Assistant attorneys general offer bench‑memo reviews to advise board on high‑stakes educator‑discipline appeals

Assistant Attorney General Darren Gough told the Law and Licensing Committee his office will offer a consistent, record-focused review to aid the board in contested educator-discipline matters. The proposed product is a short, standardized memorandum — analogous to an appellate 'bench memo' — that would verify whether findings of fact are supported by the record and whether conclusions of law and recommended sanctions are appropriately applied.

Gough said the office would limit work initially to high‑stakes contested matters, such as license suspensions or revocations of a year or more, noting an expected caseload of roughly 10–12 reviews per year. "We're proposing that our office conduct a review for you, acting as counsel to the board, and sort of check some boxes about whether these things occurred," he said.

Committee members appreciated the offer and asked about the scope: AAGs said the review would be record-only, would not involve communications with either party, and would not substitute for board discretion. The proposal is advisory and intended to streamline the board’s appellate role in these cases while flagging procedural concerns or legal issues that merit attention.