MIAMI – Why is organized labor such a bad fit for America’s public schools? Because teachers unions frequently intervene and save the jobs of their members who clearly should be fired.

A perfect example is Christine Jane Kirchner, a language arts teacher at Coral Reef High School in Florida’s Miami-Dade school district.

Over the course of the 2012-13 school year, Kirchner committed the following acts in the presence of her students, according to a complaint from the state Department of Education:

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Discussed topics like sex, virginity and masturbation; simulated a sexual orgasm; and massaged students in her language arts class. All of the above reportedly made several students feel “uncomfortable or embarrassed.”

Most reasonable people would agree that Kirchner should have been fired and never allowed to teach again.

But Kirchner is a member of the Florida Education Association, the state’s largest teachers union. She is also an executive board member of the United Teachers of Dade, her local union.

So when Florida Commissioner of Education Pam Stewart brought Kirchner before the state’s Education Practices Commission for discipline, the union started negotiating on her behalf.

What was the result? A settlement agreement that will allow Kirchner to return to her classroom, almost as if nothing had happened.

In a “final order” issued April 8, the commission announced that it had accepted the settlement agreement which stipulates that Kirchner will receive a letter of reprimand, two years of probation, a $500 fine and must pay $300 per year in probation oversight costs.

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She was also ordered to enroll in a college level class dealing with adolescent child development.

How do we know that the teachers union played a major role in keeping Kirchner employed? The final page of the settlement agreement includes the signature of Carole Buxton, an attorney representing the Florida Education Association.

Once again we have a clear demonstration of where the union’s loyalty lies. It exists to serve the interests of teachers, even when those teachers conduct themselves in a harmful manner toward students.

The parents and taxpayers of the Miami-Dade school district should be outraged. They have a right to expect teachers in their district to conduct themselves in a professional, courteous and dignified manner, at least in the presence of students.

And the parents of students at Coral Reef High School have a legitimate reason to be concerned. With so many teachers across the nation being arrested and convicted for sex crimes with students in recent months and years, how could the state agree to reinstate an educator who simulated an orgasm in front of students, and apparently has trouble keeping her hands to herself?

Experts say those who sexually prey on children begin by grooming them, often in a verbal manner. Was this Kirchner’s way of preparing students for sexual advances? We can’t say for sure, but we have to wonder what other motivation she might have had for talking so much about sex in an English class.

The state of Florida is just begging for more trouble by returning this woman to her teaching position.

A letter sent to Kirchner by Mark Strauss, presiding officer of the Florida Education Practices Commission, puts the situation into perfect perspective.

“This panel, composed of your peers, believes that, as a teacher, you are required to exercise a measure of leadership beyond reproach,” he wrote. “By your actions, you have lessened the reputation of all who practice our profession. The profession cannot condone your actions, nor can the public who employ us.”

The only problem is that Strauss’ correspondence was a letter of reprimand instead of termination and license revocation.

“The Education Practices Commission sincerely hopes it is your intention to never allow this situation to occur again or indeed, to violate any professional obligation in fulfilling your responsibilities as an educator,” Strauss wrote. “To violate the standards of the profession will surely result in further action being taken against you.”

There’s only one problem – by then it may be too late, and students may have encountered real harm.

When did we stop making the interests and safety of students the top priority in our public schools? We need to return to that high standard, and get the people who verbally and physically abuse children out of our classrooms, once and for all.