PURPOSE: The State Board of Education is authorized to grant certificates of license to teach in any of the public schools of the state under the provisions of section 168.021.1, RSMo and to establish requirements and qualifications for those certificates and cause those certificates to be revoked, suspended, invalidated or deleted in a manner provided in section 168.071, RSMo. This rule establishes procedures for action by the State Board of Education.

1. (1) The State Board of Education may suspend or revoke a certificate of license to teach upon satisfactory proof of a conviction of a felony or crime involving moral turpitude whether or not sentence is imposed, upon charges being filed by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education or the school district’s local board of education, or upon charges being filed by the school district’s local board of education for incompetency, cruelty, immorality, drunkenness, neglect of duty or the annulling of a written contract with the local board of education without the consent of the majority of members of the board which is a party to the contract. Charges may be filed by the attorney general if the school district has been identified as financially stressed pursuant to section 161.520, RSMo. All charges must be in writing.

   1. (A) Charges must be signed by the chief administrative officer of the district or by the president of the board when so authorized by a majority of the board, if appropriate, in those instances where the charges are filed by or on behalf of the school district’s local board of education.
   2. (B) Charges filed by or on behalf of the school district’s local board of education must be sworn by the party(ies) making the accusation, and filed with the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE).
2. (2) Upon receipt of charges made pursuant to section 168.071, RSMo and filed with DESE, DESE shall provide notice to the parties and may conduct a hearing.

3. (3) Except as provided in sections (4) and (5), the commissioner of education, or his/her designee(s), shall conduct all hearings resulting from conviction of a felony, a crime involving moral turpitude and/or other crime whether or not sentence is imposed, on charges filed to revoke or suspend a certificate(s) of license to teach as provided in section 168.071, RSMo. A transcript of the hearing along with findings of fact and conclusions of law will be forwarded to the members of the State Board of Education. The State Board of Education, at a regular meeting, will render a decision based upon the transcript of the hearing, exhibits and any other information presented at the meeting.

   1. (A) Where the underlying conduct or action of the certificate holder is the basis of charges filed and such conduct or action is subject to pending criminal charges, the certificate holder may request in writing a delayed hearing on advice of his/her legal representation under the fifth amendment of the Constitution of the United States.

      1. 1. The request shall be submitted to the

commissioner of education, or his/her designee(s), by the certificate holder or by legal counsel.

1. 2. The request shall provide documenta-

tion of the pending criminal charge and contain a statement specifying what underlying conduct or actions are subject to the pending criminal charge.

1. (B) The commissioner of education, or his/her designee(s) shall, based upon the application, suspend the hearing process until final disposition of the criminal charges relating to the underlying conduct or actions relating to the charges filed.

1. (4) Upon documentation from a court of a plea of guilty or conviction of the following crime(s) whether or not sentence is imposed, an individual’s certificate of license to teach shall be revoked, or in the case of an applicant, not issued:

   1. (A) Murder 1st Degree;
   2. (B) Murder 2nd Degree;
   3. (C) Arson 1st Degree;
   4. (D) Assault 1st Degree;
   5. (E) Forcible Rape;
   6. (F) Forcible Sodomy;
   7. (G) Kidnapping;
   8. (H) Robbery 1st Degree;
   9. (I) Rape;
   10. (J) Statutory Rape 1st Degree;
   11. (K) Statutory Rape 2nd Degree;
   12. (L) Sexual Assault;
   13. (M) Forcible Sodomy;
   14. (N) Statutory Sodomy 1st Degree;
   15. (O) Statutory Sodomy 2nd Degree;
   16. (P) Child Molestation 1st Degree;
   17. (Q) Child Molestation 2nd Degree;
   18. (R) Deviate Sexual Assault;
   19. (S) Sexual Misconduct Involving a Child;
   20. (T) Sexual Misconduct 1st Degree;
   21. (U) Sexual Abuse;
   22. (V) Incest;
   23. (W) Abandonment of Child 1st Degree;
   24. (X) Abandonment of Child 2nd Degree;
   25. (Y) Endangering the Welfare of a Child 1st Degree;
   26. (Z) Abuse of Child;
   27. (AA) Child Used in a Sexual Performance;
   28. (BB) Promoting Sexual Performance by a Child;
   29. (CC) Trafficking in Children; and

   30. (DD) Offenses Involving Child Pornography and Related Offenses—

       1. 1. Promoting obscenity in 1st degree;
       2. 2. Promoting obscenity in 2nd degree if

penalty is enhanced to Class D Felony;

1. 3. Promoting child pornography in 1st

degree;

1. 4. Promoting child pornography 2nd

degree;

1. 5. Possession of child pornography;
2. 6. Furnishing pornographic materials to

minors;

1. 7. Coercing acceptance of obscene

material; and

1. 8. Sale or rental to persons under seven-

teen (17).

1. (5) An individual who has had their certificate(s) of license to teach revoked pursuant to section (4) may appeal, in writing, said revocation to the commissioner of education within thirty (30) days of notice of the revocation. Upon receiving the intent to appeal, a hearing will be held before a hearing officer designated by the commissioner of education. The individual will be given not less than thirty (30) days notice of the hearing, the opportunity to be heard, and the opportunity for witnesses. A transcript of the hearing along with findings of fact and conclusions of law will be forwarded to the members of the State Board of Education. The State Board of Education, at a regular meeting, will render a decision based upon the transcript of the hearing, exhibits and any other information presented at the meeting. The State Board of Education’s decision may be appealed to the circuit court as provided in section (7).

   1. (A) Testimony from a minor child shall not be required. The hearing officer shall accept into the record the transcript of any testimony admitted at a court hearing of a child involved in an offense listed in section (4).
2. (6) The State Board of Education may suspend or revoke for a specified time, or indefinitely, a certificate of license to teach.
3. (7) Within thirty (30) days of the State Board of Education’s final decision, an individual may appeal to the Circuit Court of Cole County. The appeal shall be de novo and heard with a jury, except in cases of charges of immorality involving a minor child where such case is heard by the court without a jury. Testimony of the minor child shall be taken from the hearing record presented to the State Board of Education.

AUTHORITY: sections 161.092, 168.011 and 168.081, RSMo 1994 and 168.021 and 168.071, RSMo Supp. 1998.* Emergency rule filed March 22, 1999, effective April 1, 1999, expired Sept. 27, 1999. Original rule filed March 22, 1999, effective Sept. 30, 1999. *Original authority: 161.092, RSMo 1963, amended 1973; 168.011, RSMo 1963, amended 1984; 168.021, RSMo 1963, amended 1973, 1984, 1988, 1990, 1998; 168.071, RSMo 1963, amended 1973, 1978, 1984, 1988, 1993, 1998; 168.081, RSMo 1963, 1984.