It depends. Any criminal conviction listed in Minnesota Statutes section 122A.20, subdivision 1(b) is an automatic bar to receiving a teaching license in Minnesota. Any other conviction not listed in subdision 1(b) will be reviewed by the Ethics Committee on a case-by-case basis.
Any hit on a background check or disclosure of a criminal conviction on the conduct review statement on any application automatically triggers review by the Ethics Committee.
Fraud or misrepresentation in obtaining a license is a basis to deny a license and may result in a denial of your application for licensure or public discipline against your license.
Each month, the Ethics Committee reviews all applications flagged for disclosures or background check hits. They review the background check as well as the disclosures made on the application itself, including the conduct review statement and the conduct review statement supplemental form applicants are required to submit for each disclosure.
If the Ethics Committee reviews the flagged application and background check, does not want to open an inquiry into the disclosures and/or background check hits, and there are no discrepencies between the completed background check and the disclosures made on the conduct review statement, the application will be sent to the PELSB Licensing division to process. If the applicant meets the criteria for the license(s) applied for, the license should then issue and the licensee will get an email notification when this occurs.
If the Committee reviews the application/background check and has concerns, they will deny the application.
The applicant will receive a letter about the denial but will have a chance to request reconsideration and provide more information about the conduct review statement responses. Once the Board has the response, if the applicant chooses to provide one, the Ethics Committee will review the entire file and make a recommendation about the license. This can include denying the license a second time, issuing the license, or issuing the license with conditions.
Applicants submit many different documents during an inquiry, including personal narratives explaining their disclosures, letters of recommendations, or proof of successful completion of court required programming, treatment programs, etc. It is completely up to the applicant as to what they would like the Ethics Committee to review. The Committee also considers mitigating facts such as the applicant's response about the disclosures, the time between the incidents and the application, if someone is still on probation, etc.
You may appeal this decision by filing a written request with PELSB within 30 days of receiving the denial notice. PELSB will then initiate a contested case proceeding pursuant to the Minnesota Administrative Procedure Act.
No. Every application is different and is reviewed based on the specfiic set of facts and circumstances. There is no formula for "If x misconduct, then y discipline." The only way to know if a license will be disciplined, issues, or denied is to go through the process described above.
It depends. Your application must be reviewed by the Licensing Department to ensure you meet the criteria for the license you applied for. Licensing understands delays are caused by Ethics Committee review and typically try to process applications within a week of the review; however, this is dependent on the application being complete and sufficient for the license the applicant is applying for. The statutory 30 days for issuing a license begins once Ethics has finished its review, unless the application itself is still incomplete.
