State ed board defers criminal-reporting decision - The Denver Post

State ed board defers criminal-reporting decision - The Denver Post

The state Board of Education Wednesday heard critical comments from education groups over a proposal to require school districts to inform parents if a teacher or other employee has been arrested or charged.

The board scheduled a May 12 vote on the idea, which was called a form of "vigilante justice" by Bradley Bartels, legal counsel for the Colorado Education Association.

The proposal, drafted by state board chair Bob Schaffer, requires that school officials, after consulting with police, "notify all parents of the students enrolled in a school when an arrest is made or charge are brought, whichever occurs earlier, of an employee of the school by any law enforcement agency."

The proposal also requires schools to notify parents within 24 hours of learning the information.

Schaffer said he proposed the notification requirement after revelations surfaced that the Poudre School District did not notify the public when two former employees were charged with felonies involving student victims.

Schaffer said he would take comments from the various groups into account when a final draft of the proposal is voted on in May.