The Kansas Board of Education denied my teacher's license last May. I didn't think they followed the law. Specifically they didn't determine whether I was rehabilitated as the statute requires of them. So, I filed a lawsuit against the State Board and last week, Judge Larry Hendricks ruled in my favor. His Memorandum Decision and Order (link to the Order is here) remands the issue of my teacher's license back to the State Board with directions for them to make findings regarding my rehabilitation.
He points out in his Order that the Chairperson of the State Board, Janet Waugh, voted against me, after stating on the record, "I guess I just have to say one thing that --- my major concern over this is the fact that I'm not saying he's not rehabilitated. You know, there's probably --- I'm confident he probably is."
A second Board member, Kathy Martin stated, "I'd like to tell Mr. Wright that I certainly agree that he has been rehabilitated and that I appreciate all the things that are in his fact---or all the facts that he has given us."
So, the Board, that denied my license on a 4-6 vote will now have a second chance to license me to teach, and a clear majority of the Board have spoken in favor of my rehabilitation.
And, the most remarkable thing about the Judge's Order? He did it on his own initiative, at a preliminary stage of the lawsuit. We had yet to get to the point where the parties were briefing the main issues of the case or even asked him to rule. Schooled.
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Update: 11/3/2009. Here's the Topeka Capital-Journal report of the Court's decision to remand the case back to the State Board of Education.
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