Santa Monica teachers want a voice on abuse rules

As Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District officials consider policy changes after the arrest of a middle-school teacher who was accused of molesting five students, the teachers association said Friday it hoped the new protocols would not violate their rights.

The policy shake-up comes after Thomas Arthur Beltran, 60, pleaded not guilty to 14 felony counts of sexual molestation in court Tuesday.

The charges included an incident in 2006 that was investigated by police and reported to the school principal but was not prosecuted until this week. At the time of the previous investigation, prosecutors said there was insufficient evidence to file charges against Beltran.

The 2006 allegation was reported to Child Protective Services and a report was completed, authorities said. Police know of no other reports to theagency.

Assistant Supt. Mike Matthews asked Friday that all principals come forward with any complaints of improper behavior that may have not been reported to the district. Also, Supt. Dianne Talarico will present to the school board ideas for new policies on potential child abuse cases at Thursday’s meeting, said board President Oscar de la Torre.

“Every employee here is going to be impacted by this,” Matthews said.

Potential policy changes include requiring that the board or district be notified of any investigation, the interviewing of students, informing parents of alleged misbehavior, and requiring that teachers leave classroom doors open when alone with a student.

“We always say that a child can be more successful in school if there’s one adult that they trust on campus to go to when there’s a problem,” Matthews said. “How do we continue to have that, and have the safest campus as possible? I think there will be difficult discussions.”

The teachers union will ask to take part in the policy discussions, said Harry Keiley, president of the Santa Monica-Malibu Classroom Teachers Assn.

“The safety and well-being of children is at the forefront of our concern . . . but it also should be noted that teachers do not check their constitutional rights at their school doors as they walk in,” he said.

Beltran, who taught English as a second language and worked at Lincoln Middle School for two decades, was arrested Saturday after a 12-year-old student told her parents he had molested her and they notified police.

According to court documents, the alleged abuse of the students took place as long ago as Dec. 1, 2004, and as recently as last month. Police said at least one incident was recorded on a videotape that was discovered during the investigation. All of the incidents are alleged to have occurred in Beltran’s classroom, police said.

On Thursday, the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office said police were questioning at least five additional people who alleged they were sexually molested by Beltran, perhaps as far back as 1998.

Police will be contacting former students of Beltran, who has no criminal history.

Beltran remains in jail on $3.3-million bail. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.

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tami.abdollah@latimes.com