Teacher License Revocation and Surrender in North Carolina due to Sexual Misconduct

The sexual misconduct of school employees has become a more common issue in the United States, and there has been very little empirical research conducted to provide context or understanding of the prevalence of this problem. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the reasons for license revocation and surrender in North Carolina with special attention to licenses lost due to sexual misconduct. Analysis indicated that 688 (91%) licenses were revoked and 67 licenses (9%) were voluntarily surrendered. The reasons listed for revocation or surrender were primarily sexual infractions with students (n = 458; 61%). Employment information was located for 302 of the 458 school employees (66%) who lost their licenses due to sexual infractions. Of the 302 school employees found, 69 were coaches (23%) and 36 were music teachers (12%). Conclusions and implications for music teacher educators are discussed