Ethics in Sight

A. The professional educator demonstrates responsibility to oneself as an ethical professional by: 

1. Acknowledging that lack of awareness, knowledge, or understanding of the Code is not, in itself, a defense to a charge of unethical conduct;

2. Knowing and upholding the procedures, policies, laws and regulations relevant to professional practice regardless of personal views;

3. Holding oneself responsible for ethical conduct;

4. Monitoring and maintaining sound mental, physical, and emotional health necessary to perform duties and services of any professional assignment; and taking appropriate measures when personal or health-related issues may interfere with work-related duties; 

5. Refraining from professional or personal activity that may lead to reducing one’s effectiveness within the school community; 

6. Avoiding the use of one’s position for personal gain and avoiding the appearance of impropriety; and

7. Taking responsibility and credit only for work actually performed or produced, and acknowledging the work and contributions made by others.

B.  The professional educator fulfills the obligation to address and attempt to resolve ethical issues by:

1. Confronting and taking reasonable steps to resolve conflicts between the Code and the implicit or explicit demands of a person or organization;

2. Maintaining fidelity to the Code by taking proactive steps when having reason to believe that another educator may be approaching or involved in an ethically compromising situation;

3. Neither discriminating nor retaliating against a person on the basis of having made an ethical complaint;

4. Neither filing nor encouraging frivolous ethical complaints solely to harm or retaliate; and

5. Cooperating fully during ethics investigations and proceedings

C. The professional educator promotes and advances the profession within and beyond the school community by:

1. Influencing and supporting decisions and actions that positively impact teaching and learning, educational leadership and student services;

2. Engaging in respectful discourse regarding issues that impact the profession;

3. Enhancing one’s professional effectiveness by staying current with ethical principles and decisions from relevant sources including professional organizations;

4. Actively participating in educational and professional organizations and associations; and

5. Advocating for adequate resources and facilities to ensure equitable opportunities for all students. 

Professional Competencies - Teaching competencies include proficiency in planning, teaching, and assessing, but there are other duties and responsibilities that transcend a learning segment. Professional competencies include self-presentation, self-representation, professional collegiality and demeanor, and also taking responsibility for those tasks entrusted to you.

Professional Attitudes- Toward Teaching Methods - Content and assessment change alongside changes in the broader society and a teacher must understand and address those changes through effective planning, instruction, and assessment. Lesson plans and methods should not be understood as guidelines written in stone but a reflection on possibilities that can be adapted to new and diverse situations.

Professional Attitudes - Toward Students- Diversity exists across students and teachers and within students and teachers. Effective teaching values diversity and includes it in all areas of planning, instruction, and assessment.

Professional Attitudes - Toward Schools - While a teacher may be isolated to a single classroom, no classroom exists divorced from other classrooms or from its social context. A teacher must value the input and experience of others in the development of effective planning, instruction, and assessment.

Professional Dispositions - Open-mindedness Dispositions - The classroom is the first time many students are placed in close proximity to those from other backgrounds and cultures. In this space, a teacher must provide safety and challenge to all students, which requires a stance of open-mindedness to the ways and knowledges of diverse people.

Professional Dispositions - Self-Reflection Dispositions - The most important posture in a teacher’s tool kit is self-reflection that drives changes and development in knowledge and action. Teaching is an art and a teacher must determine what a classroom needs, year after year, class after class. A teacher must use self-reflection as the foundation for effective planning, instruction, and assessment for all students.

Professional Dispositions - Curiosity Dispositions - a good teacher is a lifelong learner. To this end, we look for a disposition toward curiosity, both toward understanding how things work but also toward imagining how things might be made better.

Professional Dispositions - Educational Equity Dispositions - It is difficult to imagine that one teacher can change the world, but we look for teachers who are willing to try. While much can be accomplished within a single classroom, a strong educational equity and advocacy disposition also means forming alliances across classrooms and communities.

LEARNER DEVELOPMENT

1(c) The teacher collaborates with families, communities, colleagues, and other professionals to promote learner growth and development.

1(k) The teacher values the input and contributions of families, colleagues, and other professionals in understanding and supporting each learner’s development.

LEARNING DIFFERENCES

2(d) The teacher brings multiple perspectives to the discussion of content, including attention to learners’ personal, family, and community experiences and cultural norms.

2(f) The teacher accesses resources, supports, and specialized assistance and services to meet particular learning differences or needs.

2(k) The teacher knows how to access information about the values of diverse cultures and communities and how to incorporate learners’ experiences, cultures, and community resources into instruction.

2(k) The teacher knows how to access information about the values of diverse cultures and communities and how to incorporate learners’ experiences, cultures, and community resources into instruction.

LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS

3(c) The teacher collaborates with learners and colleagues to develop shared values and expectations for respectful interactions, rigorous academic discussions, and individual and group responsibility for quality work.

3(n) The teacher is committed to working with learners, colleagues, families, and communities to establish positive and supportive learning environments

3(q) The teacher seeks to foster respectful communication among all members of the learning community.

CONTENT KNOWLEDGE

4(p) The teacher appreciates multiple perspectives within the discipline and facilitates learners’ critical analysis of these perspectives.

APPLICATION OF CONTENT

5(i) The teacher understands the ways of knowing in his/her discipline, how it relates to other disciplinary approaches to inquiry, and the strengths and limitations of each approach in addressing problems, issues, and concerns.

5(p) The teacher knows where and how to access resources to build global awareness and understanding, and how to integrate them into the curriculum.

5(r) The teacher values knowledge outside his/her own content area and how such knowledge enhances student learning.

ASSESSMENT

6(c) The teacher works independently and collaboratively to examine test and other performance data to understand each learner’s progress and to guide planning.

6(i) The teacher continually seeks appropriate ways to employ technology to support assessment practice both to engage learners more fully and to assess and address learner needs.

PLANNING FOR INSTRUCTION

7(a) The teacher individually and collaboratively selects and creates learning experiences that are appropriate for curriculum goals and content standards, and are relevant to learners

7(e) The teacher plans collaboratively with professionals who have specialized expertise (e.g., special educators, related service providers, language learning specialists, librarians, media specialists) to design and jointly deliver as appropriate effective learning experiences to meet unique learning needs.

7(m) The teacher knows when and how to access resources and collaborate with others to support student learning (e.g., special educators, related service providers, language learner specialists, librarians, media specialists, community organizations).

7(p) The teacher takes professional responsibility to use short- and long-term planning as a means of assuring student learning.

INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES

8(n) The teacher knows how to use a wide variety of resources, including human and technological, to engage students in learning.

PROFESSIONAL LEARNING AND ETHICAL PRACTICE

9(c) Independently and in collaboration with colleagues, the teacher uses a variety of data (e.g., systematic observation, information about learners, research) to evaluate the outcomes of teaching and learning and to adapt planning and practice.

9(d) The teacher actively seeks professional, community, and technological resources, within and outside the school, as supports for analysis, reflection, and problem-solving.

9(j) The teacher understands laws related to learners’ rights and teacher responsibilities (e.g., for educational equity, appropriate education for learners with disabilities, confidentiality, privacy, appropriate treatment of learners, reporting in situations related to possible child abuse).

9(n) The teacher sees him/herself as a learner, continuously seeking opportunities to draw upon current education policy and research as sources of analysis and reflection to improve practice.

9(o) The teacher understands the expectations of the profession including codes of ethics, professional standards of practice, and relevant law and policy.

LEADERSHIP & COLLABORATION

10(a) The teacher takes an active role on the instructional team, giving and receiving feedback on practice, examining learner work, analyzing data from multiple sources, and sharing responsibility for decision making and accountability for each student’s learning.

10(b) The teacher works with other school professionals to plan and jointly facilitate learning on how to meet diverse needs of learners.

10(c) The teacher engages collaboratively in the school-wide effort to build a shared vision and supportive culture, identify common goals, and monitor and evaluate progress toward those goals.

10(d) The teacher works collaboratively with learners and their families to establish mutual expectations and ongoing communication to support learner development and achievement.

10(e) Working with school colleagues, the teacher builds ongoing connections with community resources to enhance student learning and well being.

10(f) The teacher engages in professional learning, contributes to the knowledge and skill of others, and works collaboratively to advance professional practice.

10(g) The teacher uses technological tools and a variety of communication strategies to build local and global learning communities that engage learners, families, and colleagues.

10(h) The teacher uses and generates meaningful research on education issues and policies.

10(i) The teacher seeks appropriate opportunities to model effective practice for colleagues, to lead professional learning activities, and to serve in other leadership roles.

10(k) The teacher takes on leadership roles at the school, district, state, and/or national level and advocates for learners, the school, the community, and the profession.

10(l) The teacher understands schools as organizations within a historical, cultural, political, and social context and knows how to work with others across the system to support learners.

10(m) The teacher understands that alignment of family, school, and community spheres of influence enhances student learning and that discontinuity in these spheres of influence interferes with learning.

10(n) The teacher knows how to work with other adults and has developed skills in collaborative interaction appropriate for both face-to- face and virtual contexts.

10(o) The teacher knows how to contribute to a common culture that supports high expectations for student learning.

10(p) The teacher actively shares responsibility for shaping and supporting the mission of his/her school as one of advocacy for learners and accountability for their success.

10(r) The teacher takes initiative to grow and develop with colleagues through interactions that enhance practice and support student learning.

10(s) The teacher takes responsibility for contributing to and advancing the profession.

10(t) The teacher embraces the challenge of continuous improvement and change.

The general assembly finds and declares that:

49-5-1002-1 An educator, believing in the worth and dignity of each human being, recognizes the supreme importance of the pursuit of truth, devotion to excellence, and the nurture of democratic principles. Essential to these goals is the protection of freedom to learn and to teach and the guarantee of equal educational opportunity for all. An educator accepts the responsibility to adhere to the highest ethical standards

49-5-1002-2 An educator recognizes the magnitude of the responsibility inherent in the teaching process. The desire for the respect and confidence of one's colleagues, of students, of parents and of the members of the community provides the incentive to attain and maintain the highest possible degree of ethical conduct.

49-5-1003. Educator's obligations to students.

    49-5-1003-b-1 Abide by all applicable federal and state laws;

    49-5-1003-b-6 Not deliberately suppress or distort subject matter relevant to the student's progress;

49-5-1004. Educator's obligations to the education profession.

49-5-1004-a The education profession is vested by the public with a trust and responsibility requiring the highest ideals of professional service. In the belief that the quality of the services of the education profession directly influences the nation and its citizens, the educator shall exert every effort to raise professional standards, to promote a climate that encourages the exercise of professional judgment, to achieve conditions which attract persons worthy of the trust to careers in education, and to assist in preventing the practice of the profession by unqualified persons.

49-5-1004-b In fulfillment of this obligation to the profession, an educator shall not:

    49-5-1004-b-6 Disclose information about colleagues obtained in the course of professional service unless the disclosure serves a compelling professional purpose or is required by law;

    49-5-1004-b-7 Knowingly make false or malicious statements about a colleague;

    49-5-1004-b-8 Accept any gratuity, gift, or favor that might impair or appear to influence professional decisions or actions;

    49-5-1004-b-9 Use illegal or unauthorized drugs.

49-5-1004-c In fulfillment of this obligation to the profession, educators shall:

    49-5-1004-c-1 Administer state-mandated assessments fairly and ethically; and

    49-5-1004-c-2 Conduct themselves in a manner that preserves the dignity and integrity of the education profession.

49-5-1006. Report of breach of teacher code of ethics -- Failure to report.

49-5-1006-a An educator who has personal knowledge of a breach by another educator of the teacher code of ethics prescribed in §§ 49-5-1003 and 49-5-1004 shall report the breach to the educator's immediate supervisor, director of schools, or local board of education within thirty (30) days of discovering the breach.

49-5-1006-b Failure to report a breach of the teacher code of ethics, or to file a report of any criminal activity or other misconduct that is required by federal or state law, is a breach of the teacher code of ethics.