Missouri School Boards' Association Sees Purpose for Confidentiality

Missouri School Boards' Association Sees Purpose for Confidentiality

Date: November 1, 2007
By: Courtney Cox
State Capitol Bureau

Intro: The chairwoman of the House Education Committee plans to file legislation to expose sex offending teachers, but the Missouri School Boards' Association has some reservations.  

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House Education Chair Jane Cunningham says her proposal would ban confidentiality agreements between school districts and teachers.
 
Currently, school districts bound to confidentiality are not allowed disclose details surrounding a teacher's dismissal to other districts.
 
But, a spokesman for the Missouri School Boards' Association, Brent Ghan, says he has reservations about that idea.
 
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Description: "One of the reasons that school boards enter into confidentiality agreements in these cases is in order to reach a settlement with the individual and to avoid addition costs through litigation, in addition to protecting the names of students that may be involved."

Ghan said school districts are putting a higher priority on educating employees on appropriate behavior when it comes to student interaction.

From the state capitol, I'm Courtney Cox.  

 

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