No Records Of License Or Waiver For Nine Forrest City Teachers / Coaches
Jan 10, 2025
Recently I reported on Forrest City School District, (FCSD), Basketball Coach Kobe Wilson being armed with a gun at a game.
While researching that article, I discovered that Wilson was not Licensed to teach through the Arkansas Department of Education, (ADE), nor held a waiver to teach without a License.
After including that information in the article, several patrons of the FCSD reached out to me with concerns about Wilson and several other Coaches not having a License or being under a required Waiver to teach.
Those Coaches are Noah Thomas, Reginald Swinton, Jajuan Whitby, Brandon Wilkins, Marcus Britt, Caronica Williams, Courtney Crippen, Takyla Allen and Kobe Wilson.
State Law under Title 6 Education, 6-17-401 Teacher’s license requirement, states –(a) Except as permitted under § 6-17-309 and § 6-17-2601 et seq., no teacher shall be employed in any public school of the state who is not licensed to teach in the State of Arkansas by a license issued by the State Board of Education.
(b) Any person who shall teach in a public school in this state shall only be entitled to receive any compensation from the school funds for such services if the person has:
(1) A valid license issued by the state board; or
(2) Other documentation from the Office of Professional Licensure of the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education authorizing employment as a teacher under the conditions set forth by the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education in the documentation.
6-17-309 pertains to Licensure Waiver and 6-17-2601 pertains to awarding a Lifetime Teaching License.
What it boils down to is that in order to get paid to teach in a public school you have to do so under License or Waiver.
Records obtained through the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act from the FCSD show that eight of the nine Coaches in question are contracted as Teachers for the District. Takyla Allen is contracted as Reach Assistant with a stipend to coach 7th grade girls basketball.
I sent the State Secretary of Education and ADE Commissioner Jacob Oliva an FOI request for all current Licenses and Waivers in place for those nine Coaches.
(Reference 1 & 2 in 6-17-401)
Alisha Price, attorney for the ADE, responded on his behalf providing a document that shows no records of License or Waiver exist for the nine Coaches.
NOTE – The 10th Coach on the list is Keith Futrell who shows to have a License to Teach PE & Health that expired on December 31st.
After obtaining the information from Price, I contacted FCSD Superintendent Tiffany Hardrick asking for a statement on the nine coaches performing their duties without a License or Waiver.
She responded with – “Please advise who at ADE shared that information. I would love to speak with them.”, while also providing me a copy of notification from May 14th, 2020 of extension for a 1240 Waiver to the District.
Basically ACT 1240 allows qualifying School Districts to hire teachers who are not licensed however have a proven level of expertise in a subject to teach it. Example – A Mechanical Engineer who is now interested in teaching.
While the letter Hardrick provided shows the District qualifies for the use of the waiver, it does not provide records showing what personnel are teaching under the Waiver and their qualifications to meet teaching under the Waiver.
I went on to ask Hardrick four more times if the District had records of Waiver for the nine Coaches with no response….Here is that entire email exchange.
Personally, I believe ACT 1240 is a great tool to improve public education in our State. It took a page from Charter Schools which have shown success with this approach.
The key is….IF….the Waiver is used properly with its intent and not a way for Superintendents and School Boards to put warm bodies in teaching positions or to do favors of employment….Yeah….I said it….Because it’s a Reality.
Is there a penalty for Superintendents and School Boards when they violate laws pertaining to issues such as this one?
Well Yes….and No.
The laws under Chapter 17 in Title 6 Education, (which this applies to), has no penalty for violation which kicks in AR Code 6-10-102 which states –
“Any officer or employee of the State Board of Education or school district board of directors who shall willfully fail or refuse to comply with any provisions of the School Law for which no punishment is otherwise provided by law shall be deemed guilty of a violation and shall be fined in any sum not less than ten dollars ($10.00) nor more than five hundred dollars ($500).”
$10.00 to $500.00 ?….And good luck finding a Prosecutor who will even prosecute the case….This doesn’t even put the “De” in “Deterrent”.
Don’t you love it when the Government creates laws for Government to abide by but when they are violated there is basically no penalty ?….You don’t have to wonder if that is by design.
So now we are down to this question….Is the FCSD legitimately employing these nine under the ACT 1240 Waiver ?
Well, we know what’s required in AR Code 6-17-401….We know the ADE has no records of Licensure or License Exception, (Waiver), for these nine….And we know the FCSD has not responded to requests for records showing these nine teaching under the Waiver.
1 + 1 =……I’ll let you do the math from there.
#FactsNotFiction
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moc.oohay@nivac.eimmij
Professional Bully Fighter I investigate and report on issues around the State of Arkansas with an emphasis on Government. I am strong conservative however I bring Truth and Facts regardless of Party affiliation….My hashtag is #FactsNotFiction
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