New Jersey Employment Law Decision Examines Suspension and Revocation of Teaching Certificates

New Jersey employment law requires teachers and other public education employees to hold teaching certificates, or other certificates as appropriate to the position, as a prerequisite to holding their job.  A New Jersey appeals court recently examined the legal principles involved when the New Jersey State Board of Examiners determines whether to suspend or revoke a teacher’s teaching certificates in the case of In the Matter of the Certificates of Rita O’Malley by the State Board of Examiners.

 

Background

Rita O’Malley was a special education teacher.  She held several teaching certificates.  She was employed by the Woodbridge Township School District as a Learning Disabilities Teacher Consultant (“LDTC”), for which she was licensed,.  She tested students, diagnosed learning disabilities, developed individualized education plans (or “IEPs”), and provided guidance to parents and educators on the best programs for those students.

Parents informed the School District that their child had not been tested, and the District began an investigation.  It discovered omissions and discrepancies in test results including incorrect test results, scores for tests that were never given, missing test scores for tests actually given, failure to administer tests, other testing deficiencies, and discrepancies in O’Malley’s requests for mileage reimbursement.  It also found that she misrepresented that she held a doctorate degree on several websites.

 

Tenure Charges

The School District certified tenure charges against O’Malley, after which she resigned.  The District accepted the resignation.  However, O’Malley never responded to the tenure charges.  Since the charges were uncontested, the New Jersey Commissioner of Education upheld them and formally dismissed her.

 

Revocation Proceedings Before the New Jersey State Board of Examiners

Thereafter, the New Jersey Board of Examiners filed an action to revoke her teaching certificates.  O’Malley opposed these charges.  An administrative law judge (“ALJ”) in the New Jersey Office of Administrative Law held a hearing.  The ALJ dismissed the charges of falsifying her mileage reimbursement and falsely claiming that she had a doctoral degree.  However, the ALJ sustained the remaining charges.  Rather revoking her teaching certificates, however, the ALJ recommended that they be suspended for three years.  The ALJ reasoned that O’Malley had already been punished enough through losing her tenured job and her prior history was without blemish.

 

The Appellate Division Examines the Standards for Suspending or Revoking Teaching Certificates

The Board of Examiners disagreed, finding that O’Malley’s conduct was a pattern, and therefore revoked her teaching certificates.  O’Malley appealed to the New Jersey Commissioner of Education, who upheld the Board of Examiners’ decision to revoke O’Malley’s teaching certificates, explaining that this was warranted because of how critical the testing she was supposed to administer was to the success of the students.

O’Malley appealed to the Appellate Division of the Superior Court of New Jersey, which hears appeals from New Jersey’s state administrative agencies, including the New Jersey Department of Education.

The Appellate Division upheld the Board’s and Commissioner’s decision to revoke O’Malley’s certificates.  It began by explaining that New Jersey courts generally defer to administrative agencies’ decisions, particularly findings of fact.  As long as there is no mistake of law will defer to their decisions unless they are arbitrary, capricious, or unreasonable.  The Appellate Division explained that the law allows the Board of Examiners to revoke or suspend teaching certificates if the employee demonstrates “inefficiency, incapacity, conduct unbecoming a teacher, or other just cause.”  This deference includes deferring to an agency’s determination of penalties, provided they are not shockingly disproportionate to the offense.

In applying those legal principles to the findings of fact, the court explained that:

Here, there was sufficient credible evidence in the record supporting the determinations by the Board and the Commissioner that O’Malley engaged in conduct warranting revocation of her teaching certificates. Based on the uncontroverted evidence presented during the OAL hearings, O’Malley failed to administer critical tests to students and failed to properly record the results of the tests she did administer. Her failures affected students who required additional educational services. O’Malley’s actions directly related to her fitness to discharge her LDTC duties, and the Board had the power to revoke her teaching certificates under the circumstances.

By repeatedly failing to carry out critical components of special education testing necessary to determine a student’s special educational needs, O’Malley was unfit to discharge her duties as an LDTC. Under the circumstances, the decision to revoke rather than suspend O’Malley’s teaching certificates was not so egregious as to shock one’s sense of fairness given the severity and extent of her errors.

 

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Our New Jersey employment attorneys represent teachers, administrators and other public school employees in all areas of New Jersey or employment law, including fighting revocation or suspension of teaching certificates, tenure charges, and Donaldson Hearings.  Call us at (973) 890-0004 or fill out the contact form on this page to inquire about a consultation with one of our New Jersey employment lawyers.  We can help.