Teacher misconduct bill would have been worth the time

It had to be done - the second sifting of legislators' workload.

Who has time this late in the session to consider every little legislative thing?

There are redistricting maps to pore over, and the little matter of agreeing on next year's budget. Those alone are enough to keep our legislators busy, busy, busy in the next few weeks.

But I was disheartened to see one potentially important bill fall victim to last week's second legislative funnel.

SF 454 would have strengthened reporting requirements for teacher misconduct - a rare-but-still-too-frequent problem in our K-12 schools.

It would have closed a legal loophole that allows teachers accused of misconduct involving students to just walk away from the accusation - killing investigations into their problematic behavior - by negotiating their resignation with the school.

No determination of whether the misconduct occurred, no warning to the next school district to which the teacher applies, no heads-up to the state licensing board - we don't know for sure how often this kind of shuffle happens, but we know for certain that it does. It needs to stop.

SF 454 would have required schools to get to the bottom of allegations of misconduct or abuse even if the accused is no longer employed by the school district.

The bill, introduced by Sen. Bob Dvorsky, D-Coralville, strengthened protections for whistle-blowers and required annual ethics training for school staff.

It required school administrators to report founded cases of misconduct or abuse to state licensers or risk losing their own jobs. It would have made schools safer for nearly a half-million Iowa school children.

But now, it won't.

This wasn't the first time legislators tried to close this dangerous loophole, but for a while, it seemed SF 454 actually had a decent shot of actually becoming law.

Dvorsky crafted the bill with buy-in from all kinds of educational stakeholders. Senators backed it unanimously.

But it was a different story in the other chamber, where House Education Committee Chairman Rep. Greg Forristall, R-Macedonia, yanked the bill from consideration by his committee, effectively killing it.

Other lawmakers say they would have backed the bill if they'd had the chance. Champions of the bill, rightly, are furious.

Some bills deserved to die last week - they were contentious or flat-out wacky. They were a waste of time. SF 454 wasn't one of them.

It's a shame not everyone could tell the difference.

Comments: (319) 339-3154; jennifer.hemmingsen@sourcemedia.net