l BEFORE THE
TEACHER STATNDARDS AND PRACTICES COMMISSION
2 STATE OF ORGON
3 In the Matter of the Teaching License of
4 { STIPULATION, SURRENDER OF LICENSE
5 RONALD JAMES LYNCH AND ORDER
6
7 On November 27, 2001, the Teacher and Standards and Practices Commission
8 (Commission) issued a Notice of Opportunity for Hearing to Ronald James Lynch in which the
9 Commission charged Mr. Lynch with misconduct and proposed to suspend or revoke Mr.
10 Lynch’s license, or otherwise impose discipline under ORS 342.177. Mr. Lynch requested a
11 hearing. The Commission and Mr. Lynch have now reviewed the matters alleged and have
l2 agreed that their respective interests, together with the public interest, are best served by a
i 13 surrender of Mr. Lynch’s teaching license and a stipulation to certain facts. In entering into this
14 stipulation Mr. Lynch waves his right to a hearing and understands that the Commission will
15 accept the surrender of his teaching license, and that the Commission will revoke the teaching
l6 license.
17 This stipulation and order is contingent upon approval and adoption by the Commission.
18 If the Commission does not adopt the stipulation and order, neither Mr‘ Lynch nor the
i l9 Commission shall be bound by the stipulation, and Mr‘ Lynch shall retain all rights to a hearing
20 on the allegations set forth in the notice.
21 STIPULATED FACTS
22 Mr. Lynch and the Commission stipulate as follows:
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' 1 1. Mr. Lynch holds a standard teaching license with endorsements in drama and
2 language arts.
3 2. Mr. Lynch has been employed as a teacher with the Central Point School District
4 since September 1978. On February 20, 2001, Mr. Lynch was placed on medical leave from the
5 district. On March 22, 2001, he resigned his position with the district as part of a settlement
6 agreement.
7 3. In January 2001, Mr. Lynch made spelling and grammatical alterations on the
8 essay test answers of students in his 10th grade English classes. The tests were administered on a
9 statewide basis as a part of the Oregon State Writing Assessment.
10 4. By providing assistance to the students, Mr. Lynch violated the testing protocol,
ll which stated that teachers may not proofread or otherwise correct student work.
o” ? ' j - 72
13 / . 7’ 2 j
Ronald James yn Dat
14
\ .
15 @Qd MM: I/t/w
Davi . Myton Date
16
17 CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
18 Mr‘ Lynch’s actions constitute gross neglect of duty in violation of OAR 584-020-
19 0040(4)(c) and gross unfitness in violation of OAR 584-020-0040(5)(b).
20 DISCUSSION
21 The Commission considers Mr, Lynch’s actions very serious because they undermined
22 the integrity of the statewide assessment process. His actions were dishonest, and they could
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’ 1 have had a negative effect on the public image of the school and the accuracy of tatewide
2 assessment system. For these reasons, a sanction of revocation is appropriate‘
3 Mitigating circumstances are that Mr. Lynch has not been previously disciplined, and that
4 his conduct was probably not for personal gain.
5 Under ORS 342.175(3), any person whose license has been revoked may apply to the
6 Commission for reinstatement afier one year from the date of revocation. If Mr. Lynch should
7 apply for reinstatement at some future date, the decision will lie within the discretion of the
8 Commissioners who consider the matter at that time‘ Without limiting the discretion of filture
9 commissioners, the Commission does not rule out the possibility of reinstatement of Mr‘ Lynch’s
10 license at a future date. At a minimum, the Commission would expect Mr. Lynch to demonstrate
11 convincingly that he has undergone a significant level of counseling or other revalent activities
12 concerning professional ethics that would ensure Mr. Lynch’s compliance with all Commission
‘ 13 standards in the future
14 ORDER
15 Based on the foregoing, the Commission accepts the voluntary surrender of Mr. Lynch’s
16 Oregon teaching license and revokes the license.
17 DATED this Qty of May 2002.
18 .
19 BYI M
David V. Myton, Executive rector
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