Shields

Poway Unified School District (District) appeals a judgment after the court granted Michael Douglas Shields’s petition for writ of mandate setting aside District’s resolution to terminate Shields from employment as a teacher based on the suspension of his teaching credential and requiring District to conduct a hearing in accordance with applicable provisions of the Education Code. District contends the statutory procedures to dismiss permanent certificated employees are not applicable to Shields who agreed to a long-term suspension of his teaching credential. District further contends the court erred in granting Shields’s motions to strike exhibits from District’s answer, including evidence of the accusations that led to the suspension of Shields’s credential. We conclude neither of these contentions has merit and accordingly affirm the judgment.

Factual and Procedural Background

Shields worked for District as a classroom teacher since 1970. He held a-standard teaching credential with specialization in secondary teaching and became a permanent tenured employee. Effective March 3, 1995, Shields’s teaching credential was suspended for ten years, four years actual and six…