NYS Approves Rule To Suspend Teaches Accused Of Sex Abuse: DOE

BABYLON, NY — The New York State Board of Regents has approved a new rule that will suspend a teacher’s license if they are accused of sexual abuse, according to the NYS Department of Education.

The board unanimously voted in favor of the measure during a meeting on Tuesday, and it will take effect on May 21, according to a document the board shared with Patch.

According to current law, districts must file charges with the state to have a tenured educator fired when they are accused of sexual abuse, an often lengthy and complicated process.

The document says the new rule will prevent teachers from returning to the classroom until their case is fully investigated.

In January, state education officials proposed an amendment to the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education relating to the moral character of certificate holders. The document says that when "individuals holding teaching certificates violate the appropriate boundaries of the teacher/student relationship," in "some instances, this conduct is severe enough to justify the immediate, interim suspension of the individual’s teaching certificates."

According to the document, the immediate suspension would "ensure that students are protected while certificate holders receive due process and a timely determination on the merits."

To do so, the state must show that "allegations shall be based upon sworn statements, personal knowledge, and/or exhibits that demonstrate, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the public health, safety, or welfare imperatively requires emergency action to summarily suspend the individual’s certification," the document says.

The ruling comes about four years after dozens of alumni publicly came forward, accusing multiple Babylon Union School District teachers of sexual and emotional abuse and accusing the district of turning a blind eye to it.

For Babylon graduate Brittany Rohl, who was the first out of dozens of alumni to come forward with her allegations against Babylon teachers, Tuesday's ruling offers a sense of hope, but not without a hint of "better late than never."

"Many people I've spoken to about it say, 'how was this not already in place?'" Rohl told Patch. "That's what we have been saying this whole time. There are so many common-sense rules that are just missing from national, state and local policies. When we treat educator abuse as a series of 'isolated incidents,' we miss the bigger picture and sensible prevention strategies fall through the cracks."

The outrage was ignited after a male teacher was escorted out of the classroom by law enforcement in October 2021 and was relieved of his responsibilities for “disturbing allegations” made about him. The teacher later resigned.

In November 2021, Rohl, who was 28 at the time, said in an open letter addressed to the Babylon Board of Education that between 2010 and 2013, a teacher, who was married, groomed and sexually abused her until her second year of college.

While Rohl suffered abuse for several years, Tuesday's ruling gives her—and all other current and future students—hope that abusers won't always get to abuse their positions of power for years on end like her's did.

"This bill was passed without there having been any public comments received during the open period, and to be honest, although I had meant to send one myself, it can be so emotionally draining to have to keep making the case in different avenues of justice year after year," Rohl said. "Imagine what could be done if the broader community committed to an 'autopsy' of what happened in Babylon, and worked together to get more new laws passed. That is my hope for the future."

While numerous other students and alumni spoke at a November 2021 Babylon board meeting, saying out loud, for the first time, the names of numerous teachers they said had committed alleged sexual and emotional abuse, officials faced a long and complicated road to terminate the teachers.

At a board of education meeting in early 2023, interim superintendent Brian L. Conboy said that after an internal investigation, the teachers—who were tenured and placed on leave the same month the victims spoke out—must undergo the state-mandated disciplinary process in order to be terminated.

The district has since acted to ensure appropriate school relations, such as creating a Citizen Advisory Group, installing a safety policy, all while working with the alumni advocate group, BHS Alumni & Allies For Change.

Other sex abuse incidents involving educators on Long Island have included a Riverhead case and another in Bay Shore.