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SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Education Association says a new set of regulations violates teachers' rights to due process in disciplinary hearings.
The teachers union is suing the Utah State Board of Education, claiming the new rules are unconstitutional and that the board didn't follow proper rule-making procedures when enacting them this year.
In March, the Utah Legislature passed HB345, which primarily prohibited sex offenders from getting a teaching license in the state. But the bill also amended the State School Board's rule-making authority over the Utah Professional Advisory Commission, an advisory group to the board that manages teacher licensure in Utah.
On July 8 and Dec. 8 this year, the State School Board adopted rules that allow the board to consider evidence against teachers in disciplinary cases without having the teacher present, according to a complaint filed last week in 3rd District Court.
Moreover, the new rules don't give teachers access to other evidence that the board may consider in a case, "nor do they require the board to even inform educators when this 'other evidence' is being examined," the complaint states.
Mike Kelley, spokesman for the UEA, said the union tried but was unable to adequately address its concerns with the State School Board.
"We only filed the complaint after multiple attempts to work collaboratively with the State Board of Education to implement rules that would comply with state law," Kelley said. "The rules that were implemented did not include some of the concerns that were addressed in those meetings."
The UEA, which represents roughly 18,000 teachers in the state and provides legal representation for members who are under investigation, asked for a public hearing to dispute the regulations before they were adopted.
But the hearing was held only with the board's Law and Licensing Committee, which didn't satisfy requirements of the Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act, according to the UEA.
Kelley said the union hopes the lawsuit will lead to a revised set of rules that don't infringe on constitutional rights of teachers.
"We're just requesting that the court suspend the regulations that were put in place until they have a chance to amend them so that they comply with the law," he said.
Mark Peterson, spokesman for the Utah State Office of Education, said "our attorneys will answer the lawsuit," but he declined further comment on the suit.
