Taping meetings

Taping your meetings -

The Panel For Educational Policy is our new "pretend" school board, and there are certain parts of the PEP Bylaws which are relevant to the issue of whether or not a disciplinary meeting with a Superintendent can be taped:

See Page 12, Section 4.3.3, Paragraph 5 of the PEP bylaws:

http://schools.nyc.gov/NR/rdonlyres/B432D059-6BFE-4198-8453-466FDE2B22D5/69835/PEPBylawsFinal91409.pdf

Since PEP (and the former Board of Education) recognized the importance of recording hearings conducted at the Office of Appeals and Reviews, then, clearly, other types of disciplinary hearings (such as those before a superintendent) should be recorded as well.

Perhaps you should post the above bylaw and discuss it in some detail.

Here is a state-by-state recording guide:

http://www.rcfp.org/reporters-recording-guide/tape-recording-laws-glance

Here is the information about New York:

http://www.rcfp.org/reporters-recording-guide/state-state-guide/new-york

Here is the case that was cited in the above:

http://www.leagle.com/xmlResult.aspx?xmldoc=1991828176AD2d652_1254.xml&docbase=CSLWAR2-1986-2006

By the way, when tenured teacher Teddy Smith went to his pretend "interview" with the Office of Special Investigations and met with Michael Humphries, he (Teddy) took his Attorney. Teddy was charged with threatening to kill his arbitrator Jack Tillem (no longer on the panel). Teddy's former Attorney wanted to be paid $54,000 for doing Teddy's 3020-a, and Teddy never had made any such deal,  so David Kearney called Theresa Europe up and told her that Teddy had said that he was going to kill Tillem. Theresa Europe contacted Mr. Tillem, Tillem recused himself, and then Bonnie Weinstock took the case and terminated Teddy.

I was in attendance at all of TEddy's hearings, and the most interesting part of the case is, when Teddy went to see Humphries, he had a secret tape recorder. Humphries NEVER asked Teddy if he had ever said that he was going to harm Tillem in any way!!!! Humphries wanted Teddy to give him some OTHER tapes, neglecting to ask Teddy if he was taping the "interview"!

So, when Teddy's Attorney cross-examined Humphries at Teddy's 3020-a, Humpries at first said that of course he had asked TEddy if he had said anything like that. Then Teddy's lawyer told the Hearing Officer that he had a tape of the interview, and a recorder, to play the tape. The tape was played, and no mention of the charge was ever made by Humphries. Teddy was, nonetheless terminated by Weinstock.

David Pakter taped his interviews, so did so many other people.

Francesco is just the person to bring this issue to light.