DeYoung

Vincent DeYoung was a tenured teacher with the Hueneme Elementary School District (District). The District’s governing board voted to dismiss him based on charges he had physically and abusively disciplined his students. The vote occurred after a District representative orally presented the charges to the board in a confidential proceeding. Although written charges subsequently were prepared and provided to DeYoung, the Education Code required that the board, prior to initiating dismissal, consider either verified written charges prepared by the District or written charges formulated by the board itself. (Ed. Code, § 44934.) DeYoung contends the board’s failure to consider or formulate written charges before initiating his dismissal nullified all further proceedings. (Ibid.) Because this procedural error was neither substantive nor prejudicial, we conclude DeYoung’s dismissal was proper. (§ 44944, subd. (c)(2).)

The Commission on Professional Competence of the Hueneme Elementary School District (Commission) upheld DeYoung’s dismissal on the merits. It rejected his assertion the governing board’s procedural error in initiating dismissal deprived it of jurisdiction to…