Alabama has had a problem with teachers having inappropriate relationships with students, and Rep. Mack Butler, R-Rainbow City, is proposing a solution.
Butler introduced a bill, HB409, calling for annual training for teachers "to include instruction on recognizing and avoiding conduct and behavior that is considered inappropriate in the student-teacher relationship."
About Alabama's teachers, Butler said, "99.9 percent of teachers are amazing," Butler said, adding it's only a small fraction of teachers who break the law.
Butler, who filed a similar bill last year, said the issue hit home for him when two of Etowah County's teachers were arrested in early 2016 for allegedly having sex with students. One of those arrested was his son's teacher, and Butler saw the impact of that teacher's removal mid-year on students. Learning was interrupted, he said, and he doesn't want that happening in other children's classrooms.
By requiring annual training for teachers, Butler wants to protect students and keep educators from becoming criminals. Lawmakers passed a law in 2010 making a sex act between a school employee and a student under 19 years old a Class B felony.
Butler said he hopes to hear from people who want to give input about the bill and get a "healthy debate" started. Butler said certainly is open to tweaking it, and it's an opportunity to strengthen protections for students and for teachers.
Butler's bill does not dictate the type of training that should be given. Training would be regulated by the state board of education and should include, at a minimum, information "relating to physical, emotional, and electronic conduct and behavior," the bill reads.
Last year, Sen. Cam Ward, R-Alabaster, introduced the Educator-Student Interaction Training Act, but dropped it after a backlash from educators on social media. Ward's bill called for training on sexual or romantic contact, social media interactions, interactions outside the classroom and the use of corporal punishment and physical restraints in classrooms.
State department of education spokesperson Malissa Valdes-Hubert said their department provides multiple training sessions for teachers, and recently began offering access to a recorded presentation, "The Trouble with Texting Teachers- Avoiding Crossing the Line with Students." Teachers can earn credit for participating, Valdes-Hubert said, adding, "We highly encourage local systems to offer training to their teachers on the subject during professional development days."
AEA President Sheila Hocutt Remington, who taught school for 42 years, said, "As far as the AEA is concerned, we're for anything that protects the students in this state." She supports more training for teachers, especially young teachers, whenever it helps them be more successful in the classroom.
The actual number of cases related to alleged inappropriate relationships investigated by the state department of education has decreased from 2014, Valdes said. Here's a look at those numbers:
| Year | # investigations |
|---|---|
| 2011 | 25 |
| 2012 | 27 |
| 2013 | 35 |
| 2014 | 51 |
| 2015 | 46 |
| 2016 | 36 |
| 2017 | 11 through Mar. 22 |
Alabama schools employ more than 46,000 teachers and an additional 45,000 personnel including librarians, administrators and support personnel, according to the state department's "Quick Facts" publication.
Butler said social media is often the place where those inappropriate relationships start, and in his time as a school board member in Etowah County, they grappled with how to govern how teachers use social media.
Remington agreed social media can be tricky, but said sometimes teachers use social media as a teaching tool, posting homework or other current events to keep students engaged in classroom activities.
Young teachers who have grown up with social media may not see the harm of sharing their personal lives online and "sometimes we have trouble convincing younger teachers to not post personal pictures of themselves on social media" even though it may not be a good idea to do so, Remington said.
Remington offers this advice about social media use: "For the people in education or any professional field that depends on the public for support, I think it's best to leave your personal life out of [social media]."
Butler said the final law will be better if all who are affected by it help him craft the solution and looks forward to discussion about the bill.
Lawmakers are currently on spring break and will return to work on April 4.