CAN I GET FIRED FOR THIS?

[mconnell61]

What is the name of your state? Answer: California

I have been employed with a school district in for over 18 years as a special ed teacher's aide. I am a very hard worker who puts my heart into her work. I have had very good results with these children. The problem I have is that there are many co-workers who are jealous of my results. They are constantly looking for reasons to get me in trouble whether they are real or manufactured. On top of that, I have a principal who hates me because I am not a butt-kisser like all my fellow employees. Recently, one of my special education students had and accident; while walking with her walker on the sidewalk the wheel of her walker became stuck in a hole, she fell and cut her lip. Based on exaggerated and false claims by co-workers who witnessed the accident, the Principal is threatening to fire me. The Principal is placing the blame entirely on me when most of the blame is on the school for not fixing the hole in the sidewalk. This Principal is basically saying that this student was injured because I was not doing my job correctly, which is totally false. In 18 years I have never had an incident like this one and yet they are saying I will be fired if I have any more incidents? Can they fire me for this? If so, can they take my pension?

 

[quincy]

What is the name of your state? Answer: California

I have been employed with a school district in for over 18 years as a special ed teacher's aide. I am a very hard worker who puts my heart into her work. I have had very good results with these children. The problem I have is that there are many co-workers who are jealous of my results. They are constantly looking for reasons to get me in trouble whether they are real or manufactured. On top of that, I have a principal who hates me because I am not a butt-kisser like all my fellow employees. Recently, one of my special education students had and accident; while walking with her walker on the sidewalk the wheel of her walker became stuck in a hole, she fell and cut her lip. Based on exaggerated and false claims by co-workers who witnessed the accident, the Principal is threatening to fire me. The Principal is placing the blame entirely on me when most of the blame is on the school for not fixing the hole in the sidewalk. This Principal is basically saying that this student was injured because I was not doing my job correctly, which is totally false. In 18 years I have never had an incident like this one and yet they are saying I will be fired if I have any more incidents? Can they fire me for this? If so, can they take my pension?

Has the hole in the sidewalk been a recognized hazard for awhile?

In other words, did the school know there was a hole in the sidewalk before the accident? Did you?

 

[adjusterjack]

Teachers in public schools typically have annual contracts that require termination for cause and due process as addressed by the state's education laws.

If you have a contract you need to study it carefully. You also need to study your state's education laws and district procedures.

Otherwise, if you are employed at will then, yes, you can be fired for "this" or any other reason or no reason.

As for your pension, that's another thing you need to study up on because the answer to your question will be found only in the pension rules and regulations.

Frankly, if you've gone 18 years without ever educating yourself about all this, you may be well advised to consult an attorney who specializes in education and contract law before you say or do anything that might come back to bite you.

 

[mconnell61]

Has the hole in the sidewalk been a recognized hazard for awhile?

In other words, did the school know there was a hole in the sidewalk before the accident? Did you?

I do not know if the hole was a recognized hazard for a while or not. My guess is that it has been there for some time which means the school should have know about it. Given the fact that there are several special education students at this school who require walkers and wheel chairs you would think they would make sure that these students have sidewalks to use that are free of hazards like holes and cracks.

As for me, I did not know about the hole until the incident happened.

 

[Eekamouse]

Were you supposed to be walking with her to prevent her from falling or getting an injury?

 

[mconnell61]

Were you supposed to be walking with her to prevent her from falling or getting an injury?

The rules about how close I should be to this student when she is mobile are nebulous at best. When I first started working with her I stuck to her like glue when she was walking. However, as she began to progress with her ability to walk I was told by my Supervisor (the Behaviorist at this school) that I could back off a little so she feels more independent.

The Principal is stating that I was supposed to be holding on to the student while she was walking but she refuses to understand that I was told by the Behaviorist that I do not have to hold on to her at all times when she is walking. I was actually only about 5 feet away from this student when she fell down and hurt her lip.

You would think that the Principal would just ask the Behaviorist if it is true that the rules about how to supervise this particular student when she is mobile constantly change as she progresses but she will not talk to the Behaviorist. She is determined to fire me for no good reason it would seem.

 

[mconnell61]

Teachers in public schools typically have annual contracts that require termination for cause and due process as addressed by the state's education laws.

If you have a contract you need to study it carefully. You also need to study your state's education laws and district procedures.

Otherwise, if you are employed at will then, yes, you can be fired for "this" or any other reason or no reason.

As for your pension, that's another thing you need to study up on because the answer to your question will be found only in the pension rules and regulations.

Frankly, if you've gone 18 years without ever education yourself about all this, you may be well advised to consult an attorney who specializes in education and contract law before you say or do anything that might come back to bite you.

Thank you for that information. I was planning to speak with a Lawyer regarding this situation but I just wanted to ask this forum about it first.

 

[cbg]

If you have been with the district for eighteen years then your pension is almost certainly vested. Once it is vested it cannot be "taken".

 

[HRZ]

As an " AIDE" you probably lack any tenure protection and may or may not be represented by a union that has clout ....and I simply don't know what due process if any applies to staff in your capacity .

IF somebody is out to sack you you need to develop eyes in the back of your head. I get it that you received inconsistent directions...most likely the Principal is in charge of building but the Behavior Specialst has more official clout on IEP matters ...and its your job to balance the two without raising the conflict levels ..in 18 years you should be able to figure that out . IDeally the two of them should work it out .

Bottom line you are going to be accountable for the safety of a child in your care ..and the better course of action is to err on the side of safety ...absent a clear written directive to do something different .

BTW how long has that sidewalk hole been there and was its presence reported ..I have no doubt that Principal is looking to shift attention from an unsafe condition on the premises he is required to manage . I am not saying to go on a witch hunt for every safety issue ...but if there. Is a safety issue in your area which might pose a risk to your students ..you might be wise to report it up the chain of command at least twice and keep good record of same.

Keep good records in some safe off premises location .

Be sure the attorney you contact has solid experience dealing with employees is a public school setting .

 

[commentator]

It does not sound to me like anything has happened other than a warning. "Threatened to fire me" isn't any kind of illegal action, but it does sound rather like in informal description of something that may have actually happened. It sounds to me as though you may have received a warning. Is this the case? If they had you sign something, acknowledge that you had received this warning, that would be the more likely way for them to respond to a student having had an accident.

As has been pointed out, you are going to be accountable if any child in your care falls so that they can show that they have done what they needed to do dealing with this situation. And it may be true that the sidewalk is not in good shape, and that was the cause of the fall, but as it says above, he's trying to cover himself. It just happens to be you who gets the warning. There's really no way you can "appeal the warning" or fight against having received it, unless your hiring and employment situation is rather more protected than usual. That you could determine by contacting an attorney if you cannot find this information out yourself. If you were a regular teacher, there would probably be a very precise set of rules dealing with employment protection and disciplinary processes.

But even in California, as a teacher's aide, I doubt if you have a formal contract, a union, or any sort of tenure or special protections against being terminated unjustly other than the usual EEOC and OSHA protections. As I said, you may want to discuss your situation with an attorney just to verify this, find out exactly what they can and cannot "do to me." Agree with the "vesting" aspect of your getting to keep your pension. But the best thing that can happen in this situation is that you don't get terminated, don't have to fight it out with them, get to keep the job you enjoy and are good at doing.

But do consider something else that one picks up in reading your posts. You may be very very good at working with special needs children, but you do not get along with your supervisor, you do not get along with co workers, you are sort of sounding like a lightning rod for conflict, with everyone lying about you and telling exaggerated stories about you. It's not a good idea to become "difficult employee of the year" here or in any job situation. There is always a bit of politics involved in being a successful employee, no matter how wonderful you are at doing your job specifically. If you cannot get along with your co workers and especially with your higher ups, you may find yourself walked out the door in a legal manner, just simply because they do not enjoy working with you and because with our labor laws (which are very few) they can.

If they want to get rid of you, they can start you on a program of progressive discipline, though you maintain that you are not making ANY mistakes and are doing everything right, and eventually, no one can resist progressive discipline, you'll find yourself walked out the door, fully legally.

In doing your job, and keeping your records of what happens, what is said and done on the job, what you are told, etc. do keep in mind that you do need, as part of doing a good job at your job, to be able to work successfully with co workers and allow your supervisors and managers to do what they need to do. Be cooperative and professional instead of belligerent and loud in asserting that you've done nothing wrong. Most of the time when someone demands, "They can't do this to me, can they?" the answer is not going to be something they like.

 

[ShyCat]

The Principal is stating that I was supposed to be holding on to the student while she was walking but she refuses to understand that I was told by the Behaviorist that I do not have to hold on to her at all times when she is walking. I was actually only about 5 feet away from this student when she fell down and hurt her lip.

Even if you managed to convince the principal that you "do not have to hold on to her at all times when she is walking", there's a big difference from "hold(ing) on to" and "5 feet away". I think it is reasonable to expect that you would stay close enough to grab an unsteady student in order to prevent or minimize a dangerous fall.

 

[HRZ]

Too far away to grab a student with balance problems is too far ...no matter how may feet you claim it to be .

 

[Eekamouse]

The rules about how close I should be to this student when she is mobile are nebulous at best. When I first started working with her I stuck to her like glue when she was walking. However, as she began to progress with her ability to walk I was told by my Supervisor (the Behaviorist at this school) that I could back off a little so she feels more independent.

The Principal is stating that I was supposed to be holding on to the student while she was walking but she refuses to understand that I was told by the Behaviorist that I do not have to hold on to her at all times when she is walking. I was actually only about 5 feet away from this student when she fell down and hurt her lip.

You would think that the Principal would just ask the Behaviorist if it is true that the rules about how to supervise this particular student when she is mobile constantly change as she progresses but she will not talk to the Behaviorist. She is determined to fire me for no good reason it would seem.

Why isn't the Behaviorist going to bat for you if you were just doing as they said?