• Daphne Aguilera
      • Can you become a teacher with a criminal record? 5/4/2009 11:49AM
      • Daphne Aguilera
      • When I was 15, I ripped an insert out of a magazine and was charged with shoplifting. I plead guilty, did my community service, and put it behind me. Now that I'm getting towards the end of my college career, I'm wondering how much this misdemeanor will come back to haunt me. Can anyone give me some idea? I've heard of expungement. What exactly does that process entail?
    • not sure
      • RE: Can you become a teacher with a criminal record? 5/4/2009 11:53AM - in reply to Daphne Aguilera
      • not sure
      • Well, I'm already a teacher, so I guess all I need is the criminal record. Not too hard.

        Seriously, though, no worry. 1. It's a misdemeanor. 2. You were under 18, which means that has already disappeared, I think.
    • Flagpole
      • RE: Can you become a teacher with a criminal record? 5/4/2009 11:55AM - in reply to Daphne Aguilera
      • Flagpole
      • Daphne Aguilera wrote:
        When I was 15, I ripped an insert out of a magazine and was charged with shoplifting. I plead guilty, did my community service, and put it behind me. Now that I'm getting towards the end of my college career, I'm wondering how much this misdemeanor will come back to haunt me. Can anyone give me some idea? I've heard of expungement. What exactly does that process entail?
        A misdemeanor of that magnitude will NOT keep you from getting a job as a teacher. You'll want to talk to a lawyer in your state, but in some states it is done automatically at a certain age (21) or after a certain number of years.
    • Fat Old Man
      • RE: Can you become a teacher with a criminal record? 5/4/2009 12:18PM - in reply to Daphne Aguilera
      • Fat Old Man
      • Yeah. First, become a teacher. Second, get caught robbing a bank. Boom. You're a teacher with a criminal record.
    • Funkhouser
      • RE: Can you become a teacher with a criminal record? 5/4/2009 12:27PM - in reply to Flagpole
      • Funkhouser
      • Flagpole wrote:

        A misdemeanor of that magnitude will NOT keep you from getting a job as a teacher. You'll want to talk to a lawyer in your state, but in some states it is done automatically at a certain age (21) or after a certain number of years.
        So Flagpole is a legal aficionado?
    • Flagpole
      • RE: Can you become a teacher with a criminal record? 5/4/2009 3:22PM - in reply to Funkhouser
      • Flagpole
      • Funkhouser wrote:
        Flagpole wrote:

        A misdemeanor of that magnitude will NOT keep you from getting a job as a teacher. You'll want to talk to a lawyer in your state, but in some states it is done automatically at a certain age (21) or after a certain number of years.
        So Flagpole is a legal aficionado?
        Nope.

        That's why I referred this poster to a lawyer in their state. Having known others who had misdemeanors as minors, I know enough that the rules are different in different states, but I also know enough to know that I'm no legal expert which again is why I referred this question asker to a lawyer.