New Jersey State Board of Examiners Authority to Revoke or Suspend Teaching Certificates Examined by Supreme Court

The State Board of Examiners, which operates within the New Jersey Department of Education, is the agency charged with licensing New Jersey educators.  It determines educator fitness and issues certifications required for New Jersey teachers and other teaching staff members.  It also has the authority to revoke or suspend certificates in appropriate circumstances.  The New Jersey Supreme Court recently examined the limits of the Board’s authority in the case of In the Matter of the Certificates of Nicholas Cilento, State Board of Examiners, New Jersey Department of Education.

 

Background

Nicholas Cilento was a special education teacher with the Woodbridge Township School District.  On May 21, 2019, he was relieved of his teaching responsibilities because it was alleged that he consumed alcohol on school grounds.  Tenure charges were filed in November 2019.  Cilento appealed the charges and after an evidentiary hearing in which Cilento admitted struggling with alcoholism and consuming alcohol on school grounds, an arbitrator upheld charges of conduct unbecoming, violations of state and municipal law, violations of District policy.  The arbitrator imposed a three-month unpaid suspension and reinstatement on a “last chance” basis.

A year and a half later, the Board of Examiners issued an Order to Show Cause initiating an action to revoke Cilento’s teaching certificates based on the same facts which led to his suspension.  Cilento argued that the arbitrator’s decision should have been the final say in the matter, and therefore any suspension of his teaching certificates should have been limited to the time of his three-month suspension.  The Board of Examiners rejected his arguments and suspended his teaching certificates for two years.  It explained that because it was a separate authority operating under a different statutory scheme and different standard than the review of tenure charges, it was not bound by the arbitrator’s decision – ie., it was not assessing employee discipline; it was determining fitness to teach, an entirely different determination.

Cilento appealed the Board’s decision to the New Jersey Commissioner of Education, who affirmed the Board’s decision.  Cilento then appealed to the Appellate Division of the Superior Court of New Jersey which rejected his arguments based on the recent case of Morison v. Willingboro Board of Education.

Cilento then appealed to the Supreme Court of New Jersey, which likewise rejected his arguments.

 

The New Jersey Supreme Court Affirms Separate Decisions

In its opinion, the Supreme Court likewise adopted the reasoning in the Morison case.  The Supreme Court explained that there were two “distinct and dissimilar” statutory schemes which served different purposes: the one for determining employee discipline and the other for determining fitness to teach.  Moreover, they have different “stakes” – the tenure charge system determines only the employee’s status with the school district, while the proceedings before the Board of Examiners determines the ability to teach at any school in New Jersey.

Likewise, the Board of Examiners and the School District were not parties to the other proceedings, and thus the doctrines of res judicata and collateral estoppel did not apply.  Additionally, there was no due process violation because Cilento had notice and the opportunity to defend himself, and the separate actions do not amount to “egregious governmental abuse… shock the conscience… or offend judicial notions of fairness.”

The New Jersey Supreme Court therefore upheld the two year suspension of Cilento’s teaching certificates in addition to the three-month suspension from employment.

 

The Takeaway

Educators must be aware, particularly when trying to settle it, that employer discipline does not preclude the New Jersey State Board of Examiners from additionally suspending or revoking her certificates.  However, educators should also be aware that there are avenues of relief – the tenure hearing system for tenure charges, the Board of Examiners for certificate revocation or suspension, and New Jersey’s appellate courts thereafter.

 

Contact Us

We represent teachers, administrators, and other government employees challenging discipline, tenure charges, certificate suspensions or revocations, retaliation and wrongful termination.  Call us at (973) 890-0004 or fill out the contact form on this page to schedule a consultation with one of our New Jersey employment attorneys.  We can help.