Teacher at Howe Academy in Indianapolis, Ind., suspended for allegedly fondling of two students
Michael Walpole, a teacher at Howe Academy in Indianapolis, Ind., was suspended for allegedly having fondled two female students. He requested the right to conduct evidentiary discovery, i.e., interview witnesses and gather evidence, prior to his disciplinary hearing. When Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS) denied his requested, he filed suit in state court. The Marion County Superior Court ordered IPS to allow him to collect evidence and interview witnesses in advance of any disciplinary hearing. IPS appealed to the Indiana Supreme Court where the court’s five justices heard oral arguments this past week. IPS’s attorney, Ellen Boshkoff, argued that the state’s Teacher Tenure Act provides teachers with sufficient opportunity to defend themselves. She pointed out that IPS’s hearing process, which follows the law, is more akin to a school board investigation than a criminal trial, and provides for all relevant information to be considered. She told the court that in effect the Superior Court ordered IPS not to follow the Teacher Tenure Act. Mr. Walpole’s counsel, Richard Darko, countered that the disciplinary hearing is the only evidentiary hearing he will be entitled to under the law.
Indianapolis Star
By Jon Murray
Full story: http://www.indystar.com/print/articles/3/079702-6533-009.html