STATE OF FLORIDA

DIVISION OF ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS

EDUCATION PRACTICES COMMISSION, ) DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, )

)

Petitioner, )

)

vs. ) CASE NO. 81-1378

)

WILLIE LYNN BROWN, )

)

Respondent. )

)

RECOMMENDED ORDER

Pursuant to notice, a hearing was held before Charles C. Adams, a Hearing Officer with the Division of Administrative Hearings. The hearing was conducted on July 10 and 14, 1981, in Panama City, Florida, at those locations described in the Notices of Hearing.

APPEARANCES

For Petitioner: J. David Holder, Esquire

Post Office Box 1521 Tallahassee, Florida 32302

For Respondent: Algia Cooper, Esquire

121 1/2 South Monroe Street Tallahassee, Florida 32301

ISSUE

The issue presented here concerns an Administrative Complaint brought by Ralph D. Turlington, as Commissioner of Education, against Willie Lynn Brown, calling for the revocation, suspension or other appropriate disciplinary action against the Respondent's teaching certificate issued by the State of Florida.

The contention in this Administrative Complaint is that the Respondent, while employed at the A. D. Harris Sixth Grade Center, conducted physical acts with a minor male student, involving the student sitting on the Respondent's lap and the Respondent taking one of the student's hands and rubbing it against the Respondent's genital area. For these alleged acts of misconduct, the Petitioner attempts to discipline the Respondent, in keeping with the provisions of Section 231.28, Florida Statutes, in that the Respondent is reputedly guilty of gross immorality and an act of moral turpitude and conduct which seriously reduces his effectiveness as an employee of the Bay County School Board and further the Petitioner, in keeping with the Provisions of Section 231.09, Florida Statutes, claims that the conduct on the part of the Respondent is conduct which fails to provide a proper example for students.

FINDINGS OF FACT

1. This matter is here presented for consideration following an Administrative Complaint brought by Ralph D. Turlington, as Commissioner of Education, State of Florida, vs. Willie Lynn Brown, Respondent. The dispute concerns the allegations as alluded to in the Issues statement of this Recommended Order. The Administrative Complaint is dated April 9, 1981.

   
   

2. After receipt of the Administrative Complaint, the Respondent requested a formal hearing pursuant to Subsection 120.57(1), Florida Statutes. In turn, the Petitioner in this action asked that the matter be conducted by the Division of Administrative Hearings, this request being forwarded on May 14, 1981. After consideration of certain preliminary matters, the final hearing in this cause was conducted on July 10 and 14, 1981.

   
   

3. The Respondent holds Florida Teaching Certificate No. 385083, valid through June, 1985, and covering the areas of elementary education, early childhood education and administration/supervision. At all times pertinent to this matter, the Respondent Willie Lynn Brown, was employed by the Bay County School Board as a teacher at the A. D. Harris Sixth Grade Center.

   
   

4. In the school year 1980-81, a local civic club in Panama City, Florida, held an oratorical contest for the benefit of students in the Bay County School System. Among the participants in that contest were students from the A. D. Harris Sixth Grade Center where the Respondent taught. Brown acted in the capacity as advisor to those students and met with the students from the Harris Center on several occasions to aid the students in the preparation of their speeches, and in the presentation of those speeches.

   
   

5. One of the students participating in the oratorical contest was Steve William Rudd, a minor. Rudd was not a student in Brown's regular academic classes. The involvement Rudd had with Brown prior to the oratorical contest was merely to the extent of knowing that Brown was a teacher at Harris.

   
   

6. On the first occasion of Rudd's participation with Brown in the speech contest, Brown met with Rudd and other students in the auditorium at the school and listened to their speeches and critiqued their presentation. The next occasion in which Brown took part in the preparation of the students for the oratorical contest occurred in Brown's homeroom, at which time the general nature of the relationship between Brown and the students was as occurred at the auditorium session.

   
   

7. On the third occasion in which the Respondent met with Rudd there was also in attendance a second student, William Arnold Stevenson. This session was held in the classroom of another teacher. On that occasion Stevenson was allowed to present his speech while Brown listened and Rudd waited for his turn. When Stevenson had concluded his speech, he left the room leaving Brown and Rudd alone. Rudd then commenced his speech standing at the front of the room, and he concluded that presentation while Brown moved around the room listening to the speech. Brown then made certain suggestions to Rudd about correcting Rudd's speech presentation and then asked Rudd to move to the back of the classroom. Rudd complied with that request. Rudd then began to give his speech again while standing at the back of the room in the area of a desk. At this time the Respondent was moving around the room and eventually approached Rudd.

8. At that point, Brown placed his folded arms on the back of Rudd at Rudd's shoulder level. At this juncture, Rudd was facing the front of the classroom and the Respondent was directly behind him. The front of Brown's body was touching the back of Rudd's person. Brown remained in this position until Rudd had concluded his speech. During this interval, Brown made no comment.

   The interval for this occurrence was approximately two or three minutes.

   
   

9. After Rudd had presented his speech for the second time, the Respondent went and took a seat in a chair in the back of the classroom. The Respondent then instructed the student to sit on the Respondent's lap. Rudd complied and seated himself on the Respondent's leg, in the area of the Respondent's knee. The Respondent then gestured with his hands, pointing in the direction of the Respondent's groin area, meaning the genital area, and said to the student, "sit right here." The Respondent then pulled the student toward his body and at that time the student was seated on the Respondent's genital area with his back against the Respondent's chest. No comment was made during this part of the episode, which lasted a short time. Brown then moved Rudd back away from his body into the original location near his knee. He then took the student's right hand and with the student's hands stroked Brown's genital area. This maneuver with the student's hand was a momentary event.

   
   

10. While the student was seated on the Respondent's lap, he was concerned for his welfare and in particular worried about the door which had been locked by the Respondent. The student thought that the door was locked such that he, the student, could not exit. In fact, the door was locked barring entry from persons outside the room.

    
    

11. Brown released Rudd's hand and told Rudd that he could get out and that Brown was sorry for what had occurred. He told the student this several times, once when the student got up, once when the student was midway in the classroom approaching the door, and once when the student got to the door.

    
    

12. On the same day as the event transpired, Rudd reported the incident to the Principal at Harris Center, one James Griffin. Griffin then confronted the Respondent with the student's allegations by asking Brown if the story that Rudd had told about the incident was true. Brown responded, "Yes, it is." When Griffin asked him why he did it, Brown said, "I don't know." Griffin then commented to Brown that the matter was a very serious offense and that Brown might be suspended or dismissed from the school system, to which Brown replied, "I know this." Griffin then asked Brown if he was prepared to face the consequences, and Brown replied, Yes, I guess I am."

    
    

13. Since the time of the event, some of the other students in the sixth grade center have referred to Rudd as a "gay boy," meaning that Rudd was a homosexual, due to his circumstance with Brown and that Rudd "felt Mr. Brown off," meaning that Rudd had manipulated the Respondent's penis. Rudd had bean teased about the event by other students, and the students did not talk to him. Rudd has felt insecure in his home and has desired to sleep on the floor in a sleeping bag with the lights on because of this event with the Respondent. Rudd has felt as if someone were watching him even in his home, in particular that the person was the Respondent. The student has also felt that he did not wish to sleep by a window and has chosen to sleep in the middle of the room, and at times has slept on a couch in the living room of his home.

14. The aforementioned treatment of the student by other children in the sixth grade center led Rudd's parents to change his bus transportation to avoid a confrontation with the children. Nonetheless, it has not been necessary for the student to seek psychiatric assistance and he is recovering from the trauma of the subject occurrence.

    
    

15. In spite of attempts by the school authorities to deter publication of this incident, students, teachers, parents, staff and other persons within the community have learned of the incident and Principal Griffin is of the persuasion that there would be dissension with teachers, parents and students should Brown be allowed back as an instructor in the school. Griffin feels that there would be a lack of trust in that Brown has lost his effectiveness as an instructor. Likewise, Bay County Superintendent Holman who is familiar with the case facts, is of the persuasion that Brown's effectiveness as a teacher in Bay County has been seriously reduced. Nothing offered in defense rebuts the opinion of these educators.

    
    

16. Following the incident, a meeting was held on March 6, 1981, between the Respondent and Pete Holman, Superintendent of Schools in Bay County, Florida, with the Principal Griffin being in attendance. At that time Brown again admitted that the incident had occurred and subsequent to this meeting Brown was suspended from his teaching duties in the Bay County system. There ensued an administrative complaint brought by Ralph D. Turlington as Commissioner of Education in the State of Florida, and the Bay County School Board took action to discharge the Respondent as an employee.

    
    

    CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

    
    

17. The Division of Administrative Hearings has jurisdiction over the subject matter and the parties to this action.

    
    

18. At the point of the hearing, testimony was proffered through the witness Bebe Cofer, a parent of children who had attended the A. D. Harris Sixth Grade Center in the school year 1980-81, but whose children would not attend that school in the next school year. The proffered testimony pertained to the subject of the unwillingness of this parent to have her children instructed by the despondent in the future. From consideration of that proffered testimony, the same is denied admission as evidence.

    
    

19. The Petitioner in this cause has accused the Respondent of violation of Section 231.28, Florida Statutes, related to an alleged act of gross immorality and moral turpitude and conduct which seriously reduces his effectiveness as an employee of the Bay County School Board and has also accused the Respondent of violating Section 231.09, Florida Statutes, for being guilty of conduct which fails to provide a proper example for students. In consideration of the facts of this case as related herein, involving the Respondent's conduct with the student Steve William Rudd, which occurred on March 5, 1981, the petitioner is correct in all assertions. The conduct on the part of the Respondent in touching the student Rudd by leaning against him, by causing Rudd to be seated on his lap, and by causing Rudd to touch the Respondent's genital area are acts of gross immorality and acts of moral turpitude. Those events when they became known to students, teachers, parents, staff and other members of the community of Bay County, Florida, are such that they seriously reduce his effectiveness as a teacher and are such that they fail to set a proper example for students.

20. For those acts committed and in accordance with Section 231.28, Florida Statutes, the Respondent is subject to a penalty ranging from suspension to permanent revocation.

RECOMMENDATION

Upon consideration of the facts of this case, the conclusions of law reached in matters in aggravation and mitigation, it is

RECOMMENDED: That the Respondent, Willie Lynn Brown, have his teacher's certificate in the State of Florida, revoked permanently. 1/

DONE and ENTERED this 21st day of September, 1981, in Tallahassee, Florida.

CHARLES C. ADAMS, Hearing Officer 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 21st day of September, 1981.

ENDNOTE

1/ The parties to this action, in the person of counsel, have submitted proposed recommended orders. Those proposals have been reviewed prior to the entry of this Recommended Order. To the extent that the proposals are consistent with this Recommended Order, they have been utilized. To the extent that the proposals are inconsistent with this Recommended Order, they are hereby rejected.

COPIES FURNISHED:

J. David Holder, Esquire Post Office Box 1521 Tallahassee, Florida 32302

Algia Cooper, Esquire

121 1/2 South Monroe Street Tallahassee, Florida 32301

Information Copy:

Franklin R. Harrison, Esquire Post Office Box 1579

343 Magnolia Avenue

Panama City, Florida 32401

Docket for Case No: 81-001378

Orders for Case No: 81-001378