Vermont Statutes Title 16 Sec. 1700
Terms Used In Vermont Statutes Title 16 Sec. 1700
- Administrator: means an individual licensed under this chapter the majority of whose employed time in a public school, school district, or supervisory union is assigned to developing and managing school curriculum, evaluating and disciplining personnel, or supervising and managing a public school system or public school program. See
- Allegation: something that someone says happened.
- Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
- Applicant: means an individual applying for a license. See
- Educator: means any teacher or administrator requiring a license under this chapter. See
- Hearing panel: means the persons assigned in individual cases to find facts, reach conclusions of law, and make decisions regarding compliance with standards for obtaining, retaining, and renewing licenses. See
- License: means a license to engage in teaching or school administration, as the context requires, in the State and includes, unless the context requires otherwise, the endorsements the licensee has applied for or possesses. See
- Licensee: means an individual licensed under this chapter. See
- Licensing action: means action that suspends, revokes, limits, or conditions licensure or certification in any way and includes warnings, reprimands, probation, and administrative penalties. See
- Office: means the office within the Agency responsible for professional standards and educator licensing. See
- School district: means town school districts, union school districts, interstate school districts, city school districts, unified union districts, and incorporated school districts, each of which is governed by a publicly elected board. See
- Secretary: means the Secretary of Education. See
- Superintendent: means the chief executive officer of a supervisory union and each school board within it. See
- Supervisory district: means a supervisory union that consists of only one school district, which may be a unified union district. See
- Supervisory union: means an administrative, planning, and educational service unit created by the State Board under section 261 of this title, that consists of two or more school districts; if the context clearly allows, the term also means a supervisory district. See
- Teacher: means an individual licensed under this chapter the majority of whose employed time in a public school district or supervisory union is assigned to furnish to students direct instructional or other educational services, as defined by rule of the Standards Board, or who is otherwise subject to licensing as determined by the Standards Board. See
§ 1700. Investigation
(a) Investigation committee. Upon receiving notice of either an applicant‘s appeal of a licensing office decision or an allegation of unprofessional conduct or incompetence on the part of a licensee, the hearing panel administrative officer shall assign one or more of its licensee members to serve on an investigation committee with an investigator and prosecuting attorney assigned by the Secretary of Education to investigate the licensing decision or allegation and make recommendations to the Secretary in accordance with subsections (b) and (d) of this section. Teacher members shall be assigned to assist in the investigation of matters involving teachers and administrator members in matters involving administrators. Members shall not serve on a hearing panel regarding any matter they assisted in investigating. If the administrative officer is unable to assign one or more members to the investigation committee by reason of disqualification, resignation, vacancy, or necessary absence, the officer shall appoint ad hoc members who shall meet the requirements of subsection 1693(b) of this title.
(b) Preliminary review. After conducting a preliminary review of an allegation of unprofessional conduct or incompetence or of a denial of a license based on alleged unprofessional conduct or incompetence, the investigation committee shall make a recommendation to the Secretary regarding whether to conduct a formal investigation.
(c) Formal investigation. If the Secretary decides to conduct a formal investigation, the Secretary shall:
(1) notify the educator and direct the investigation committee to proceed with a formal investigation; and
(2) notify the superintendent of the school district in which the educator may be employed, or if the educator is currently employed as a superintendent, the chair of the board of the supervisory union or supervisory district that employs the superintendent, that the office has commenced a formal investigation of an allegation of unprofessional conduct or incompetence and shall specify the provisions of section 1698 of this title that best describe the allegation.
(d) Recommendation. Upon completing its investigation, the investigation committee shall recommend that the Secretary, with respect to a license application, affirm, or reverse a licensing office decision or, with respect to alleged unprofessional conduct or incompetence, issue, or not issue formal charges.
(e) Professional guidance. In its recommendation as to whether the Secretary should issue formal charges and, if so, what form they should take, the committee may consider the effect it believes its professional guidance may have in mitigating the need for and nature of licensing action. (Added 2005, No. 214 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. July 1, 2007; amended 2013, No. 92 (Adj. Sess.), § 165, eff. Feb. 14, 2014.)