Hostile Work environment and service to SPED children not met

[wltice]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

Massachusetts

Our elementary school currently has on staff a SPED teacher who calls in sick chronically, has gone out on STD, submits false reports, does not meet the requirements of the IEPs of children she is suppose to service and is hostile and verbally assaults teachers in front of children and collegues. We ( 7 teachers) lodged a complaint with administration - but due to disability laws - and professional status (union protection) and lack of 3 years worth of poor reviews ( she has not accumulated a full year due to STD each year - to receive a "fair " review) we have been told by administration that we have no recourse. We are meeting with our union rep to escalate this issue. Our feeling is that it's a hostile environment when we are verbally attacked and a professional liability when an IEP is not being carried out with total hours and services expected by parents.

Is this justified?

[SHORTY LONG]

And what is or are your Legal Question[s]?

[wltice]

Originally Posted by SHORTY LONG

And what is or are your Legal Question[s]?

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

Massachusetts

Our elementary school currently has on staff a SPED teacher who calls in sick chronically, has gone out on STD, submits false reports, does not meet the requirements of the IEPs of children she is suppose to service and is hostile and verbally assaults teachers in front of children and collegues. We ( 7 teachers) lodged a complaint with administration - but due to disability laws - and professional status (union protection) and lack of 3 years worth of poor reviews ( she has not accumulated a full year due to STD each year - to receive a "fair " review) we have been told by administration that we have no recourse. We are meeting with our union rep to escalate this issue. Our feeling is that it's a hostile environment when we are verbally attacked and a professional liability when an IEP is not being carried out with total hours and services expected by parents.

Is this justified? Is there any recourse we have for removing this woman from our school?

[cbg]

The term, hostile work environment, has a very specific meaning under employment law, and what you have described does not meet the definition.

I'm not saying you don't have some sort of recourse under your contract - I haven't read your contract so I don't know. But I would avoid calling it an HWE because your situation does not meet the legal definition and it will weaken your case if you appear to be claiming things you cannot support.

[xylene]

Originally Posted by wltice

Is there any recourse we have for removing this woman from our school?

'WE' in your question are employees correct?

The 'we' do nothing.

I suggest you quit and go to a non-union district if you are so sick of the great pensions, tenure, and job security that the union affords.

I also suggest that your whining cabal should re-evaluate your position and not 'force' the administrations hand.

[wltice]

Your response surprised me. A child and teacher go through a lot of testing, intervention and worry prior to bringing a child up for testing and evaluation for Special Ed. The threshold is very high for a child to be put on an IEP. If services are not being given according to this legal document due to a department chair teacher-
then these children - our most vulnerable- lose more ground then they have already. If not showing up to work- due to a disability - and working the system to take days off - due to the disability - results in loss of services for those kids- then
your response is to thank my lucky stars that I have tenure and that's just too bad for all those kids?!

I would like to have her transferred to an administrative position and have teaching return to that department in my school.

If someone has experience with Union law in this area - I'd like some insight on how we could proceed.

[perroloco2]

My only experience with union law is having a contract that is probably similar to yours. The SPED resource teachers in my district have the same concern about their students as in yours. I can tell you what we've been told, and if you can find anything in your contract that would support a different action, then act on it.

Generally, the teacher is not liable for lack of services as long as the reasons are documented, and the reasons are the result of the district's action or inaction. In your case, the children who are not receiving services are not your students, so there is no liability for you. The liability is the district's. Unfortunately for the students, you have no dog in this fight.

In our district, the resource teachers are often pulled to cover other duties, thereby losing a significant amount of time with their students. Our union has suggested that their only recourse is to document the loss in a memo to their principals (a brief and matter-of-fact memo) and copy the memo to the union president. We can't MAKE the district do anything different. Now, if the parents found out about it and complained, that might make a difference..... However, telling parents about the situation would be a terminable offense.

With regard to the offensive employee, I doubt that your union will have much impact on that situation either. Again, our union would advise that every inappropriate or unprofessional incident be documented by the teacher who was involved. So, when someone is verbally assaulted by the teacher, that person should document the assault in a letter to the principal and copy it to the union. Same goes for the falsified reports if you can prove it.

I'm sure your district must have language in the contract that allows them to terminate, or at least remediate, a teacher in cases of gross or persistent misconduct. If you document every incident, then you give them some motivation to act.

[wltice]

Thanks for your insight. Documentation has been kept for 3 years and was shown to administration and legal counsel ( administration has brought in for their concerns of disability laws and negligence of IEP contracts and submitted their own documentation).

At this point - teachers and administration are focusing on her inability to sustain the duties for the job and that this SPED teacher's disabilities and chronic absences do not allow her to perform her job duties for these kids. She's been unable to work a full school year in 6 years.

Thanks again for your time.

[xylene]

You are not an administrator.

That is the bottom line.

They, the administrators, are free to place your meticulously crafted memos and concerns in the circular file and ignore them.

If they have decided that 'disability laws' mean they can't get rid of her... then it is not your place to convince them otherwise.

[eerelations]

Bottom line is, there's absolutely nothing you can do. Management has the legal right to ignore this problem.