Current through Vol. 42, No. 1, September 16, 2024
Teachers at the Oklahoma School for the Deaf and Oklahoma
School for the Blind are charged with the education of their students. In order
to perform effectively, teachers must demonstrate a belief in the worth and
dignity of each human being, recognizing the supreme importance of the pursuit
of truth, devotion to excellence, and the nurture of democratic
principles.
(1)
Principle I -
commitment to the students. The teacher must strive to help each student
realize his or her potential as a worthy and effective member of society. The
teacher must work to stimulate the spirit of inquiry, the acquisition of
knowledge and understanding, and the thoughtful formulation of worthy goals. In
fulfillment of the obligation to the student, the teacher:
(A) shall not unreasonably restrain the
student from independent action in the pursuit of learning;
(B) shall not unreasonably deny the student
access to varying points of view;
(C) shall not deliberately suppress or
distort subject matter relevant to the student's progress;
(D) shall make reasonable effort to protect
students from conditions harmful to learning or to health and safety;
(E) shall not intentionally expose the
student to embarrassment or disparagement;
(F) shall not on the basis of race, color,
creed, sex, national origin, marital status, disability, political or religious
beliefs, family, social or cultural background, or sexual orientation,
unfairly:
(i) exclude any student from
participation in any program;
(ii)
deny benefits to any students; or
(iii) grant any advantage to any
student;
(G) shall not
use professional relationships with students for private advantage;
and
(H) shall not disclose
information about students obtained in the course of professional service,
unless disclosure serves a compelling professional purpose and is permitted or
required by law.
(2)
Principle II - commitment to the profession. The teaching
profession is vested by the public with a trust and responsibility requiring
the highest ideals of professional service. In order to assure that the quality
of the services of the teaching profession meets the expectations of the State
and its citizens, the teacher shall exert every effort to raise professional
standards, fulfill professional responsibilities with honor and integrity,
promote a climate that encourages the exercise of professional judgment,
achieve conditions which attract persons worthy of the trust to careers in
education, and assist in preventing the practice of the profession by
unqualified persons. In fulfillment of the obligation to the profession, the
educator:
(A) shall not in an application for
a professional position deliberately make a false statement or fail to disclose
a material fact related to competency and qualifications;
(B) shall not misrepresent his/her
professional qualifications;
(C)
shall not assist any entry into the profession of a person known to be
unqualified in respect to character, education, or other relevant
attribute;
(D) shall not knowingly
make a false statement concerning the qualifications of a candidate for a
professional position;
(E) shall
not assist an unqualified person in unauthorized practice of the
profession;
(F) shall not disclose
information about colleagues obtained in the course of professional service
unless disclosure serves a compelling professional purpose or is required by
law;
(G) shall not knowingly make
false or malicious statements about a colleague; and
(H) shall not accept any gratuity, gift or
favor that might impair or appear to influence professional decisions or
actions.
(3)
Principle III.
(A) A career
teacher may be dismissed or not re-employed for:
(i) willful neglect of duty;
(ii) repeated negligence in performance of
duty;
(iii) mental or physical
abuse to a child;
(iv)
incompetency;
(v) instructional
ineffectiveness;
(vi)
unsatisfactory teaching performance; or
(vii) any reason involving moral
turpitude.
(B) A
probationary teacher may be dismissed or not re-employed for cause.
(C) A teacher shall be dismissed or not
re-employed, unless a presidential or gubernatorial pardon has been issued, if
during the term of employment such teacher is convicted in this state, the
United States or another state of:
(i) Any
sex offense subject to the Sex Offenders Registration Act in this state or
subject to another state's or the federal sex offender registration provisions;
or
(ii) Any felony
offense.
(D) A teacher
may be dismissed, refused employment or not reemployed after a finding that
such person has engaged in criminal sexual activity or sexual misconduct that
has impeded the effectiveness of the individual's performance of school duties.
As used in this subsection:
(i) "Criminal
sexual activity" means the commission of an act as defined in 21 O.S. §
886,
which is the act of sodomy; and
(ii) "Sexual misconduct" means the soliciting
or imposing of criminal sexual activity.
Added at 15 Ok Reg 1800,
eff 7-1-98; Amended at 19 Ok Reg 1200, eff
7-1-02
