Florida employees and employers know that there are rules and guidelines that govern what is and is not considered acceptable behavior in a workplace. This is so regardless of the industry or job type or level. Any business in the retail, hospitality, food service, healthcare and other fields must all grapple with laws and employee training. This training can cover topics like sexual harassment, the FMLA, employment regulations and other items related to the preservation of colleagues’ and employees’ civil rights.
The education sector is not immune from these issues and when individual school districts do not take action in a manner that the state considers to be satisfactory, the state can step in. Such is the case in Palm Beach County today as the State Education Practices Committee faces an upcoming decision regarding a former middle school assistant principal. The man is accused of making sexually inappropriate comments to multiple teachers as well as to one eighth grade female student.
Reports indicate that one of the teachers involved resigned from her position partway through the school year due to the alleged ongoing harassment. The lack of response or action on the part of the school’s principal or school district contributed to her decision to leave. The man’s position as assistant principal was not renewed for the subsequent year. Instead he accepted a teaching role at a different middle school. On September 15, the state will decide whether or not to take a stand under employment law and revoke the man’s license to teach for two years.
People involved in situations like these may wish to consult with an attorney. The many complications in these cases can be difficult to understand.
Source: Sun Sentinel, “Ex-assistant principal demoted to teacher could lose job over sexual comments,” Scott Travis, August 16, 2015
