A shake-up of the way the Teachers Council handles errant teachers has reached its final stages with the closure on Friday of submissions on rule changes.
The council, which now holds private hearings on complaints against teachers, has had to draft new rules opening the process up after lawyer Graeme Edgeler and the Herald on Sunday complained to a Parliamentary select committee.
The newspaper's submission told the council it supported more hearings being held in public as well as extra measures including public notification of upcoming hearings, recognition of complainants and the media as interested parties, allowing reporters to challenge decisions to close hearings or suppress details and establishing strict guidelines for deciding whether to suppress a teacher or school's identity.
The council expects to finalise the new rules on February 18.
