KDSN RADIO News
Fired and convicted of harassment, former NW Iowa teacher wins jobless benefits
(Cherokee County, Iowa) – A northwest Iowa school teacher who was convicted of harassment after being accused of trying to insert himself into a student’s sex life has been awarded unemployment benefits. A report in the Iowa Capital Dispatch says in July 2024, Cherokee Washington High School band instructor Joseph Vannatta pleaded guilty to a charge of harassment after being accused by police of engaging in a “scheme of conduct to insert himself in to (a student’s) sexual life.” Police alleged the student felt he was being “groomed” to have a relationship with Vannatta.
Two months before Vannatta pleaded guilty in the case, he was fired by the Cherokee Community School District. He then filed for unemployment benefits, which the district challenged. A hearing on the matter was held on Feb. 1, 2025, with Administrative Law Judge Sean Nelson presiding.
Earlier this week, Nelson ruled Vannatta was eligible for benefits, finding the school district had not “met its burden to describe the specific incidents that allegedly violated (state law). The only specific act described by the employer, either in exhibits or through testimony, is (Vannatta’s) plan to have this student attend an honor band event in Cedar Falls. Though the circumstances of this student’s attendance at the event, given his poor grades, is suspicious, these circumstances do not prove (Vannatta) used his authority to sexually exploit this student.” In his ruling, Nelson noted the school district was unable to provide specific dates for the incidents in which Vannatta was alleged to have asked the student about his sex life. In addition, Nelson said, the district fired Vannatta before he pleaded guilty to a charge of harassment — which meant the plea couldn’t have been a factor in the decision to fire him
As part of the 2025 legislative session, state lawmakers have advanced a bill that would alter the definition of “grooming” as used in the bill that was signed into law last year. That law defines “grooming” as the use of “digital or written communication to entice, encourage, or lure a child into committing a sex act.” The new legislation, House Study Bill 46, defines “grooming” as “the process of building trust or emotional connections with a student with the intent to exploit such student.”
Officials with the Board of Educational Examiners told lawmakers the Iowa Attorney General’s Office informed them the current law cannot be applied to cases where the suspect has not engaged in sex with a student.
