In wake of David Stringer scandal, Arizona teachers will have to disclose expunged charges

With little fanfare, Arizona leaders have closed the so-called "David Stringer" loophole to require all non-certified teachers to disclose whether they've had criminal offenses expunged from their records.

The loophole came to light after revelations about Stringer's past sex-crime charges and that he recently taught elementary school students during a graduate internship.

Former Rep. Stringer, a Republican from Prescott, abruptly resigned from the Arizona Legislature on March 27. Two days later, the House released a police report that showed he was arrested on allegations he paid children for sex in the 1980s.

Stringer worked with students at Phoenix Collegiate Academy as recently as spring of 2017, the Yellow Sheet Report, a political newsletter, reported last week.

The school later merged with Arizona State University Preparatory Academy, in July 2018. ASU officials initially said they had no record of Stringer ever being there, but public records show he worked with the collegiate academy prior to the merger.

Stringer's comments about internship disturbed some

A report released by the House Ethics Committee, which investigated Stringer, included comments he allegedly made about his teaching internship.

Ethics investigators interviewed a Prescott educator who said Stringer told her he was working with third or fourth grade English Language Learning students. He also made racist comments about Mexicans, the report states.

The educator said she was shocked when Stringer told her, "I like being a daddy figure for the little girls when they sit on my lap."

Lawmakers said questions about how Stringer was allowed in the classroom given his past sex charges led them to realize there was a problem with the law for expunged cases.

Stringer apparently wasn't required to disclose his charges because they were expunged, or erased, by a Maryland judge decades ago.

State lawmakers quietly voted to close the loophole earlier this month when they tacked an amendment onto Senate Bill 1180, an unrelated bill dealing with background checks for Department of Revenue employees.

The amendment passed without debate and it was signed into law by Gov. Doug Ducey on April 11.

Schools should know 'who they're dealing with'

Sen. Paul Boyer, a teacher at a charter school who sponsored SB 1180, said lawmakers were shocked by the loophole and hurried to fix it once they realized Stringer had taught.

"All schools should have the knowledge of who they're dealing with," Boyer, R-Phoenix, said. "We know that perpetrators find positions of either employment or volunteering where (there are children)."

House Ethics Chairman T.J. Shope, R-Coolidge, said he asked Boyer if they could add the amendment to his bill.

"Obviously, that was not the intent, I'm sure, to have a loophole like that," said Shope, who oversaw the Stringer investigation. "It must have been an oversight back in the day."

MORE:Former Arizona Senate president will replace David Stringer in House

The bill expands background checks for non-certified teachers and others who work directly with students in district and charter schools by requiring them to disclose if they've ever had a charge or conviction vacated, expunged or set aside.

The disclosure mandate applies to expunged cases for about two dozen serious criminal offenses, including child sex abuse, kidnapping, arson and murder. It also applies to misdemeanor drug charges.

Stringer worked in a classroom at Phoenix Collegiate Academy, in south Phoenix, as part of his graduate school practicum as he pursued a teaching degree at ASU, public records show.

He volunteered to work with students several days a week on things like basic reading skills, the records indicate.

MORE:Don Shooter complains Arizona Legislature treated David Stringer more fairly

Many details of his teaching position are unclear, and ASU preparatory hasn't answered questions regarding the specifics of his teaching contract.

Records released by the House also include a fingerprint-clearance card that shows Stringer passed a background check with the Arizona Department of Public Safety to teach in schools.

That background check apparently didn't uncover his 1983 charges and he wasn't required to disclose it under the old law.

A spokesman for Gov. Ducey sidestepped questions regarding when the governor learned of the loophole and whether Ducey knew the amendment was explicitly intended to address it when he signed the legislation.

“We can never be too aggressive when it comes to protecting our kids,” spokesman Patrick Ptak said Monday. “We're glad the Legislature acted quickly and got this done this session.”

Stringer maintains that he's innocent

Stringer has professed his innocence. He claims he was never convicted of a crime, saying the allegations "had no basis in fact."

While Stringer claims he never was convicted, court records show he accepted a plea deal on some combination of charges and was sentenced to five years of supervised probation.

He also was required to seek admission to what appears to be a treatment clinic for sex offenders.

According to a Baltimore police report, Stringer was accused of paying two teenage boys under the age of 15 to have sex with him. One boy had a developmental disability, the report states.

One of the boys told police he had been back to see Stringer, at least 10 times to perform oral sex or penetrative sex, the report states.

Republic reporter Maria Polletta contributed to this article.

Reach the reporter at dustin.gardiner@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-2471. Follow him on Twitter: @dustingardiner.

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