Several court cases have been going on lately of teachers who have committed crimes against students. The consequences are always different depending on the crime that was committed and the district.
For instance, in Ammon, Idaho, a 28 year old P.E. teacher, Kari Atkinson, was arrested this month for sexually encountering a 14-year-old male student at Sandcreek Middle School.
“Typically, the employee is put on administrative leave while the school district does our own investigation,” said Melinda Colton, Director of Communication.
The case is different if a teacher who has a criminal background comes in and wants a job. Then it really depends on different things. First, the teacher must fill out an application, and on that application, at the bottom it asks about their criminal background.
The teachers are expected to answer the application truthfully, but either way the district may do a background check just in case. If the teacher lies on the application, then they won’t get hired. If the teacher is honest about their criminal background, then it has to go through the district.
The crime determines if the teacher will receive the job or not. It’s not only the district that has to deal with criminal teachers. “Everything that happens at the school, crime or not, falls back on the principal,” said Principal Brad Sorensen.
As far as Jordan School District goes, there has been no recent serious crimes a teacher has committed.
“Criminal activity is not a common occurrence among our employees.
It is the district’s job to make sure we have the best teachers possible in our classroom,” Colton added.
When it comes to consequences for crimes that teachers commit, it all depends on the crime and the district.