STATE OF FLORIDA

DIVISION OF ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, ) EDUCATION PRACTICES COMMISSION, ) and BETTY CASTOR, as )

Commissioner of Education, )

)

Petitioners, )

)

vs. ) CASE NO. 86-4768

)

HARVEY R. STECKLER, )

)

Respondent. )

)

RECOMMENDED ORDER

Pursuant to notice, the Division of Administrative Hearings, by its duly designated Hearing Officer, William B. Thomas, held a formal administrative hearing on April 24, 1987, in Miami, Florida. The transcript was received on June 1, 1987, and the parties were allowed 15 days thereafter to submit proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law. The proposed findings of fact submitted by the Petitioner are accepted, and have been generally incorporated herein. Nothing has been received from or on behalf of the Respondent.

APPEARANCES

For Petitioner: William E. Williams, Esquire

Post Office Box 1739 Tallahassee, Florida 32302

For Respondent: Harvey R. Steckler, pro se

825 82nd Street

Miami Beach, Florida 33141

By Administrative Complaint dated September 17, 1986, the Petitioner seeks to permanently revoke the Respondent's teaching certificate, or impose any other authorized penalty against the Respondent, for conduct which constitutes gross immorality or an act involving moral turpitude, for personal conduct which seriously reduces his effectiveness as a school board employee, and for failure to protect students from conditions which are harmful to learning or to their health or safety, in violation of Section 231.28(1)(c), (f) and (h) Florida Statutes, and Rule 6B-1.006(3)(a), Florida Administrative Code. The Respondent denied these charges and requested a formal administrative hearing.

At the hearing, the Petitioner presented four witnesses and introduced one exhibit which was received in evidence. The Respondent declined to present any evidence.

The issue is whether the Respondent's teaching certificate should be permanently revoked or the Respondent otherwise disciplined for the reasons alleged in the Administrative Complaint.

FINDINGS OF FACT

1. The Respondent, Harvey R. Steckler, holds Teacher's Certificate No. 520419 issued by the State of Florida, Department of Education. This Certificate covers the area of substitute teaching.

   
   

2. On February 5, 1985, the Respondent was employed as a substitute teacher at Brownsville Junior High School in the Dade County Public School System.

   
   

3. On February 5, 1985, while substitute teaching in a physical education class, the Respondent was conversing with a group of minor male students.

   During this conversation, a minor female student passed the Respondent and the group of students. While looking at the female student, the Respondent began to make sexual remarks about her. She could hear portions of these remarks, such as "Oh, she's so fine; he had a girl on his boat and liked to eat her out; you wouldn't mind getting to her; he would like to eat her out," and other sexual comments. These remarks were also overheard by the boys in the group, as well as by the female student.

   
   

4. The female student went to the school office and told the Principal and the Assistant Principal about the incident. They suggested to her that she write out a report on the incident, which she did.

   
   

5. The Respondent's remarks caused the female student to be both nervous and frightened, as well as embarrassed.

   
   

6. When the Principal of Brownsville Junior High reported this incident to the Dade County school system, the Respondent was informed that his name had been removed from the approved list of substitute teachers, pending further notice. After an investigation and several conferences, the Respondent's name was permanently removed from the list of authorized substitute teachers in the Dade County public school system. On April 24, 1985, the Respondent appeared before a publicly televised meeting of the school board to appeal the removal, but the school board took no action to reinstate him.

   
   

7. The nature of the incident described above, together with the awareness of the incident on the part of students, staff, parents and the community, because of its publicity, so impaired the Respondent's effectiveness as a substitute teacher and as an educator, that the school board could not re-employ him in any capacity in the Dade County public schools.

   
   

   CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

   
   

8. The Division of Administrative Hearings has jurisdiction over the parties to and subject matter of this case pursuant to Section 120.57(1), Florida Statutes.

   
   

9. Section 231.28(1), Florida Statutes, authorizes the Education Practices Commission to revoke or suspend a teaching certificate, or to impose any penalty provided by law, if it is shown that a teacher has been guilty of gross immorality or an act involving moral turpitude, or has engaged in conduct which seriously reduces the teacher's effectiveness as an employee of the school board, or has violated rules of the State Board of Education, the penalty for which is revocation of a teaching certificate. (Subsections 238.21(1)(c), (f), (h), Florida Statutes.) Among the rules for which a certificate may be revoked

   are those requiring that teachers ". . . make reasonable effort to protect the student from conditions harmful to learning or to health or safety," (Rule 6B- 1.006(3)(a), Florida Administrative Code) and to ". . . not intentionally expose a student to unnecessary embarrassment or disparagement." Rule 6B-1.006(3)(e)).

   
   

10. From the evidence presented, it has been established that the Respondent, Harvey R. Steckler, engaged in conduct which constitutes gross immorality or moral turpitude; that this is personal conduct which has seriously reduced his effectiveness as an employee of the Dade County school board; that the Respondent failed to make a reasonable effort to protect students from conditions harmful to their health or safety; and that he intentionally exposed a student to unnecessary embarrassment or disparagement; in violation of the statutes and rules set forth above.

    
    

11. Therefore, pursuant to Section 231.28(1), Florida Statutes, the teaching certificate of the Respondent may be revoked permanently.

RECOMMENDATION

Based on the foregoing findings of fact and conclusions of law, it is RECOMMENDED that the Education Practices Commission enter a Final Order

permanently revoking Teacher's Certificate No. 520419 held by the Respondent, Harvey R. Steckler.

THIS RECOMMENDED ORDER ENTERED this 17th day of June 1987, in Tallahassee, Leon County, Florida.

WILLIAM B. THOMAS

Hearing Officer

Division of Administrative Hearings The Oakland Building

2009 Apalachee Parkway

Tallahassee, Florida 32399-1550 904/488-9675

Filed with the Clerk of the Division of Administrative Hearings this 17th day of June 1987.

COPIES FURNISHED:

William E. Williams, Esquire Post Office Box 1739 Tallahassee, Florida 32302

Mr. Harvey R. Steckler 825 82nd Street

Miami Beach, Florida 33141

Honorable Betty Castor Commissioner of Education The Capitol

Tallahassee, Florida 32399

Sydney Moenzie, Esquire General Counsel Department of Education Knott Building

Tallahassee, Florida 32399

Marlene T. Greenfield Administrator Professional Practices Services Section

319 West Madison Street, Room 3 Tallahassee, Florida 32301

Karen B. Wilde, Executive Director Education Practices Commission Room 418

Knott Building Tallahassee, Florida 32399

Docket for Case No: 86-004768

Orders for Case No: 86-004768