Teachers with a history of sexual misconduct can still get jobs
From 2001 to 2005 there were 69 teachers in Minnesota that had their licenses revoked, suspended, or denied because of sexual misconduct. One-third of the victims were students, according to WCCO.
Troubled pasts like this don't always come up in background checks that schools are required to do. Only felonies and gross misdemeanor charges show up in the background check, leaving out any trouble a teacher may have had just because they were never charged with a crime.
The 69 teachers with a troubled past is only a small fraction of Minnesota's 52,800 licensed teachers, but is still cause for concern for legislators and families, according to WCCO.
One teacher, Patrick Holmes, had his license suspended after writing notes about his desires and thoughts to one of his students in Deer River. He was instructed to take therapy before his license would be reinstated, He now teaches in another district in Minnesota, according to Minnesota Public Radio.
Tom Knoll, who was not the superintendent and is now at the school Holmes now works at, was not aware of Holmes past. Knoll said that if he had been superintendent at th time and had uncovered Holmes licensing record, he would have never been interviewed.
Holmes did not respond to phone messages and e-mail messages from the AP seeking comment.
*both articles were from the Associated Press, one just providing more detail on specific cases of teacher's with a problematic past.