Kind of surprising it took this long:
The state Board of Education has suspended the license of a Laurens teacher accused of having sex with her 11-year-old student.
Wendie Schweikert, 36, will receive a letter from the board and have 15 days to request a hearing to avoid a possible revocation of her certificate, state Department of Education spokesman Jim Foster said.
If Schweikert does not request a hearing, her certificate could be revoked as early as April 12, the date of the board’s next meeting, Foster said.
“Absent this action it would be possible for a teacher who resigned in one school district or who was where fired in one school district to go the district next door and get a job there because they still have their certificate to teach,” Foster said.
An attorney assigned to Schweikert’s case did not immediately respond to telephone messages Wednesday.
Typically a hearing is held before a teacher’s license is suspended, but Schweikert’s license was suspended without a hearing. There were seven suspensions without hearings last year, Foster said.
Summary suspensions like the action taken against Schweikert on Wednesday are done in cases where the board feels the immediate safety and welfare of children may be at risk, Foster said.