(Charter) school "teacher" caught beating student on tape had no teaching certificate.

[Hannah Bell]

A Harris County charter school teacher caught on video beating up a student last month could face criminal charges, but she will not lose her teaching certificate.

That's because Sheri Lynn Davis, 40, doesn't have one.

As a science teacher at a charter school, she didn't need to be certified. Texas law requires charter schools to hire certified teachers only in the areas of bilingual and special education.

The state's charter school law is designed to give the campuses more freedom in hiring, but Davis' case illustrates a little-discussed loophole: If teachers aren't certified by the state, then the state has no power to sanction them. Their records are clean if they apply for other teaching jobs. In fact, they don't have a record at all with the State Board for Educator Certification...

State law requires most charter school teachers to have only a high school diploma. But to meet federal standards, those teaching core subjects such as math and science must have a bachelor's and demonstrate competency in the subject they're teaching.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7002614.html


Gee, so many DUers told me charter schools have to follow the same rules as traditional public schools?