Douglas, State Board of Education Craft Legislation To Resolve Litigation

Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Diane Douglas and the Arizona State Board of Education (SBE) today announced that pending legislation supported by legislative leadership and the Governor’s Office will settle the ongoing litigation between the two parties.

An amendment to HB2620 is designed to eliminate the need for continued legal proceedings. The legislation specifies that SBE will be responsible for the hiring and supervision of its four employees, while the Department of Education will have the sole authority to employ and oversee the work of all investigators responsible for reviewing cases of educator misconduct.

According to the Superintendent’s office, both parties remain “committed to doing what is best for Arizona students and are calling on all legislators to support the legislation. With the adoption of the agreement, the Superintendent and SBE will avoid spending more time and money in court and can continue working together to ensure that every Arizona student has access to an excellent education.”

Related article: Douglas Exposes Dangerous Failures Of State Board Of Education

In December, the Arizona Department of Education discovered a chaotic teacher discipline system, operated by the SBE, and a backlog of cases. The Department’s report showed that the State Board of Education has failed to protect students from unprofessional teachers.

The SBE has forced an expensive legal battle amounting to a power grab. Although the SBE has claimed that statute gives it the authority over staff, including investigators, evidence shows that Douglas is correct in her assertion that the staff, who serve the SBE, do so under direction of ADE.

Miller, whose combative behavior has spurred a campaign to oust him from the SBE, has claimed that statute provides that the ADE is responsible for teacher certification unit and the SBE is responsible for the investigative unit. He asserted that the two units had been under the ADE until 1998. However, Douglas produced an email from 1998 in which it is clear that staff – not statute – divided the two units.

In the 1998 email, the SBE’s executive director at the time, who started in as an administrative assistant, made the decision to shift the investigative unit from under the supervision of the ADE’s Certification Unit to under the SBE’s supervision.

Today’s agreement will essentially codify the suggestions Douglas offered months ago in her effort to end the lawsuit.

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