Expungement and Sealing of Record for Teaching Employment or Teaching License

Ohio Expungement Attorney Serving Teachers, Student Teachers, and Educators.

Can I get a teaching license if I have a criminal conviction?
I have a misdemeanor criminal record; will an expungement help me get a teaching license?
I used to be a teacher but lost my job due to a felony criminal conviction. Will an expungement help me be able to get a teaching job again?

These are some questions we hear from those involved in teaching or pursing an education for teaching. We have also have people contact us who graduated from college with a teaching degree, but a school advisor directed them to obtain an expungement before obtaining their teaching license from the Ohio Department of Education.

Background Checks Required for Teachers

For a few specific careers, Ohio law requires background checks for potential employees, including teachers. The Ohio Department of Education has statutory authority to ask questions about sealed and expunged records in order to determine whether the conviction bears a direct and substantial relationship to the teaching profession (ORC 3319.31 and 2953.33(B)). Regardless that teachers are required to disclose a past conviction, an expungement and sealing of your criminal record may be a valuable obtaining a teaching license or employment as a teacher. While there are certain criminal convictions (discussed below) that can bar one from being a teacher, there are many other criminal convictions that do not prevent one from becoming a teacher. Further, the Ohio Board of Education has some discretion in disciplinary matters and license applications when considering a person’s past criminal record.

As a result, an expungement of a criminal record can be very helpful for teaching employment. The Board of Education, a university or college teaching program, or potential school employer, would understand that if someone had their criminal record expunged, that person had to undergo the review and scrutiny of a court during the legal proceedings for an expungement to have successfully obtained a Court Order granting their expungement. The legal process of obtaining an expungement requires a person to be eligible and meet the requirements for an expungement, that an investigation be conducted of their background by the Court, that the court probation officer review the application, that the prosecutor review the case, that any objections of the prosecutor were resolved, that the Court concluded that the person was rehabilitated, and the interest of the person in having their record expunged outweighed any interest of the State in maintaining the record. In other words, an expungement is a declaration that a person has been through this legal process and a Court of Law has deemed the person worthy to have their record expunged and sealed. As a result, and expungement and sealing of an old criminal record can be influential at the educational, licensure, and employment levels for teachers.

Absolute Bars to Obtaining a Teaching License>>

Expungement and Record Sealing Lawyers – Contact us for a Free Consultation

Our law firm has been in business and located in central Ohio since 1988.  Our law firm emphasizes expungement and sealing of criminal records in Ohio. We have represented students, teachers, and education professionals seal old criminal records.  As trial attorneys and former prosecutors, we have the knowledge and experience to have your criminal record sealed.  We handle cases in all 88 counties of Ohio.

Contact our Ohio law firm for a confidential and free consultation.