You got arrested. You accepted a deferred adjudication and successfully completed it. And now you’re either about to apply for a job in a new school district, or you’re about to apply for your teaching certificate for the first time, and you want to make sure your record is clean.
A deferred adjudication is a form of probation. If successfully completed, no final conviction appears on your record. If asked if you’ve ever been convicted of a crime, you can say no and you will be telling the truth. However, a criminal background check will show the arrest and deferred adjudication, so the school district and Texas Education Agency will see this. And you will have to explain what happened and why you are still fit to teach the youth of our state.
Deferred adjudication is possibly the most misunderstood provision in our criminal justice system. Accepting a deferred adjudication does NOT mean that you have no record. And there is no way to remove the deferred adjudication from your record, short of a pardon from the governor.
Expunction is a proceeding that allows a court to remove criminal history from your record. But the circumstances that qualify for expunction are extremely narrow, and deferred adjudication will never, ever qualify for expunction.
Expunction can be obtained if:
1. You were arrested but released without a final conviction or deferred adjudication, and
2. You do not have a felony conviction within five years prior to the arrest
Expunction is appropriate for persons who were never indicted, indicted but not prosecuted, or who were acquitted at a trial. That’s pretty much it.
This is something that i am so concerned about. I have called I have been arrested back in 2000 twice for DWI ( they were having a sweep) but cases were dismissed. Now i am worried they will not let me teach or get my certificate any advice?
Posted by: Ray | March 26, 2009 at 06:47 PM
About 4 and a half years ago I had an incident in a school district involving a 7th graders. Without going into major detail, the mother filed an assault charge on me. I resigned from that district and was able to find work without either having been arrested or formally charged with any crime.
22 months later I was arrested and had to report the arrest and the incident to my new district. It was reported to my superintendent and I was placed on administrative leave with pay pending the districts investigation. After 3 months, because there was no indictment I was allowed to come back to work and offered a contract with an addendem that said if there was any change that they would have the right to revisit the situation. After 2 more years there still has not been an indictment and I have worked with no incidents in my district. In addition, I and my lawyer feel that this case will be ultimately dismissed and I will get my record expunged.
With the new Texas fingerprinting laws and with a new superintendent, I am extremeley worried that I will lose my job and or my teacher certificate over this. I feel as if I am a competent teacher who can handel the pressures of teaching and I have recently had successes that could lead to more opportunities. IS there any advice you can give me? I have contacted people about this and I am just seeing what other people say. Thanks.
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