New Iowa law allows teachers to learn identity of accuser prior to investigation

Iowa teachers will be able to find out the names of people who accuse them of wrongdoing before an investigation is complete, reports the Des Moines Register. Opponents of the law believe it will scare off whistleblowers. Teachers will be the only licensed workers in Iowa with the privilege, which is unusual for teachers in other states, too. Lawyers, dentists and other licensed professionals in Iowa have no access to the names of their accusers until an investigation ends and the case moves forward to a disciplinary hearing. The practice follows a 2000 state law that aims to protect whistle-blowers from retaliation. The Iowa agency that oversees teacher licensing provided teachers immediate access to the names of their accusers until last fall, when the attorney general's office warned that the practice violated the 2000 law and could have a chilling effect on reports of wrongdoing.

Officials of the state's largest teachers’ union then successfully pushed for a new law this spring that only applies to teachers. The Iowa Board of Educational Examiners (IBEE) is expected to change its rules to reflect the new law. However, Rep. Mike May, a Republican, described the law as a handout to the Iowa State Education Association (ISEA), a Democratic Party supporter and the state's largest teachers’ union. "I don't think it's in the best interest of the kids and, frankly, I don't think it's in the best interest of the teachers," said May, a former teacher. "I don't think they want to protect people who are doing something they shouldn't be."

Richard Wortmann, a member of IBEE, who is also a teacher, said the number of students and parents whom teachers regularly encounter opens them up to false complaints. The examiners received 82 complaints last year. The complaints included allegations of sexual relationships with students, student abuse, drug-related criminal charges and theft. Educators who are found guilty can be stripped of their state licenses.

Source: Des Moines Register, 5/6/10, By Staci Hupp

[Editor’s Note: The law requires that the complaint and any supporting documents be given to the teacher immediately upon the IBEE’s determination that the jurisdictional requirements have been met and before the investigation starts.  The text of the new law is available at link below titled Sec. 22. Section 272.13, unnumbered paragraph 3, Code 2009 (see page 23, lines 30-35 and page 24, lines 1-19).]