Script for screencast
1) Front page (hook)
a. Have you ever been given a “compliment” at school by a supervisor that seems
inappropriate? What should you do?
2) What is my ethical dilemma
a. The district superintendent is visiting the school and passes you in the hall. When
he passes you he says, “Man, I wish I would have had a teacher like you when I
was in school! Maybe I would have paid more attention!” and winked. This is not
the first time it has happened. Should the teacher report this behavior? If she does
report it, will her job be protected?
3) Specific standards it relates to in TX/NEA code
a. In both the Texas and the National Education Association Code of Ethics, sexual
harassment between professional colleagues is not explicitly mentioned, in fact
the NEA Code completely leaves out commitment to other professionals.
b. In the Texas Code of Ethics, standard 1.7 says “The educator shall comply with
state regulations, written local school board policies, and other state and federal
laws.” Title 7 prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender, sex, race, religion,
etc. by an employer, and Title 9 prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in any
federally funded education program or activity.
c. 2.4 talks about educators not interfering with a colleague's exercise of rights and
responsibilities, and 2.5 talks about discrimination.
4) What issue does the dilemma relate
a. Sexual harassment in the workplace is a violation of basic civil rights and
antidiscrimination laws.
5) What else needs to be known
a. To properly assess the situation, I would need to know how many times and
where the superintendent has made inappropriate comments, if the teacher has
kept records of them, if anyone else heard them, and if the teacher wants to move
forward with the formal complaint process.
6) 4 possible courses of action
a. There are four possible courses of action I could take.
b. I could confront him.
c. I could use the chain of command at the school or the district to resolve it
informally, usually by involving the principal.
d. I could file a formal grievance against him with the school board.
e. Or I could keep ignoring it and avoid him.
7) Identify some of the consequences
a. There are many ways a harasser and a victim can respond in these situations,
especially taking into account individual personalities, work environment, school
board policies, and colleague reactions.
b. By confronting him, I am dealing with the situation head on to nip it in the bud,
but it really all depends on how he takes the criticism for this plan to work. This is
a hard path to take for people that don’t like confrontation or are too shy to.
c. He could apologize and not do it again, or he could become embarrassed, take
offense and retaliate by targeting my job.
8) Supreme Court rulings
a. The teacher cannot file a lawsuit if there is no actionable discrimination or
retaliation against her. She can try and hold the district accountable in court if she
is fired, but she cannot sue the superintendent just because he made some
inappropriate remarks towards her, there are steps she must take.
b. I could not find any case law about employee-to-employee harassment
culminating in termination under Title 9, but these three cases relate to the
dilemma by setting precedence for harassment and retaliation in the workplace.
9) What I would do?
a. I would directly, yet tactfully and calmly, confront the superintendent and make it
clear that his comments are unprofessional, unwelcome and will not be tolerated.
10) Commitment statement
a. I wrote my commitment statement to include ethical behavior on my part no
matter what my colleagues do.
11) What could go wrong
a. A negative consequence of my confrontation could be that my plan backfires and
blows up in my face. He could say that he was just kidding and that I need to
lighten up, or he could tell my principal that I need to be watched closely because
I like to make false accusations.
b. He could completely blow me off and keep making the remarks, or worst case
would be that I eventually get fired.
12) My plan if something goes wrong
a. If something went wrong, I would try and correct the situation by being respectful
and staying calm, always bringing a colleague along to witness my interactions
with him, keeping thorough records and bringing the principal into it.
b. If I had to I would hire a lawyer to litigate my wrongful termination.
13) To conclude
a. In a nutshell, the teacher needs to deal with the superintendent right away, face to
face. If he does not stop, she needs to move forward with a formal grievance
process. Her job would be protected under the Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission and Texas’ fair employment laws since retaliation is unlawful.
References
Burlington Industries, Inc. v. Ellerth. (n.d.). Oyez. Retrieved October 12, 2015, from
https://www.oyez.org/cases/1997/97-569
Faragher v. City of Boca Raton. (n.d.). Oyez. Retrieved October 12, 2015, from
https://www.oyez.org/cases/1997/97-282
FindLaw (2008). Discrimination by Supervisors: Is It Actionable? Retrieved from
http://corporate.findlaw.com/litigation-disputes/discrimination-by-supervisors-is-itactionable.html
National Education Association (2009). Code of ethics. Retrieved from
http://www.nea.org/home/30442.htm
Texas Administrative Code. (2010). Code of Ethics and Standard Practices for Texas
Educators. Retrieved from
http://texreg.sos.state.tx.us/public/readtac$ext.TacPage?sl=R&app=9&p_dir=&p_rloc=&p_tloc=
&p_ploc=&pg=1&p_tac=&ti=19&pt=7&ch=247&rl=2
Texas Administrative Code. (2011). Purpose and Scope; Definitions. Retrieved from
http://texreg.sos.state.tx.us/public/readtac$ext.TacPage?sl=R&app=9&p_dir=&p_rloc=&p_tloc=
&p_ploc=&pg=1&p_tac=&ti=19&pt=7&ch=247&rl=1
U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division (2001). Title IX Legal Manual.
Retrieved from http://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/crt/legacy/2010/12/14/ixlegal.pdf
U.S. Equal Emloyment Opportunity Commission (2010). Selected Supreme Court
Decisions. Retrieved from http://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/history/35th/thelaw/supreme_court.html
U.S. Equal Emloyment Opportunity Commission (2010). Title VII of the Civil Rights Act
of 1964. Retrieved from http://www.eeoc.gov/laws/statutes/titlevii.cfm