Freshwater: ODE Admonishment Withdrawn

A while back I noted that the Ohio Department of Education had sent John Freshwater a letter of admonishment concerning his use of a Tesla coil in his middle school science classroom. Freshwater objected, and the Rutherford Institute joined his defense.

Now the Rutherford Institute has posted a press release announcing that the letter of admonishment has been removed from Freshwater’s record by the Ohio DOE. Apparently it’s to ascertain whether ODE’s procedures were followed in issuing the admonishment. From the press release:

In its letter, the ODE stated that it is investigating The Rutherford Institute’s charges that the admonishment against Freshwater was issued in defiance of Freshwater’s due process rights and in violation of the Department’s own rules. Institute attorneys insist that the ODE’s issuance of the admonishment violated Freshwater’s due process rights because the teacher was not given proper notice or an opportunity to defend himself against the charges.

I’m also informed that a new 5-year professional teaching license to teach high school, for which Freshwater had applied early this year, was issued by the Ohio DOE on April 8, 2011. So the Department of Education has apparently taken a complete pass on any disciplinary action concerning Freshwater.