Reports shall be submitted for all infractions cited in the
Mississippi Code of 1972 Annotated (Revised 1996), Sections
37-3-51,
37-3-2,
37-9-57, and
37-16-4, to include:
a. Conviction of a felony or sex offense.
"Sex offense" shall mean any of the following offenses:
i. Section
97-3-65, Mississippi Code of 1972,
relating to the carnal knowledge of a child under fourteen (14) years of
age;
ii. Section
97-3-95, Mississippi Code of 1972,
relating to sexual battery;
iii.
Section 97-5-21, Mississippi Code of 1972,
relating to seduction of a child under age eighteen (18);
iv. Section
97-5-23, Mississippi Code of 1972,
relating to the touching of a child for lustful purposes;
v. Section
97-5-27, Mississippi Code of 1972,
relating to the dissemination of sexually oriented material to
children;
vi. Section
97-5-33, Mississippi Code of 1972,
relating to the exploitation of children;
vii. Section
97-5-41, Mississippi Code of 1972,
relating to the carnal knowledge of a stepchild, adopted child, or child of a
cohabitating partner;
viii. Section
97-29-59, Mississippi Code of
1972, related to unnatural intercourse;
ix. Or
x. Any other offense committed in another
jurisdiction which, if committed in this state, would be deemed to be such a
crime without regard to its designation elsewhere.
b. Other reportable infractions or
occurrences [Section
37-3-2(11), (12), and
(13)]:
i.
License Applicants
a. Lack of qualifications
which are prescribed by law or regulations adopted by the State Board of
Education;
b. Has a physical,
emotional, or mental disability that renders the applicant unfit to perform the
duties authorized by the certificate/license, as certified by a licensed
psychologist or psychiatrist;
c. Is
actively addicted to or actively dependent on alcohol or other habit forming
drugs or is a habitual user of narcotics, barbiturates, amphetamines,
hallucinogens, or other drugs having similar effect, at the time of application
for a certificate/license;
d.
Revocation, suspension or surrender of a certificate or license by another
state shall result in immediate denial of licensure until such time that the
records predicating the revocation, suspension or surrender in the prior state
have been cleared;
e. Committed
fraud or deceit in securing or attempting to secure such certification or
license;
f. Fails or refuses to
furnish reasonable evidence of identification;
g. Has been convicted, has pled guilty or
entered a plea of nolo contendere to a felony as defined by federal or state
law;
h. Has been convicted, has
pled guilty or entered a plea of nolo contendere to a sex offense as defined by
federal or state law. For purposes of this paragraph (h) and paragraph (g) of
this subsection, a "guilty plea" includes a plea of guilty, entry of a plea of
nolo contendere, or entry of an order granting pretrial or judicial diversion.
i. Probation or post-release
supervision for a felony or sex offense conviction, as defined by federal or
state law, shall result in the immediate denial of licensure application until
expiration of the probationary or post-release supervision
period.
ii. Licensed
Educators
a. Breach of contract or
abandonment of employment may result in the suspension of the license for one
(1) school year as provided in Section
37-9-57, Mississippi Code of
1972;
b. Obtaining a license by
fraudulent means shall result in immediate suspension and continued suspension
for one (1) year after correction is made;
c. Suspension or revocation of a certificate
or license by another state shall result in immediate suspension or revocation
and shall continue until records in the prior state have been
cleared;
d. The license holder has
been convicted, has pled guilty or entered a plea of nolo contendere to a
felony, as defined by federal or state law. For purposes of this paragraph, a
"guilty plea" includes a plea of guilty, entry of a plea of nolo contendere, or
entry of an order granting pretrial or judicial diversion;
e. The license holder has been convicted, has
pled guilty or entered a plea of nolo contendere to a sex offense, as defined
by federal or state law, shall result in immediate suspension or revocation;
or
f. The license holder has
received probation or post-release supervision for a felony or sex offense
conviction, as defined by federal or state law, which shall result in immediate
suspension or revocation until expiration of the probationary or postrelease
supervision period;
g. The license
holder knowingly and willfully committing any of the acts affecting validity of
mandatory uniform test results as provided in Section
37-16-4(1),
Mississippi Code of 1972.
h. The
license holder has engaged in unethical conduct relating to an educator/student
relationship as identified by the State Board of Education in its
rules;
i. The license holder has
fondled a student as described in Section
97-5-23, had any type of sexual
involvement with a student as described in Section
97-3-95; or
j. The license holder has failed to report
sexual involvement of a school employee with a student as required by Section
97-5-24.
iii. Dismissal or Suspension
a. Dismissal or suspension of a licensed
employee by a local school board pursuant to Section
37-9-59, Mississippi Code of 1972,
may result in the suspension or revocation of license for length of time, which
shall be determined by the commission and based upon the severity of the
offense.
b. Any offense committed
or attempted in any other state shall result in the same penalty as if
committed or attempted in this state.
c. Violations of the Mississippi Educator
Code of Ethics
1. Violations of Standard 1.2
(Misuse or mismanagement of tests or test materials) that affect the validity
of mandatory uniform test results as provided in Section 37- 16-4 (1)
2. Violations of Standard 2 (Trustworthiness)
that result in a felony conviction
3. Violations of Standard 3 (Unlawful Acts)
(felony and sex offense convictions)
4. Violations of Standard 4 (Educator/Student
Relationships)
5. Violations of
Standard 7 (Public Funds and Property) that result in a felony
conviction
6. Violations of
Standard 6 (Alcohol, Drug and Tobacco Use or Possession) that result in
termination and/or a felony conviction
7. Violations of Standard 9 (Maintenance of
Confidentiality) that affect the validity of mandatory uniform test results as
provided in Section
37-16-4(1)
8. Violations of Standard 10 (Breach of
Contract or Abandonment of Employment)
All other violations of the Educator Code of Ethics should be
addressed by the local school district. Failure to report sexual involvement of
a school employee with a student as required by Section 975-24 may result in
the revocation or suspension of a license.
Reporting Instructions for School District
Superintendents
Should any of the previously named infractions occur in your
jurisdiction result in a felony or sex offense conviction in a court of law (in
or out-of-state), please complete Appendix C reporting form and submit to the
Office of Educator Licensure at the Mississippi Department of Education within
ten days. Failure by the school district to report to the OEL within 10 working
days, however, does not negate the continuing reporting duties by the
Superintendent as required by law, or supersede or affect the statutory
authority of the Commission on Teacher and Administrator Education,
Certification and Licensure and Development from suspending or revoking an
educator license pursuant to Miss Code Ann Section
37-3-2. MDE will secure certified
court records in the case and proceed with a disciplinary hearing before the
Certification Commission to determine if the license should be revoked.
Should any of the previously named infractions occur in your
jurisdiction that do not result in a felony or sex offense conviction in a
court of law, please follow this procedure for reporting the infraction to the
Mississippi Department of Education:
1. Initiate an internal investigation in your
district and gather appropriate documentation of the infraction.
2. Should the investigation exceed ten
working days from the alleged infraction, submit just the notarized Appendix C
reporting form to ensure timely reporting of the infraction. Other
investigative documents can be sent in once the investigation is
complete.
3. Attach any
documentation pertinent to the case, such as copy of the school board minutes
showing action taken, correspondence between the district and the educator,
signed affidavits regarding facts of the case, etc. Affidavits should be signed
and notarized.
Once submitted to the Office of Educator Licensure (OEL) at
the Mississippi Department of Education, OEL will contact the district if
additional documentation is needed prior to a hearing. A disciplinary hearing
will be scheduled before the Certification Commission to determine if the
license of the educator should be revoked or suspended. School district
personnel with first-hand knowledge of the infraction would need to be present
at the hearing to testify to the facts of the
case.
