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A DUI Conviction for a Credentialled School Teacher

If one is a credentialed private or public school teacher, a DUI conviction can become a problem for one’s career, as it may reflect poorly upon the teacher’s judgment or signal alcoholism or a substance abuse problem.
Under Education Code § 44242.5, the Commission on Teacher Credentialing has jurisdiction to conduct a discretionary review for fitness of a teacher to continue teaching under his or her teaching credential once it is notified that a credentialed teacher has suffered a misdemeanor or felony conviction.
If a credentialed teacher is convicted of DUI, that person will usually receive a letter from the California Department of Social Services, notifying that teacher that a “criminal record exemption” is needed or else that person will be terminated from his or her employment.
An application for exemption requires the submission of many documents, including a signed letter from the applicant explaining what took place, a copy of the court order with the sentence and verification that the applicant was granted informal probation.
Informal probation is associated with a misdemeanor conviction, generally speaking. Formal probation is associated with a felony conviction. A DUI can be a felony if a person other than the driver suffers great bodily injury or death, or the DUI is the fourth or greater conviction for DUI.
It should be understood, however, that a DUI conviction is not grounds to automatically disqualify a teacher. Broney v. California Commission on Teaching Credentialing (2010) 184 Cal. App. 4th 462. Instead, the following seven-part test must be used to evaluate whether the teacher is fit to teach:
  1. The likelihood that the conduct may have adversely affected students or fellow teachers and the degree of such adversity affected (for example was it after a school function, or with fellow teachers, i.e., a Friday-night happy hour);
  2. The proximity or remoteness in time of the conduct;
  3. The type of teaching certificate held by the party involved (multiple subject or single subject, or special education (K-22), for example);
  4. The extenuating or aggravating circumstances, if any, surrounding the conduct (i.e., were there passengers in the teacher’s car at the time, were there injuries, was speed a factor, was another crime involved (i.e., fleeing from police), was the DUI with alcohol, drugs or both);
  5. The praiseworthiness or blameworthiness of the motives resulting in the conduct;
  6. The likelihood of the recurrence of the questioned conduct (is alcoholism a factor, how early after the arrest did the teacher begin attending Alcoholic Anonymous or begin an alcohol dependency treatment program); and
  7. The extent to which the disciplinary action may inflict an adverse impact or chilling effect upon the constitutional rights of the teacher involved or other teachers.
Id., citing Morrison v. State Board of Education (1969) 1 Cal. 3d 214, 224-225; see also 5 Cal. Administrative Code § 80302.
It should be understood that some convictions will result in automatic revocations without a due process review. Education Code §§ 44244 and 44245, which provides such authority, does not specify what types of convictions would meet such automatic revocation, but we would expect any offense, particularly violent sex offenses, classified as a “strike” under California’s Three Strikes Law (Penal Code §§ 667.5(b) – (i) and 1170.12) to merit automatic revocation.
Generally, one misdemeanor DUI will not generate a review, but the decision to review can be very fact specific. Therefore, it is advisable to contact an attorney familiar with the Commission on Teacher Credentialling prior to resolving any DUI case just to be safe. Attorney Jon-Paul Valcarenghi of Sacramento specializes in this area and can be reached at (916) 444-9845.
If the teacher is a California Teacher Association (CTA) member, the union will refer the teacher to attorneys familiar with this area of the law and pay for a one-hour consultation.
Lastly, seeking legal guidance when a teacher renews his or her teaching credential (it must be renewed every five years) can be prudent if the teacher has suffered a conviction or faces a pending criminal matter in answering that part of the renewal application asking about such matters.
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