YAKIMA, Wash. - A Yakima teacher is appealing a ruling that she should be suspended for 12 months because of inappropriate interactions with two teen students.
Former East Valley High School teacher Michele Taylor wants a Yakima County Superior Court judge to put the suspension on hold during the appeal.
Three years ago, Taylor was placed on paid administrative leave from her job after a 15-year-old student told school officials and Yakima County sheriff's detectives that Taylor had exchanged more than 1,000 text messages with him and had sex with a 16-year-old student.
Taylor remains on leave after being acquitted of criminal charges. An administrative law judge has upheld a state disciplinary panel's decision that Taylor should have her teaching certificate suspended for one year.