Arizona Senate President Andy Biggs, Majority Leader Steve Yarbrough and Majority Whip Gail Griffin sent a letter based on misinformation last week to Superintendent of Public Instruction Diane Douglas and State Board of Education President Greg Miller, requesting that they resolve their differences.
The senators wrote the letter “to ensure that State Board of Education investigators have unencumbered access to the documents and information which they need to continue the process of protecting students….” However, in response to their letter, Douglas advised the senators that the investigators have had unencumbered access contrary to the reports in some publications.
Miller has had it out for Douglas since before she was elected. Miller, a Brewer appointee raised money for her opponent David Garcia, in the 2014 General Election and has vigorously defended the Common Core-based lower standards that were rolled out during Brewer’s tenure.
His abusive behavior is now on record with the Arizona Department of Public Safety after Douglas filed a complaint alleging that the grabbed her. Accounts of the encounter vary depending generally on the witnesses’ support for, or against the two parties.
It wasn’t that scuffle that lead State “investigators” to refuse to do their jobs. After Governor Doug Ducey moved the State Board of Education staff to offices in the Executive Tower, the “investigators,” under the direction of Miller, were not allowed to perform their merely clerical duties in the Arizona Department of Education’s offices.
It is the hyperbole employed by Miller, and upon which the senators rely that is most striking. As Douglas notes in her letter, “The term investigator is a misnomer. Investigators with ADE/SBE check on cases where someone has already been convicted or investigated by law enforcement. They check those records, make sure they have the correct person, and recommend suspending, revoking or reinstating a teaching certificate. They also check the records for new certification candidates to ensure they have not been previously revoked. That is it. They do not “protect” children in the sense that many people seem to think of that term. They make an administrative paperwork review on whether someone can be certified with the hope that they prevent past offenders from getting into the system.”
Aside from the fact that they are not investigators, Douglas reveals in her letter that “…there has never even been a suggestion that the investigators have had any difficulty working under the direction of the superintendent of public instruction or the department of education. One of the investigators is the spouse of our third highest ranking department employee. They are and always have been treated with the utmost respect. They were not in any way forced to move out.”
Educators are disappointed that the senators opted to weigh-in before gathering all the facts. They say that our schools are facing real problems and the legislators should focus on those. Instead, they provided fodder for those who are invested in the continuing drama. In a hit piece in the Arizona Republic, columnist Laurie Roberts takes advantage of the senators’ failure to investigate the situation before sending off their missive. She piles on and does her part to ramp up fear writing: “…investigators remain unable to get a look at the records they need to do their jobs and keep kids safe.”
There is a growing grassroots movement to have Ducey call for Miller’s resignation, or in the alternative remove him for cause. Whether Miller intentionally grabbed Douglas, or in a fit of impatience touched her inadvertently, his overall behavior is anything other than conducive to the type of progress that must be made if Arizona is serious about improving our schools.
The Douglas letter reads in its entirety:
Dear Senate Republican Leadership,
I want to thank you for your recent letter of concern regarding the State Board of Education’s responsibility to investigate complaints against certified professionals. I know there has been a great deal of inaccurate rhetoric on this issue and it is not surprising that you would have concerns. I want to fully allay your concerns regarding access to information by describing the situation factually and in detail. Unfortunately, I am unable to confirm the investigators are doing their jobs timely, promptly or accurately as they are not working under my direction as required by Arizona law.
Do investigators have complete access to their files?
Yes. The investigators have now, and always have had, complete access to all of the files necessary to perform their work. All they have to do is show up to their offices at the Department of Education where they have always worked. The investigators illegally moved out of their offices. Make no mistake, if any investigator claims he or she does not have access to the information they need to perform their duties it is a lie. If they do not have access to information it is based on the choice of the investigator and/or at the direction of the executive director of the Board.
I want to reiterate as there is confusion on this issue, there is no restriction on the investigators’ access whatsoever. They just need to show up for work where their boss, the Superintendent, has directed they work. And please note there has never even been a suggestion that the investigators have had any difficulty working under the direction of the superintendent of public instruction or the department of education. One of the investigators is the spouse of our third highest ranking department employee. They are and always have been treated with the utmost respect. They were not in any way forced to move out.
Are children at risk?
Not because of anything related to the litigation. Under the State Board of Education’s own rules and under Arizona Revised Standards, any hint of child abuse must be reported by anyone who is a teacher, school employee, and administrator or otherwise responsible for a child’s welfare:
This includes Greg Miller who is a Charter School Administrator and Board Member. If he knows of any children at risk and has not reported them to law enforcement his charter can be revoked.
Law enforcement investigates the cases of abuse in conjunction with child protective agencies – not the Arizona Department of Education (ADE). If a child is at risk, the police are called. ADE does not have guns, badges, or true investigators. Even civil offenses are referred to the Attorney General or appropriate authority by ADE.
If law enforcement investigate child abuse; what do ADE/SBE investigators do?
The term investigator is a misnomer. Investigators with ADE/SBE check on cases where someone has already been convicted or investigated by law enforcement. They check those records, make sure they have the correct person, and recommend suspending, revoking or reinstating a teaching certificate. They also check the records for new certification candidates to ensure they have not been previously revoked. That is it. They do not “protect” children in the sense that many people seem to think of that term. They make an administrative paperwork review on whether someone can be certified with the hope that they prevent past offenders from getting into the system.
Has this process been slowed or impaired by the court proceedings?
No. In fact, our tracking shows that case processing for those teachers seeking certification has been faster since the court case.
You should be aware that prior to the court case and my taking office, the investigators had a backlog of complaints against certified teachers of up to 12 years in some cases. I was instructing their supervisors to take action to clear up this backlog.
Why not provide remote access to the files?
There are four reasons.
First, we don’t, and never have, provided remote access to the files of individual certified staff and students. Records from law enforcement and others about allegations and charges against staff and names of children who may have suffered abuse are our most important data to secure. We have several levels of data protection and encryption for electronic files in the building. We have had numerous weekly hacking attacks on our data both domestic and foreign, and it is only the systems in our building that maintain a firewall sufficient to secure the information.
Second, most of the files being requested are paper files. We can’t create remote access to paper files.
Third, we can’t hand over the files because our certification staff has to use the same files. If we duplicate every file, which would be a massive effort we have neither staff nor resources to accomplish, we would end up with two sets of files. It would only be a matter of time until the files were different, increasing risk of liability, disclosure, and improper for certification checks.
We also perform certification on site around the state. Certification staff is involved with other staff and often coordinate, are supervised and perform functions of other divisions. Separating investigations staff from them is like pulling on a thread. Pull harder and you unravel the entire certification process. Pull away certification staff and you unravel the entire ADE structure, which will result in catastrophic loss of service to local education agencies (LEAs).
Finally, it would be illegal. I cannot give access to personal files under privacy law and FERPA to employees who are refusing direction, are offsite, and which I have no control over the usage and distribution of such files.
Conclusion
I want to assure you that once the court confirms my obligation and authority to do so, I will continue to direct the employees, including the investigative staff, to do their jobs, show up to their assigned work stations, and perform their duties. Unfortunately, if the staff choose not to show up for work and do their duties, and the SBE continues to interfere with my ability to direct their work, then the consequences fall upon them.
Again, I understand given the purposefully inaccurate claims that “children are at risk” how you would be concerned. Please note that we need not communicate by formal letter. I am happy to meet with each of you personally to discuss these and other issues of concern you may have.
Sincerely Yours,
Diane M. Douglas
Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction