§ 233.114. Confidentiality and unauthorized release of information.

 (a)  Under section 10 of the act (24 P. S. §  2070.10), information relating to complaints, or proceedings relating to or resulting from complaints, will remain confidential unless discipline, other than a private reprimand, is ordered. If proceedings, after the exhaustion of all appeals, result in discipline, other than private reprimand, all records pertaining thereto will become public.

 (b)  Disclosure of information previously made public as a result of action by a school entity to dismiss an educator for cause or as a result of an educator having been formally charged with or convicted of a crime of moral turpitude or another offense requiring mandatory revocation of a certificate is permitted. The confidentiality provisions of the act are not intended to prohibit a school entity from using information previously known, or received through its own investigation, in fulfillment of its duties under the Public School Code of 1949 (24 P. S. § §  1-101—27-2702), including those duties associated with local dismissal proceedings.

 (c)  Members, staff and employees of the Commission, the Department, local school entities and participants in disciplinary proceedings shall comply with the confidentiality requirements of the act. Correspondence between and among the Commissioners and staff persons containing confidential material will be marked as personal and confidential, and precaution will be taken to avoid unauthorized disclosure.

 (d)  Under section 17(a) of the act (24 P. S. §  2070.17(a)), a member, staff member or employee of the Commission, the Department or a local school entity who releases or gives out confidential information received at a Commission meeting or hearing or through a disciplinary proceeding conducted under the act, without authorization of the Commission, is guilty of a misdemeanor of the third degree.

 (e)  Under section 17(b) of the act, a material witness or a representative who releases or gives out confidential information received at a Commission meeting or hearing involving any Commission disciplinary proceeding under the act, or who releases or gives out information obtained as a result of direct involvement in the Department’s confidential investigation of an educator, without authorization of the Commission, is guilty of a misdemeanor of the third degree unless the information was known to the material witness or a representative prior to the aforementioned meeting, hearing or investigation.

 (f)  Petitions for authorization to release information under section 17 of the act shall be filed with the Commission in accordance with 1 Pa. Code §  35.17 (relating to petitions generally). Petitions shall be served on all interested parties, including the Department and the affected educator. Interested parties shall have 20 days or the number of days set by the Commission from the date of service to respond to the petition. In determining whether to grant the petition, the Commission will consider the public interest and the interests of all affected parties, including the petitioner, the educator and the Department.

 (g)  This section does not apply to reinstatement proceedings.

 (h)  Nothing in this section is intended to deny an educator access to information necessary to prepare a defense in a disciplinary proceeding or protect an individual from civil liability if the individual participated in the disciplinary process under the act maliciously or provided false information that the individual knew, or had reason to know, was false.

 (i)  The Commission, in releasing information to the public, will take all steps reasonably possible to protect the identity of any child or student involved in the disciplinary proceeding.

   The provisions of this §  233.114 adopted May 3, 2002, effective May 4, 2002, 32 Pa.B. 2226.

   This section cited in 22 Pa. Code §  233.113 (relating to disciplinary proceedings).