Idaho state regulators have disciplined 28 educators over the past school year for ethical misconduct. The Idaho Professional Standards Commission came out with a report where the ethical violations are outlined.
During the 2016-2017 school year there were 49 opened cases, and in 28 of them the commission found probable cause. The violations range from application discrepancy, breach of contract, inappropriate conduct with a student, substance abuse, theft, and sexual misconduct with a student.
"It's not common," said Lisa Colon Durham, who is Idaho's director of Certification and Professional Standards. "It's definitely not common and that's why we have the code of ethics because it's not to be reactionary, it's to be proactive, but we do have some and we need to make sure we do something about that because ultimately our kids have to be safe."
Colon Durham says the Idaho Professional Standards Commission takes every written complaint seriously. It's important to note ethics violators can be anyone with educator credentials, so that includes administrators.
The number of probable cause ethics violations are down from last year. You can find more details on the cases and how the process works by clicking here.