edmecka.com :: The Right to Make an Ethics Complaint

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You have the right to complain to the School Ethics Commission if you believe a school official, either a school board member or a school administrator, is taking bribes or engaging in other activities that put their personal financial interest ahead of their public responsibilities (N.J.S.A. 18A:12-29; 18A:12-24).

The Schools Ethic Commission is a nine member state body, appointed by the governor and responsible for enforcing the SCHOOL ETHIC ACT. Hearings are conducted by the Office of Administrative Law (N.J.S.A. 18:12-29(b).

18A:12-24. Conflicts of interest

a. No school official or member of his immediate family shall have an interest in a business organization or engage in any business, transaction, or professional activity, which is in substantial conflict with the proper discharge of his duties in the public interest;

b. No school official shall use or attempt to use his official position to secure unwarranted privileges, advantages or employment for himself, members of his immediate family or others;

c. No school official shall act in his official capacity in any matter where he, a member of his immediate family, or a business organization in which he has an interest, has a direct or indirect financial involvement that might reasonably be expected to impair his objectivity or independence of judgment. No school official shall act in his official capacity in any matter where he or a member of his immediate family has a personal involvement that is or creates some benefit to the school official or member of his immediate family;

d. No school official shall undertake any employment or service, whether compensated or not, which might reasonably be expected to prejudice his independence of judgment in the exercise of his official duties;

e. No school official, or member of his immediate family, or business organization in which he has an interest, shall solicit or accept any gift, favor, loan, political contribution, service, promise of future employment, or other thing of value based upon an understanding that the gift, favor, loan, contribution, service, promise, or other thing of value was given or offered for the purpose of influencing him, directly or indirectly, in the discharge of his official duties. This provision shall not apply to the solicitation or acceptance of contributions to the campaign of an announced candidate for elective public office, if the school official has no knowledge or reason to believe that the campaign contribution, if accepted, was given with the intent to influence the school official in the discharge of his official duties;

f. No school official shall use, or allow to be used, his public office or employment, or any information, not generally available to the members of the public, which he receives or acquires in the course of and by reason of his office or employment, for the purpose of securing financial gain for himself, any member of his immediate family, or any business organization with which he is associated;

g. No school official or business organization in which he has an interest shall represent any person or party other than the school board or school district in connection with any cause, proceeding, application or other matter pending before the school district in which he serves or in any proceeding involving the school district in which he serves or, for officers or employees of the New Jersey School Boards Association, any school district. This provision shall not be deemed to prohibit representation within the context of official labor union or similar representational responsibilities;

h. No school official shall be deemed in conflict with these provisions if, by reason of his participation in any matter required to be voted upon, no material or monetary gain accrues to him as a member of any business, profession, occupation or group, to any greater extent than any gain could reasonably be expected to accrue to any other member of that business, profession, occupation or group;

i. No elected member shall be prohibited from making an inquiry for information on behalf of a constituent, if no fee, reward or other thing of value is promised to, given to or accepted by the member or a member of his immediate family, whether directly or indirectly, in return therefor;

j. Nothing shall prohibit any school official, or members of his immediate family, from representing himself, or themselves, in negotiations or proceedings concerning his, or their, own interests; and

k. Employees of the New Jersey School Boards Association shall not be precluded from providing assistance, in the normal course of their duties, to boards of education in the negotiation of a collective bargaining agreement regardless of whether a member of their immediate family is a member of, or covered by, a collective bargaining agreement negotiated by a Statewide union with which a board of education is negotiating.

9. a. Any person, including a member of the commission, may file a complaint alleging a violation of the provisions of this act or the Code of Ethics for School Board Members as set forth in section 5 of P.L.2001, c.178 (C.18A:12-24.1), by submitting it, on a form prescribed by the commission, to the commission. No complaint shall be accepted by the commission unless it has been signed under oath by the complainant. If a member of the commission submits the complaint, the member shall not participate in any subsequent proceedings on that complaint in the capacity of a commission member. If a commission member serves on the school board of, or is employed by, the school district which employs or on whose board the school official named in the complaint serves, the commission member shall not participate in any subsequent proceedings on that complaint.

b.Upon receipt of a complaint, the commission shall serve a copy of the complaint on each school official named therein and shall provide each named school official with the opportunity to submit a written statement under oath. The commission shall thereafter decide by majority vote whether probable cause exists to credit the allegations in the complaint. If the commission decides that probable cause does not exist, it shall dismiss the complaint and shall so notify the complainant and any school official named in the complaint. The dismissal shall constitute final agency action. If the commission determines that probable cause exists, it shall refer the matter to the Office of Administrative Law for a hearing to be conducted in accordance with the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), and shall so notify the complainant and each school official named in the complaint.

In making a determination regarding an alleged violation of the Code of Ethics for School Board Members, the burden of proof shall be on the accusing party to establish factually a violation of the code. A decision regarding a complaint alleging violations of the code shall be rendered by the commission within 90 days of the receipt of the complaint by the commission.

c.Upon completion of the hearing, the commission, by majority vote, shall determine whether the conduct complained of constitutes a violation of this act, or in the case of a board member, this act or the code of ethics, or whether the complaint should be dismissed. If a violation is found, the commission shall, by majority vote, recommend to the commissioner the reprimand, censure, suspension, or removal of the school official found to have violated this act, or in the case of a board member, this act or the code of ethics. The commission shall state in writing its findings of fact and conclusions of law. The commissioner shall then act on the commission's recommendation regarding the sanction.

d. Any appeal of the commission's determination regarding a violation of this act, or in the case of a board member, this act or the code of ethics, and of the commissioner's decision regarding the sanction shall be to the State Board of Education in accordance with Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes.

e. If prior to the hearing the commission determines, by majority vote, that the complaint is frivolous, the commission may impose on the complainant a fine not to exceed $500. The standard for determining whether a complaint is frivolous shall be the same as that provided in subsection b. of section 1 of P.L.1988, c.46 (C.2A:15-59.1).

f. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsections c. and d. of this section, the commission shall be authorized to determine and impose the appropriate sanction including reprimand, censure, suspension or removal of any school official found to have violated this act who is an officer or employee of the New Jersey School Boards Association. Any action of the commission regarding a violation of P.L.1991, c.393 (C.18A:12-21 et seq.) or the sanction to be imposed in the event that the school official involved is an officer or employee of the New Jersey School Boards Association shall be considered final agency action and an appeal of that action shall be directly to the Appellate Division of the Superior Court.

10. Notwithstanding the provisions of any other law or regulation to the contrary, the sanctions authorized by this act may be imposed on any school official pursuant to the procedures established in section 9 of this act. However, nothing in this act shall be construed to limit the authority of any board of education or any appointing authority to process charges or complaints pursuant to the procedures contained in Titles 18A or 11A of the New Jersey Statutes.

A. Board attorneys who work for private firms are not employees of school districts and, therefore, are not school officials, under the Act, that are required to file. The Commission so advised in Advisory Opinion A15-99.

Q. If a school district has an interim superintendent due to the recent departure of the superintendent, is the interim required to complete the 2002 Financial Disclosure Forms?

A. Yes, he or she should file if he or she is certified as a superintendent, or if he or she has responsibility for hiring and vendor contracts while serving as interim, since he or she would be a school official as defined under the Act.

Q. Is an employee of the New Jersey Department of Education subject to the provisions of the School Ethics Act?

A. A DOE employee is governed by the Executive Commission on Ethical Standards. The law that governs state employees, however, has provisions that are very similar to the School Ethics Act. ECES�s Website is found at www.state.nj.us/lps/ethics/.

Q. Do school officials have to list their attendance at training and conferences on their financial disclosure forms under fees/honorariums, gifts/reimbursements or prepaid expenses?

A. If they were reimbursed for an amount greater than $250.00, then they have to list their board as a source of the reimbursement or prepaid expense. The Commission found a board member in violation of the Act for not disclosing such reimbursements.

Q. Do school officials whose income is client-based, like accountants and attorneys, have to list their clients as sources of income?

A. No. The School Ethics Act provides that individual client fees, customer receipts or commissions on transactions received through a business organization need not be separately reported as sources of income. The source of their income is the business for which they work.

Q. Who can file a complaint with the School Ethics Commission and how is it done?

A. Anyone may file a complaint with the School Ethics Commission when he or she believes that a school official has violated the School Ethics Act. A school official is defined in the Act as a school board member, administrator, officer or managerial employee of the New Jersey School Boards Association, and charter school trustees and administrators.

A person who believes that a violation has taken place may call the Commission at (609) 984-6941 to request a complaint form or download it from the Commission�s Web page at www.nj.gov/njded/ethics/compform.htm. The Commission will send a form and a copy of the School Ethics Act. The Act may be accessed from the Commission�s Web page as well. Complaints must be signed and notarized and submitted with two copies.

A. No. The School Ethics Act only governs the conduct of school officials as defined above.

Q. Does the School Ethics Commission hear complaints regarding violations of the Open Public Meetings Act?

A. No. The Open Public Meetings Act is enforced by the county prosecutors� offices.

Q. How do I go about obtaining an advisory opinion from the School Ethics Commission?

A. Any school official can request an advisory opinion by writing a letter to the School Ethics Commission at the NJ Department of Education, P.O. Box 500, Trenton, NJ 08625. The letter should set forth your position and the nature of the conduct that you wish to undertake. The Commission will contact you if it needs additional information.

Q. Do members of my local board of education have to disclose their business interests, and if so, may I view their disclosures?

A. Yes. The School Ethics Act requires that all school officials file disclosure statements of their financial interests, as well as those of their relatives who have positions in the school district. Once filed, the statements are public records.

Q. Can the School Ethics Commission overturn an action of the board if it finds that board members violated the School Ethics Act?

A. No. The Commission can only discipline school officials as provided in the Act by recommending a reprimand, censure, suspension or removal of the school official to the Commissioner of Education. The Commission ultimately imposes the penalty. The School Ethics Commission cannot overturn an action of the board. Only the Commissioner of Education can overturn an action of the board.