5.1 Contempt For DOE's Bylaws The Chancellor's Regulation A-420, modified subsequently by the DOE to restrict teacher rights further, governs allegations of corporal punishment. Excerpt : "The Chancellor's Office of Special Investigations, Corporal Punishment Unit is responsible for intake, evaluation, review, follow-up, and dissemination of information to various offices within this agency and other appropriate entities with respect to allegations of corporal punishment. All allegations of corporal punishment of students by Board of Education employees, custodial employees, or others must be reported immediately to the Office of Special Investigations Corporal Punishment Unit (OSICPU) by the supervisor or designee. Telephone communication must occur before an investigation is commenced by the supervisor or designee.(...) In the event that the supervisor is instructed to conduct the investigation, the OSICPU will provide guidance (...) The A-420 Form, completed as instructed, and bearing an original signature of the site administrator, must be filed with the OSICPU, no later than five working days from the report of the incident. A duplicate of the A-420 Form must be forward to the Superintendent. " [Emphasis added.] Did Walters file the Incident Report within "five working days" ? No. She did it ten months later, despite the OSI letter dated April , 1998, urging her to do so. The following exchange between Walters and Mr. Viani, the Hearing Officer deals with the issue : HEARING OFFICER : Before you begin your cross-examination, I have a few questions I want to ask. With respect to the corporal punishment allegations, it appears that there are three students involved in this, If I am not mistaken. Now, is it not the procedure that when an allegation of corporal punishment is made, that you're supposed to contact Malamy's office ? [Malamy was the head of the Office of Special Investigations at the time] WALTERS : For ? HEARING OFFICER: These incidents of -- these claims -- these charges of corporal punishment. WALTERS : J.S. I did. D. I was still in the process of collecting information, investigating, which I was. [ The student claimed that I pushed her on the last day of the semester : her very graduation day. My unforgivable sin was not to allow her to "enjoy" herself during the last test. As for the investigation, Walters and Edwards came to my class and collected students wrtitten statements with respect to the allegations. Did she need some forensic expert before wrapping up the investigation ? ] HEARING OFFICER: Before you conducted -- and you've been told by Malamy's office when you should or should not conduct an investigation or when they would ? WALTERS : It was the superintendent's office. [ Nothing to do with the question. Caught red-handed, she does not know what to say] HEARING OFFICER : And who told you to investigate these allegations ? WALTERS : I spoke to -- I don't remember whether it was Don Roth in the Superintendent's Office , and they asked to get statements from the students, to investigate. [Don Roth was superintendent's assistant, not even deputy at the time] HEARING OFFICER : Did you -- you didn't do it -- you were told to conduct the investigation ? WALTERS : Yes. HEARING OFFICER: In each case ? WALTERS : Yes, in each of those cases. HEARING OFFICER : You said the last case was S. You took a --- with respect to S. you contacted Malamy's office ? WALTERS : Yes. HEARING OFFICER : Did they tell you to conduct an investigation ? WALTERS : No. HEARING OFFICER : No. Now, who told you to conduct an investigation with respect to the S. incident ? WALTERS : Mrs. -- Coppin's office. HEARING OFFICER : I think the witness [Walters ] testified she only prepared one corporal punishment report. [i.e. A-420 required by the OSICPU. Both sides lawyers joined the exchange ] WALTERS : Yes. Mr. LOWER [UFT lawyer] : It was a year later.
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