Court Reverses Commission’s Recommendation To Suspend Teacher’s License

A decision by the Georgia Professional Standards Commission to suspend the license of Effingham County Special Ed teacher Sara Beth Hart for one year has been reversed.  Administrative Law Judge John Gatto issued the ruling late last week.  The decision followed a two-day hearing back in September.  Hart had been accused of mistreating students under her care with allegations involving everything from screaming at students and tieing them up, to withholding drinks at lunchtime and being physically abusive. 

A number of witnesses testified both for and against Hart during the two day hearing.  The witnesses included current and former co-workers, supervisors and parents of children under her care.  In his ruling, Judge Gatto stated that though “some of Hart’s actions demonstrated conduct that did not follow generally recognized professional standards” that the “evidence overwhelmingly demonstrates that any incidents of inappropriate behavior were totally out of character” and that most did not constitute an “act of child abuse or an act of cruelty to children.“