjourned the meeting at 1:59 p.m.