Arizona Laws 15-514. Immoral or unprofessional conduct; duty to report; immunity; definition
A. Any certificated or noncertificated person or governing board member who reasonably suspects or receives a reasonable allegation that a person certificated by the state board of education or a noncertificated person has engaged in conduct involving minors that would be subject to the reporting requirements of section 13-3620 shall report or cause reports to be made to the state board of education in writing as soon as is reasonably practicable but not later than three business days after the person first suspects or receives an allegation of the conduct.
Terms Used In Arizona Laws 15-514
- Action: includes any matter or proceeding in a court, civil or criminal. See Arizona Laws 1-215
- Administrator: means any school district administrator except a school principal who devotes at least fifty percent of the principal's time to classroom teaching. See Arizona Laws 15-501
- Allegation: something that someone says happened.
- Charter school: means a public school established by contract with the state board of education, the state board for charter schools, a university under the jurisdiction of the Arizona board of regents, a community college district or a group of community college districts pursuant to article 8 of this chapter to provide learning that will improve pupil achievement. See Arizona Laws 15-101
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- Dismissal: The dropping of a case by the judge without further consideration or hearing. Source:
- Governing board: means the governing board of a school district or a county school superintendent in the case of accommodation schools located in such a county. See Arizona Laws 15-501
- person: means an individual, partnership, corporation, association or public or private organization of any kind. See Arizona Laws 15-101
- School district: means a political subdivision of this state with geographic boundaries organized for the purpose of the administration, support and maintenance of the public schools or an accommodation school. See Arizona Laws 15-101
- Subject: means a division or field of organized knowledge, such as English or mathematics, or a selection from an organized body of knowledge for a course or teaching unit, such as the English novel or elementary algebra. See Arizona Laws 15-101
- Superintendent: means the superintendent of schools of a school district. See Arizona Laws 15-501
- Writing: includes printing. See Arizona Laws 1-215
B. The superintendent of a school district or the chief administrator of a charter school who reasonably suspects or receives a reasonable allegation that an act of immoral or unprofessional conduct that would constitute grounds for dismissal or criminal charges by a certificated or noncertificated person has occurred shall report the conduct to the state board of education.
C. A person who in good faith reports or provides information pursuant to this section regarding the immoral or unprofessional conduct of a certificated or noncertificated person is not subject to an action for civil damages as a result.
D. A governing board or school or school district employee who has control over personnel decisions shall not take unlawful reprisal against an employee because the employee reports in good faith information as required by this section. For the purposes of this subsection, "unlawful reprisal" means an action that is taken by a governing board as a direct result of a lawful report pursuant to this section and, with respect to the employee, results in one or more of the following:
1. Disciplinary action.
2. Transfer or reassignment.
3. Suspension, demotion or dismissal.
4. An unfavorable performance evaluation.
5. Other significant changes in duties or responsibilities that are inconsistent with the employee’s salary or employment classification.
E. Failure to report information as required by this section by a certificated or noncertificated person constitutes grounds for disciplinary action by the state board of education.
F. A governing board or school district employee who has control over personnel decisions and who reasonably suspects or receives a reasonable allegation that a person certificated by the state board of education or a noncertificated person has engaged in conduct involving minors that would be subject to the reporting requirements of section 13-3620 and this article shall not accept the resignation of the certificate holder or noncertificated person until these suspicions or allegations have been reported to the state board of education.
G. For the purposes of this section, "noncertificated person" has the same meaning prescribed in section 15-505.