STATE OF FLORIDA

DIVISION OF ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS

SCHOOL BOARD OF MIAMI-DADE )

COUNTY, FLORIDA, )

)

Petitioner, )

)

vs. ) Case No. 98-4624

)

IMAN ABD AL-QUDDUS, )

)

Respondent. )

)

RECOMMENDED ORDER

Pursuant to notice, a formal hearing was held in this case by video teleconference with the Petitioner appearing from Miami, Florida, on March 2, 2000, before J. D. Parrish, a designated Administrative Law Judge of the Division of Administrative Hearings.

APPEARANCES

For Petitioner: Luis M. Garcia, Esquire

School Board of Miami-Dade County Attorney's Office

1450 N.E. Second Avenue, Suite 400

Miami, Florida 33132 For Respondent: No Appearance

STATEMENT OF THE ISSUE

Whether the Respondent should be dismissed from her employment with the Miami-Dade County School District.

PRELIMINARY STATEMENT

This case began on October 7, 1998, when the Petitioner, the School Board of Miami-Dade County, Florida, took action to

suspend the Respondent and to initiate dismissal proceedings. By letter dated October 9, 1998, the Respondent, Iman Abd Al-Quddus, requested a hearing to contest the dismissal. Thereafter, the matter was forwarded to the Division of Administrative Hearings for formal proceedings.

The Notice of Specific Charges was filed on December 18, 1998, and outlined allegations of misconduct in office, conduct unbecoming a School Board employee, and violations of School Board rules. The hearing in this cause was continued on several occasions. Counsel for the Respondent was permitted to withdraw. The matter was eventually heard on March 2, 2000.

At the hearing, the Petitioner presented testimony from Raymond White, a student formerly assigned to the Respondent's class; Jackquelyn White, Raymond's parent; Delicia Johnson, a student formerly assigned to the Respondent's class; Vivian Johnson, Delicia's parent; Olman Mena, a student formerly assigned to the Respondent's class; Gilberto Bonce, an assistant principal at Allapattah Middle School; and Thomasina O'Donnell, executive director in the Office of Professional Standards for the Miami-Dade County Public Schools. The Petitioner's Exhibits marked for identification by numbers 1 through 7, and 9 through

33 were received into evidence. The Respondent did not present evidence in her behalf.

The transcript of the proceeding was filed on March 14, 2000. The Petitioner was granted leave to file a proposed

recommended order not later than May 15, 2000. The Petitioner's Proposed Recommended Order has been considered in the preparation of this order.

FINDINGS OF FACT

1. The Petitioner is responsible for the administration and operation of the public schools within the Miami-Dade County Public School District. Such responsibility includes the discipline of teachers employed to work in the public schools of the district.

2. At all times material to the allegations of this case, the Respondent, Iman Abd Al-Quddus, was employed as a math teacher by the Petitioner.

3. The Respondent was assigned to Allapattah Middle School for the 1997-1998 school year pursuant to a professional service contract.

4. On January 15, 1998, the Respondent grabbed a sixth grade student in her class named Raymond White. According to Raymond the Respondent pushed him against the wall and attempted to choke him. Raymond started crying and was upset. He immediately went to the office to report the incident and spoke with the Assistant Principal, Mr. Bonce.

5. As a result of the foregoing incident, the student's neck became swollen. He was later taken to a hospital and examined.

6. After the incident described above, Raymond's mother filed a complaint with the School Board. The complaint prompted a school police investigation of the incident.

7. On May 13, 1998, during a conference for the record (CFR) with the Respondent, the school principal directed the Respondent to refrain from any conduct which could be perceived as inappropriate and from discussing the choking incident with others.

8. Unrelated to the foregoing, on May 6, 1998, a parent complained that the Respondent used profanity in the presence of students.

9. School administrators heard the Respondent use profanity in her classroom. They were able to overhear the Respondent's inappropriate language from the hallway outside her classroom.

10. On May 18, 1998, Raymond's mother complained to school officials that the Respondent had announced that Raymond would receive a failing grade in the class. On another occasion, the parent advised the school officials that the Respondent had threatened to punish students who reported the Respondent's use of profanity.

11. Given the number of incidents between the Respondent and students in Raymond's class, Mrs. White became concerned that the Respondent was not exhibiting appropriate professional conduct in the class.

12. Delicia Johnson was a sixth grade math student in the Respondent's class during the 1997-1998 school year. According to this student, the Respondent used profanity on numerous occasions in the classroom.

13. Delicia described the Respondent's treatment of students as "very bad." She observed the Respondent hit students and heard her describe them as "stupid," "dumb," "idiots," or "morons."

14. Delicia earned an "A" grade but was given a "C" by the Respondent. Later the grade was changed to reflect the correct grade.

15. According to Delicia, the Respondent's use of derogatory terms made the students feel uncomfortable.

16. Delicia's mother filed letters with the Petitioner to complain of the Respondent's treatment of the class. She was concerned about the Respondent's use of profanity and demeaning treatment of students.

17. Gilberto Bonce was the assistant principal at Allapattah during the 1997-1998 school year. Mr. Bonce counseled the Respondent on more than one occasion regarding her language in the classroom.

18. Mr. Bonce also advised the Respondent to not speak with students regarding an ongoing investigation. According to Mr. Bonce the Respondent did not comply with these directives.

19. On one occasion, the Respondent started screaming at Mr. Bonce and refused to calm down. He requested that she return to her classroom which had been left unsupervised.

20. Mr. Bonce conceded that the Respondent knows her subject matter but failed as a teacher because she was unable to maintain discipline in the class, reverted to the use of derogatory names and profanity toward the students, and could not be effective in the classroom setting.

21. Based upon the notoriety of the Respondent's classroom behavior, her demeaning treatment of students, and her physical attack on Raymond White, the Respondent's effectiveness as a teacher in the Miami-Dade County Public School District has been seriously impaired.

22. Official recognition has been taken of the following provisions: School Board Rules 6Gx13-4A-1.21, 6Gx13-4-1.08, 6Gx13-5D-1.07, and 6Gx13-5B-1.04; and Rules 6B-1.006, 6B-1.001, and 6B-4.009, Florida Administrative Code.

    CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

    
    

23. The Division of Administrative Hearings has jurisdiction over the parties to and the subject matter of these proceedings.

24. The Petitioner bears the burden of proof in this matter to establish the allegations of the Notice of Specific Charges.

25. Section 230.23(5), Florida Statutes empowers the Petitioner to discipline members of the instructional staff

    employed under a professional services contract. Such authority includes the suspension and dismissal of an employee.

26. Section 231.001, Florida Statutes, provides in part:

    
    

    Except as otherwise provided by law or the State Constitution, district school boards are authorized to prescribe rules governing personnel matters, including the assignment of duties and responsibilities for all district employees.

    
    

27. Section 231.36, Florida Statutes, provides in pertinent part:

    (1)(a) Each person employed as a member of the instructional staff in any district school system shall be properly certificated pursuant to s. 231.17 or employed pursuant to

    s. 231.1725 and shall be entitled to and shall receive a written contract as specified in chapter 230. All such contracts, except continuing contracts as specified in subsection (4), shall contain provisions for dismissal during the term of the contract only for just cause. Just cause includes, but is not limited to, the following instances, as defined by rule of the State Board of Education: misconduct in office, incompetency, gross insubordination, willful neglect of duty, or conviction of a crime involving moral turpitude.

    * * *

    
    

28. Rule 6B-4.009(3), Florida Administrative Code, provides in part:

    Misconduct in office is defined as a violation of the Code of Ethics of the Education Profession as adopted in Rule 6B- 1.001, FAC., and the Principles of Professional Conduct for the Education Profession in Florida as adopted in Rule 6B- 1.006, FAC., which is so serious as to impair the individual's effectiveness in the school system.

29. Rule 6B-1.001, Florida Administrative Code, provides:

    
    

    1. The educator values the worth and dignity of every person, the pursuit of truth, devotion to excellence, acquisition of knowledge, and the nurture of democratic citizenship. Essential to the achievement of these standards are the freedom to learn and to teach and the guarantee of equal opportunity for all.

    2. The educator's primary professional concern will always be for the student and for the development of the student's potential. The educator will therefore strive for professional growth and will seek to exercise the best professional judgment and integrity.

    3. Aware of the importance of maintaining the respect and confidence of one's colleagues, of students, of parents, and of other members of the community, the educator strives to achieve and sustain the highest degree of ethical conduct.

30. In this case the Petitioner has established by clear and convincing evidence that the Respondent physically mistreated a student, subjected students to derogatory names, and used unprofessional and inappropriate language in the classroom on numerous occasions. Such conduct has rendered the Respondent's effectiveness as a classroom teacher impaired and violated the standards for professional conduct. Further, such conduct constitutes just cause for the termination of Respondent's professional services contract.

RECOMMENDATION

Based on the foregoing Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law, it is RECOMMENDED that the Miami-Dade School Board enter a final order affirming the suspension and dismissal of the

Respondent from her position as a teacher with the School District.

DONE AND ENTERED this 28th day of June, 2000, in Tallahassee, Leon County, Florida.

J. D. Parrish Administrative Law Judge

Division of Administrative Hearings The DeSoto Building

1230 Apalachee Parkway

Tallahassee, Florida 32399-3060

(850) 488-9675 SUNCOM 278-9675

Fax Filing (850) 921-6847 www.doah.state.fl.us

Filed with the Clerk of the Division of Administrative Hearings this 28th day of June, 2000.

COPIES FURNISHED:

Luis M. Garcia, Esquire School Board of Miami-Dade

County, Florida

1450 Northeast Second Avenue Suite 400

Miami, Florida 33132

Iman Abd Al-Quddus

181 Chafin Avenue

Ewing, New Jersey 08638

Roger C. Cuevas, Superintendent Dade County Schools

1450 Northeast Second Avenue Room 912

Miami, Florida 33132-1308

Honorable Tom Gallagher Commissioner of Education Department of Education

The Capitol, Plaza Level 08 Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0400

NOTICE OF RIGHT TO SUBMIT EXCEPTIONS

All parties have the right to submit written exceptions within 15 days from the date of this Recommended Order. Any exceptions to this Recommended Order should be filed with the agency that will issue the Final Order in this case.

Docket for Case No: 98-004624

Orders for Case No: 98-004624