Let's Talk About the Pennsylvania Code of Professional Practice and Conduct for Educators

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The Pennsylvania legislature has adopted a Code of Professional Practice and Conduct for Educators that defines “interactions between the individual educator and students, the employing agencies and other professionals.” All Pennsylvania public, private, and parochial school teachers along with Pennsylvania childcare center teachers and student teachers are expected to consider themselves governed by this code. A Code of Ethics for Educators in the United States of America with similar guidelines exists as well. The purpose of this blog post is to educate about the overview of the following:

PA Code of Professional Practice and Conduct
PA Educator Discipline Act
PA Professional Standards and Practices Commission and its role in professional disciplinary actions for educators

There are several crucial aspects of the professionalism of educators as well as all employees in all jobs worldwide. In regard to the professionalism of educators in the state of Pennsylvania, there are many policies that reinforce legal and ethical protection and requirements for certified educators and student teachers. The Pennsylvania Code of Professional Practice and Conduct for Educators is the state guidelines for preparation, certification, practice, and ethics within the career field of education. These guidelines define the specific ethical responsibilities, expectations, and commitments that hold educators liable for welfare of their education, health, and safety. Besides educator-to-student interactions, the PA Code of Professional Practice and Conduct for Educators also identifies the ethics that educators should exhibit when interacting with students' families, other professionals, the employing agencies, and the community. This is essential for the protection of the welfare of these individuals as well. The PA Educator Discipline Act is a state law that requires specific conduct and discipline of educators in PA. To elaborate more, the PA Educator Discipline Act outlines the specific types of professional misconduct and what specific disciplinary actions should be taken if these unprofessional actions occur. This law also identifies the steps that are legally required to be taken for reporting and investigating allegations of professional misconduct. The PA Professional Standards and Practices Commission (PSPC) is the independent agency that manages the PA Code of Professional Practice and Conduct for Educators. The PA Department of Education manages the PA Code of Professional Practice and Conduct for Educators as well.

The PSPC plays a very important role when it comes to professional disciplinary actions for educators. To reiterate, in the event that any individual allegedly suspects, witnesses, or experiences being treated with professional misconduct by a PA educator, there are certain procedures that are required for the issue to be addressed. A written complaint must be filed with the PA Department of Education. The next legally required step is for the PA Department of Education to conduct a review and investigation of the alleged concern(s). A Department attorney is expected to identify if the allegations provided in the written complaint are true and grounds for legal discipline according to "legally sufficient," factual evidence (PSPC 2024). The educator who the complaint was filed against and the educational setting(s) that they have been currently or previously employed at are also notified in this case. This is followed by further investigation and other necessary protocols being taken into action to protect and/or discipline all involved parties; however, in the event that "legal sufficiency is lacking, the complaint is dismissed, and the educator and complainant are notified by the Department" (PSPC 2024). Depending on the details of individual educators who exhibit professional misconduct, legal charges can be pressed, and teacher certifications can be taken away. For example, if an educator physically abuses or neglects a student, charges can be pressed with repeal of their certifications if these allegations are reported, investigated, and proven; however, if an educator repetitively does not follow a school or childcare center's arrival time or calling out policies, this behavior is still unethical because all educators must be punctual to provide their students with a consistent and structured routine. As a result, the educator could receive some type of noncriminal discipline, such as a verbal warning, write up, job suspension, probation, and/or job termination while keeping their certifications though.

It is important for educators to always exhibit and maintain ethical behavior when interacting with their students, students' families, colleagues, and the community. When educators have a history of receiving disciplinary action for unethical behavior, this can intervene with their potential future job applications to work in other educational settings and even careers outside of the education field. Their reputations can be negatively affected in this way whether their unethical behavior was criminal or noncriminal. Ethics and professionalism are important because they give educators guidelines for understanding overall expectations.

Outline of Pennsylvania Code of Professional Practice and Conduct for Educators:

I. Section 1: Mission

i. PA guidelines for preparation, certification, practice, and ethics according to the PA Code of Professional Practice and Conduct for Educators managed by the Professional Standards and Practices Commission (PSPC)

II. Section 2: Introduction

i. Explains moral expectations of educators

III. Section 3: Purpose

i. Quality of all teachers' contributions impacts on the nation and its people

IV. Section 4: Practices

i. Professional practices

A. "Behaviors and attitudes that are based on a set of values that the professional education community believes and accepts" (PSPC 2021)

V. Section 5: Conduct

i. Results of violation of code

A. Private or public discipline

B. Loss of certification

VI. Section 6: Legal obligations

i. Public School Code of 1949 and other education laws

ii. Public Official and Employee Ethics Law

VII. Section 7: Certification

i. Prohibitions

A. Hiring or referrals of individuals without required certifications

B. Individuals accepting educator jobs without required certifications

VIII. Section 8: Civil Rights

i. Prohibitions

A. Discrimination based on "race, national or ethnic origin, culture, religion, sex or sexual orientation, martial status, age, political beliefs, socioeconomic status, disabling condition or vocational interest" of students, coworkers, or administrators (PSPC 2021)

B. Sabotaging students' or employees' human rights

IX. Section 9: Improper personal and financial gains

i. Consenting to offers that negatively impact professionalism

ii. Using "professional relationships" for one's own benefits (PSPC 2021)

X. Section 10: Relationship with students

i. Prohibitions

A. Purposeful changes or misreporting student assessments and/or curriculum

B. Sexual harassment/relationship with students

C. Purposeful refusal of reports about legal violations to higher-ups

XI. Professional relationships

i. Prohibited from purposefully rejecting or sabotaging an employee from "a professional right or privilege in being an educator" (PSPC 2021)

Related Links:

Pennsylvania Department of Education's (PDE) Educator Ethics and Conduct Toolkit:

I. Facilitation Notes

i. Introduction

A. Professional development training about ethics for teachers' "ethical decision-making" provided by the Professional Standards and Practices Commission (PSPC 2022)

ii. Case studies used as research base to create Ethics Toolkit and professional standards

II. Unit 1: The Ethical Teacher

i. Prohibited from searching inappropriate information on "materials viewed, accessed, written, or stored on a school district computer" (PSPC 2022)

A. Risk of student exposure

B. Disciplinary action

III. Unit 2: Private & Professional Action

i. Prohibited from participating in inappropriate behaviors outside of school

A. Protecting "personal brand" and reputation (PSPC 2022)

ii. Prohibited from searching inappropriate information on school equipment outside of school (ex: laptop from school district at home)

IV. Unit 3: Relationships with Students

i. Professional Educator Discipline Act

A. Prohibited from participating in sexual teacher-student relationships

V. Unit 4: The Connected Teacher

i. Prohibited from teacher-student interactions on and off social media

A. Rare discipline for how teacher behaves on and off social media even if not interacting with students

VI. Unit 5: Teachers in a Diverse Society

i. Teachers should refrain from sharing their political and personal views

VII. Unit 6: Improper Personal and Financial Gain

i. Teachers should refrain from conducting illegal business on school property for personal gain

A. Sets immoral example for students

VIII. Unit 7: The Ethical Colleague

i. Teachers required to prevent students from "conditions that are harmful or unsafe" (PSPC 2022)

A. Report any witnessed or suspected illegal actions that jeopardize students' health and safety

IX. Unit 8: Fostering an Ethical School Climate

i. Teachers mandated to report any coworker's misbehaviors that jeopardize students' education, health, and safety

A. When they witness or hear about it

Related Links:

PD TEAM BUILDING ACTIVITY (for current teachers, paraprofessionals administrators, education majors, Field Experience/practicum lab interns, student teachers, and/or CDA certification candidates): Form groups of 2-3 people and pretend that you are school administrators or education system regulators. Create a serious policy or education law that you think all schools should be required to follow and explain why it should exist.

PD DISCUSSION QUESTIONS (for current teachers, paraprofessionals, administrators, education majors, Field Experience/practicum lab interns, student teachers, and/or CDA certification candidates):

Was there ever a time that you agreed or disagreed with a policy in school, the workplace, or elsewhere and other individuals thought and acted differently about it than you? How did you handle that situation?
Was there ever a time when a teacher or someone else shared personal information about you with others that you did not want to be shared without your permission? How did you feel? How did you handle that situation?
As a future or current educator, how do you think we can make school and the workplace a more positive environment for students, families, staff, and administrators?

To find out more about the PA Code of Professional Practice and Conduct for Educators, and the PA Professional Standards and Practices Commission, click on the following below links:

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Citations

1. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Code. (30 Mar. 2024). Chapter 3270. CHILD CARE CENTERS. (30 Mar. 2024). https://www.pacodeandbulletin.gov/Display/pacode?file=/secure/pacode/data/055/chapter3270/chap3270toc.html&d=

2. Geronimo, V. (2014). FERPA ‘Do’s and Don’ts’ Guide for Teachers. Technology and Privacy Law, Fordham University School of Law. https://dl.icdst.org/pdfs/files3/1e2b32276dcc81f4e70f7281d825ff7e.pdf

3. National Education Association (NEA). (14 Sept. 2020). Code of Ethics for Educators. https://www.nea.org/resource-library/code-ethics-educators

4. Pennsylvania Professional Standards and Practices Commission (PSPC). (2024). Disciplinary System Overview. https://www.pspc.education.pa.gov/Educator-Discipline-System-and-Reporting/Overview-Discipline-System/Pages/default.aspx

5. Pennsylvania Professional Standards and Practices Commission (PSPC). (2022). Educator Ethics and Conduct Toolkit. https://www.pspc.education.pa.gov/Promoting-Ethical-Practices-Resources/Ethics-Toolkit/Pages/default.aspx

6. Pennsylvania Professional Standards and Practices Commission (PSPC). (2021). Pennsylvania's Code of Professional Practice and Conduct for Educators. https://www.pacodeandbulletin.gov/Display/pacode?file=%2Fsecure%2Fpacode%2Fdata%2F022%2Fchapter235%2Fchap235toc.html&d=&fbclid=IwAR1GG77Rxn3XXavuvkyVAO1Iz24uH6YF1pANqBbmYiL-K8u0-1PiRsE9JQw

7. United States Department of Education (USDE). (2024). Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). https://www2.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/ferpa/index.html

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