Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley said Tuesday the state should grant relief to a former Topeka mayor attempting to put his criminal past behind him and launch a career as a school teacher.
Hensley, a teacher at Capital City High School in Topeka Unified School District 501, said Doug Wright paid his debt to society and completed requirements for a state teaching license. The Kansas State Board of Education voted in December to prohibit Wright from obtaining the required license.
The legislation introduced by Hensley in the Senate was drafted to compel issuance of a license. It was written narrowly as to only benefit Wright.
"It's a travesty that the state board will not grant Doug Wright a teaching license," Hensley said. "He was a very excellent student teacher at my old high school."
Wright was convicted of fraud and theft for misappropriating $86,000 from 1998 to 2002 from an elderly great-aunt. He served 10 months in prison, and the Kansas Supreme Court disbarred him in 2003. He repaid his great-aunt the money with interest. His convictions were expunged in 2009.
He fulfilled requirements of an education curriculum at Washburn University and completed a student teaching stint at Highland Park High School.
In May, a committee of the state education board rejected Wright's application for a license. He filed a lawsuit, and the board was instructed to reconsider the decision. The full board voted 6-4 in December to reject Wright's application.
Wright said in an interview that he was supportive of the legislative remedy proposed by Hensley.
"I was grateful when I had people suggest to me this was something that was possible," he said. "When the board last turned me down, I had a number of people, hundreds of people, express outrage to me about the decision."
He said the bill would afford him a new opportunity to demonstrate his capacity to be a productive member of society.
"That's all I'm asking for is an opportunity," Wright said. "I have expressed remorse for what I did. I'm not proud of what I did. I'm proud of everything I've done since then to put my life back together."
He served as Topeka mayor from 1983 to 1989. In 1996, Wright ran an unsuccessful campaign for the Republican nomination for the 2nd District congressional seat, losing in the primary to former Olympian Jim Ryun.
This is politically absurd!
Writing special legislation to "force" the State Board of Education to issue a teaching license to Doug Wright.
The State Board has the authority, if Doug Wright doesn't like their decision he can take them to court again.
