DOJ investigation involving Wichita schools looms over teacher contract negotiations

Wichita teacher contract negotiations have deadlocked over student discipline amid an ongoing Department of Justice investigation involving Wichita schools.

The DOJ declined to comment or clarify the scope of its investigation.

“A number of large districts across the country are being/have been investigated by the Department of Justice,” Wichita Public Schools spokesperson Susan Arensman told The Eagle in an email.

She said USD 259, Kansas’ largest school district, is cooperating with the DOJ and has been collecting information for the agency for over a year.

“One of the subjects of the DOJ investigation is whether classroom discipline in all instances, including classroom removals, is being administered fairly,” Arensman said.

United Teachers of Wichita leadership says the district misled them about the probe to support its objective of removing contract language that gives teachers a say in when disruptive students should be allowed to return to the classroom.

The current contract states that “A pupil shall not be readmitted into any class instructed by the teacher who removed the pupil during the half-day in which the pupil was removed unless there is mutual agreement between the teacher and the principal.”

The district wants principals alone to have the ultimate say in when it’s appropriate for a student to be returned to class.

“UTW President Katie Warren was interviewed by the DOJ and was informed by the interviewer that the removal of contract language was not a recommendation coming from the DOJ,” the union said in a May 5 email update to members obtained by The Eagle.

“It seems like there’s kind of a war on teachers right now, and taking away our ability to maintain a productive classroom environment — I mean, it’s just hurtful and disrespectful to our educators,” Warren said in a phone interview.

“It undermines our teachers’ ability to maintain an environment conducive to learning, and it disregards the profound professional knowledge and experience that our teachers bring to our classrooms every day.”

Arensman said the district has asked “numerous times” in past years to change the contract language on student readmission but that the DOJ investigation “underscores the need for that provision to be revised.”

“The modification the BOE is proposing preserves a teacher’s right to eject a disruptive student, but changes the duration of the removal: instead of a presumptive half-day allowed by the current contract, teachers and administration agree that removals should last no longer than necessary,” Arensman said, characterizing the proposed change as one that “emphasizes the importance of compliance with the law and safeguarding teacher and student safety.”

Warren said removing current contract language would disempower teachers and could negatively affect retention rates during Kansas’ ongoing teacher shortage. Teachers’ start date for next school year is Aug. 1, but in past years, contracts have not always been finalized by that date.

None of the seven Wichita school board members responded to a request for comment.

Of the 115 anonymous written statements on student behavior provided to the school district by employees in 2022 and obtained by The Eagle through an open records request, just three reported no concerns with disruptive behavior and the district’s approach to controlling it.

The district and union are seeking guidance from the Kansas Department of Labor’s Office of Labor Relations about how to address the impasse.

“KDOL will determine whether the parties should attempt to negotiate further or, alternatively, order the parties to enter mediation with a federal negotiator,” Arensman said.

This story was originally published May 16, 2023 at 2:08 PM.