Perdue signs Safe Schools Act into law

A bill that requires superintendents to report teachers and school administrators that have been recommended for dismissal and resign before the disciplinary process is complete to state authorities was signed into law by Gov. Beverly Perdue during a July 30 ceremony on the campus of Forsyth Tech. “This piece of legislation stops teachers who you really wouldn’t want teaching your child for all kinds of reasons who have some kind of fairly strong accusations or proof against them from county or systems,” Perdue said. “This is really a strong piece of legislation about keeping our children safe and protecting our children from predators and molesters…. This is a big deal for kids in North Carolina.”

A collaborative effort between Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools Superintendent Donald Martin and NC Rep. Dale Folwell (R-Forsyth), the Safe Schools Act stipulates that if a teacher resigns without the written consent of the superintendent, they have essentially forfeited their teaching license pending an investigation by the NC Department of Public Instruction. Teachers who are not recommended for dismissal and resign during the disciplinary process can have their teaching certificate revoked for the remainder of the school year.

“Clearly, this is an issue about protecting children, and it’s also one about having immediate investigations and closure on teacher licenses, and that’s one of the key issues in this bill,” Martin said.

Forsyth County District Attorney Jim O’Neill endorsed the law, saying it gives law enforcement agencies another tool to “go after the people that are hurting our children.”

— Keith T. Barber


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