From time to time a Texas teacher will find they have been complained about to their licensing Board. These Formal complaints made to the Texas State Board for Educator Certification, a subsidiary organization to the Texas Education Agency, can be made by a member of the public, a fellow teacher, someone in the chain of administrative command—almost anyone, really. And such a complaint can lead to strong disciplinary action against the teacher’s license or teacher’s certificate. This may even include revocation of licensure.
While license revocation by the Board is not exactly a loss of a job, it is effectively the same thing—since the law in Texas is that a teacher at our public schools is required to meet the requirement of having a teaching license granted by the Board.
The Board is responsible for overseeing every element of teacher preparation and certification of public school educators in Texas, and it maintains the standards of conduct to which these highly-dedicated professionals are to be held.
The complaint process is part of this regime. Complaints serve as initiatory actions that kick off an investigation when it is found that the allegations made in a complaint, if true, would amount to professional misconduct.
Not every complaint sees license revocation as its ultimate outcome, however. There are various levels of disciplinary action, and various actions the Board can take. It may take the following actions:
- Require a person to withdraw from an educator preparation program;
- Place restrictions on the issuance, renewal, or holding of a certificate, either indefinitely or for a set term;
- Issue a non-inscribed reprimand, which is a formal, unpublished censure that does not appear on the face of the educator’s official certification records;
- Issue an inscribed reprimand, which is a formal, published censure that appears on the face of the educator’s official certification records;
- Suspend a certificate for a set term or
- Revoke or cancel, which includes accepting the surrender of a certificate without opportunity for reapplication for a set term or permanently.
Therefore, from the earliest possible moment after receiving the notice of a complaint, a teacher should contact an experienced professional defense attorney to help. We aid Texas educators in keeping their licenses in good standing when those licenses are under attack by the Board. If you are facing disciplinary action, contact us today or call (512) 476-5757 and schedule a case evaluation. We here at BERTOLINO LLP are skilled at assisting educators in doing everything that can be done to ensure the most favorable possible outcome to their cases.
Contact a Texas Teacher License Defense Attorney Today
With offices in Austin, Houston, and San Antonio, we serve clients all over the state. Contact us today or call (512) 476-5757 and schedule a case evaluation.
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