STATE OF FLORIDA

DIVISION OF ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS

HENRY S. TUGENDER, )

)

Petitioner, )

)

vs. ) CASE NO. 82-3376

)

DEPARTMENT OF PROFESSIONAL )

REGULATION, BOARD OF )

PSYCHOLOGICAL EXAMINERS, )

)

Respondent. )

)

RECOMMENDED ORDER

A hearing was held in the above-captioned matter, after due notice, at Tallahassee, Florida, on May 18, 1983, before Thomas C. Oldham, Hearing Officer.

APPEARANCES

For Petitioner: Henry S. Tugender

35 Wickatunk Village Morganville, New Jersey 07751

For Respondent: Randy Holland, Esquire

Department of Legal Affairs The Capitol, Room 1601 Tallahassee, Florida 32301

ISSUE

Whether Petitioner's application for licensure as a psychologist should be approved, pursuant to Chapter 490, Florida Statutes.

This proceeding arose as a result of Respondent's provisional denial of Petitioner's application for licensure by endorsement as a psychologist under Chapter 490, Florida Statutes, and Chapter 21U-11, Florida Administrative Code, based upon Respondent's determination that Petitioner did not hold a license in another state which was obtained by requirements substantially equivalent or more stringent to requirements for licensure as a psychologist in the State of Florida.

At the commencement of the hearing, Petitioner was advised of his rights in administrative proceedings. He indicated his understanding of such rights and elected to represent himself at the hearing.

Petitioner testified in his own behalf and submitted 4 exhibits in evidence. Respondent presented the testimony of Dr. Frank Biasco, a member of the Board of Psychological Examiners. Joint Exhibit 1 representing the application file of Petitioner was also received in evidence.

FINDINGS OF FACT

1. Petitioner Henry S. Tugender, Morganville, New Jersey, filed an application for licensure by endorsement as a psychologist with Respondent Board of Psychological Examiners on February 22, 1982. By letter of November 4, 1982, the Board's executive director informed Petitioner that his application had been denied by the Board pursuant to Rule 21U-11.04, Florida Administrative Code, because he did not hold a license in another state obtained by requirements substantially equivalent or more stringent to requirements for licensure as a psychologist in the State of Florida. Petitioner thereafter requested an administrative hearing. (Testimony of Tugender, Joint Exhibit 1)

   
   

2. Petitioner received a master's degree in clinical psychology from Long Island University in 1959. He pursued doctoral studies in the clinical psychology program of Arizona State University from 1962 to 1964. In 1970, he obtained a Doctor of Philosophy degree from East Coast University, Dade City Florida, with a major in psychology. He was in an "external" degree program that involved a minimum residency during two summers and and submission of a dissertation. The university was not accredited by the American Psychology Association (APA) and is no longer in existence. (Testimony of Tugender, Joint Exhibit 1, Petitioner's Exhibit 1)

   
   

3. Petitioner is licensed to practice psychology in three states and the District of Columbia. He was licensed in New Jersey in 1968, Illinois in 1971, Pennsylvania in 1975, and the District of Columbia in 1973. At the time of licensure, none of the three states or the District of Columbia required a doctoral degree to obtain a license. He qualified in each instance by having a master's degree, plus a varying number of years of experience. (Testimony of Petitioner, Joint Exhibit 1)

   
   

4. At the time Petitioner was licensed in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Illinois and the District of Columbia, the licensure requirements of those states were not substantially equivalent to or more stringent than those now contained in Chapter 490, Florida Statutes, in that they did not require a doctoral degree with a major in psychology from a school with an APA approved program, or from a school maintaining a standard of training comparable to those universities having programs approved by the APA or the doctoral psychology programs of the state universities. Rifle 21U-11.04(2)(a), Florida Administrative Code, sets forth criteria that must be met in all respects in order to demonstrate that the doctoral program meets the comparability requirements established by the rule. Petitioner presented no evidence concerning the content of his doctoral program at East Coast University, but conceded at the hearing that the program did not meet a number of the requirements specified in the rule. (Testimony of Petitioner, Biasco)

   
   

5. Petitioner seeks to relocate to Florida for professional and health reasons. He currently is in private practice in New Jersey. He specializes in hypnosis and has been active in that field over many years. At the time of hearing, he held a valid Florida Department of Education teacher's certificate in psychology. He is also a certified school psychologist in the states of Pennsylvania and New Jersey. He is affiliated with a number of professional organizations and is listed in the National Register of Health Service Providers in Psychology. In 1974-75, he served as a consultant to the Florida Parole and Probation Commission, and in the Department of Corrections. (Testimony of Petitioner, Joint Exhibit 1, Petitioner's Exhibits 1-4)

   CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

   
   

6. Section 490.006, Florida Statutes, provides pertinently as follows:

   
   

   1. Licensure by endorsement.--

      1. The department shall license a person in a profession regulated by this chapter who, upon ap- plying to the department and remitting the appropri- ate fee, demonstrates to the department or, in the case of psychologists, to the board that he holds a valid license or certificate in another state to

         practice the profession for which licensure is applied, provided that, when the applicant secured such license or certificate, the requirements were substantially equivalent to or more stringent than those set forth

         in this chapter.

      2. Such examinations and requirements of other states shall be presumed to be substantially equiva- lent to or more stringent than those in this state unless the department or, in the case of psychologists, the board by rule finds otherwise. Such presumption shall not arise until January 1, 1982.

   
   

7. As authorized by subsection 490.006(2), Respondent has determined in its Rule 21U-11.04, Florida Administrative Code, that the licensure requirements of other states are not to be presumed substantially equivalent to or more stringent than those in Florida. The rule provides that in order to be certified as eligible for licensure by endorsement, an applicant must demonstrate to the Board's satisfaction that at the time he was originally licensed as a psychologist in another state, such state required and the applicant satisfied certain requirements for licensure, as spelled out in subparagraph (2)(a) of the rule, as follow:

   
   

   1. A doctoral degree with a major in psychology from a university or professional school that has a program approved by the American Psychological Association or a doctoral degree in psychology from a university or pro-

fessional school maintaining a standard of training comparable to those universities having programs approved by the American Psychological Association or the doctoral programs of the state universities.

For the purpose of determining whether an applicant's doctoral degree in psychology was received from a university or professional school maintaining a standard of training comparable to those universities having programs approved by the American Psychological Association the Board will apply the following criteria:

1. Education and training in psychology must have been received in an institution of higher

   education accredited by one of the regional accrediting bodies recognized by the Council on Postsecondary Accreditation.

2. The doctoral program must be publicly identified as a psychology program, and must specify in perti- nent institutional catalogs and brochures its intent

   to educate and train psychologists.

3. The psychology program must stand as a recogni- zable, coherent organizational entity within the institution.

4. There must be a clear authority and primary responsibility for the academic core and specialty preparation, whether or not the program involves multiple administrative line.

5. The doctoral program must be an organized, integrated sequence of study designed by the psy- chology faculty responsible for the program.

6. There must be an identifiable psychology faculty. The program director must be a psychologist.

7. The program must have an identifiable body of students who are matriculated in that program for a doctoral degree.

8. The doctoral program must include supervised practicum and/or laboratory experiences appropriate to practice, teaching, or research in psychology.

9. Doctoral programs preparing clinical, counseling, or school psychologists shall require a minimum of:

   1. the equivalent of three full-time academic years of graduate study;

   2. two academic years of the three shall be in full-time residence at the institution from which the doctoral degree is granted.

10. Clinical, counseling, and school psychology doctoral programs shall require each student to demonstrate knowledge and use of scientific and professional ethics and standards, research design and methodology statistics, psychological measure-

    ment, and history and systems of psychology. Further, the program shall require each student to demonstrate knowledge in the following substantive areas of psychology:

    1. biological bases of behavior (e.g., psycholo- gical psychology, comparative psychology, neuropsy- chology, psychopharmacology),

    2. cognitive-affective bases of behavior (e.g., learning, memory, perception, cognition, thinking, motivation, emotion)

    3. social bases of behavior (e.g., social psychology, cultural, ethnic, and group processes, sex roles, organizational and systems theory), and

    4. individual behavior (e.g., personality theory, human development, individual differences, abnormal psychology, psychology of women, psychology of the handicapped).

11. A formal one year internship or its equivalent is required as a means of training advanced students to meet the range of problems a professional psy- chologist may be expected to confront, appropriate

to the graduate program's training model.

8. Petitioner concedes that he did not obtain a doctoral degree with a major in psychology from a school that had a program approved by the American

Psychological Association. He also concedes that his doctoral program was not comparable to an APA approved program as defined by the criteria in Rule 21U- 11.04(2)(a). Accordingly, it is concluded that Petitioner has failed to establish that he meets the educational requirements required for licensure by endorsement.

RECOMMENDATION

That Petitioner's application for licensure as a psychologist by endorsement be DENIED.

DONE and ENTERED this 14th day of July, 1983, in Tallahassee, Florida.

THOMAS C. OLDHAM

Division of Administrative Hearings The Oakland Building

2009 Apalachee Parkway

Tallahassee, Florida 32301

(904) 488-9675

Filed with the Clerk of the Division of Administrative Hearings this 14th day of July, 1983.

COPIES FURNISHED:

Jane Raker, Executive Director Board of Psychological Examiners

130 North Monroe Street Tallahassee, Florida 32301

Randy Holland, Esquire Department of Legal Affairs The Capitol - 1601 Tallahassee, Florida 32301

Henry S. Tugender

35 Wickatunk Village Morganville, N.J. 07751

Docket for Case No: 82-003376

Orders for Case No: 82-003376