STATE OF FLORIDA

DIVISION OF ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS

EDUCATION PRACTICES COMMISSION, ) DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, )

)

Petitioner, )

)

vs. ) CASE NO. 81-1440

)

DELMA M. DAWSON, )

)

Respondent. )

)

RECOMMENDED ORDER

Pursuant to notice, a hearing was held before Charles C. Adams, a Hearing Officer with the Division of Administrative Hearings, on September 10, 1981.

The hearing was conducted in Room "B", Haydon Burns Library, 122 North Ocean Street, Jacksonville, Florida, commencing at 10:00 A.M. This Recommended Order is being entered after receipt of the transcript on September 18, 1981.

APPEARANCES

For Petitioner: L. Haldane Taylor, Esquire

1902 Independent Square

Jacksonville, Florida 32202

For Respondent: William J. Sheppard, Esquire

215 Washington Street Jacksonville, Florida 32202

ISSUES

This case concerns the administrative prosecution by the Petitioner against the Respondent through an Administrative Complaint and amendment to that Administrative Complaint. The original statement in the Administrative Complaint accuses the Respondent of purchasing a forged transcript, which transcript indicated that the Respondent had completed requirements for a masters degree from the Florida A & M University and had received that degree, and that the Respondent in turn used the forged transcript to fraudulently receive a certification from the Florida Department of Education, Office of Certification, to the effect that the Respondent held a masters degree. These acts on the part of the Respondent purportedly violate Section 231.28, Florida Statutes, in particular, for reason that the Respondent has committed an act of gross immorality, used fraudulent means to secure a teacher's certificate, and engaged in conduct which seriously reduces her effectiveness. The Respondent is also accused of violating Section 231.09, Florida Statutes, for failing to provide a proper example for students and to have violated Chapter 6B-1, Florida Administrative Code, by not practicing her profession at the highest ethical standard. By amendment to the Administrative Complaint, the Respondent is also accused of violating Subsection 231.28(1), Florida Statutes, by being charged with uttering a forgery and for that charge being adjudicated guilty of a felony

and placed on three years probation, due to her plea of nolo contendere to felony charges. Adjudication in this matter allegedly was made on August 3, 1981.

FINDINGS OF FACT

1. The Petitioner, by Administrative Complaint and the amendment to that complaint, attempts to discipline the Respondent by action in revocation or suspension of the teacher's certificate of Delma M. Dawson, or other appropriate action. The Respondent having been afforded the opportunity for a formal hearing pursuant to Subsection 120.57(1), Florida Statutes, availed herself of that opportunity and the formal hearing was conducted on September 10, 1981.

   
   

2. At present, the Respondent is the holder of a teacher's certificate issued by the State of Florida, Department of Education, No. 423465, issued on October 31, 1979, and valid through June 30, 1986. This is a regular certificate, masters level.

   
   

3. Dawson had obtained this certificate through the process of an application filed with the Teacher's Certification Section of the Florida Department of Education. The date of the filing was June 29, 1979. The application and accompanying transcript to that application may be found as Petitioner's Exhibit No. 7, admitted into evidence. The transcript associated with the application reflects completion of a masters program at Florida A & M University, with the award of a Master of Education Degree with a major in Elementary Education. In fact, this transcript was a fraudulent transcript which the Respondent had purchased from am individual at Florida A & M University named Eugene Sutton. Sutton had access to certain school materials which allowed him to fabricate the bogus transcript. Dawson was to pay

   $3,500.00 for the purchase of the bogus transcript indicating her achievement of a masters degree and, in fact, paid $3,000.00 for that purchase. At the time of the purchase, she knew that she had not completed the necessary course work and complied with the other requirements for receipt of the alleged graduate degree.

   
   

4. Dawson had been a continuing education student at Florida A & M University beginning in January, 1976, and had earned 23 hours of credit. This credit earned was not part of the 54 hours necessary to achieve the masters degree she claimed to have, but was instead, credit towards the validation of her undergraduate degree from Edward Waters College of Jacksonville, Florida. That institution not being accredited, the credit earned from Florida A & M University was for purposes of validating a degree from that unaccredited school.

   
   

5. The actual transcript of credit hours earned from Florida A & M University may be found in Petitioner's Exhibit No. 1A.

   
   

6. At present, the Respondent is an employee of the Duval County, Florida, School System. She was hired to work as a teacher in Duval County on August 23, 1977. On November 6, 1979, she presented the masters level certificate issued by the Florida Department of Education to the officials in Duval County which was an upgrade in her status and through the presentation of this credentials change, it ostensibly entitled her to approximately $900.00 a year in additional compensation in school years 1979- 80 and 1980-81. This is a differential between this teacher at the masters level rank of certification as contrasted with the teacher at a bachelors level of certification employed by the Duval County School System. Dawson never received this additional compensation in

   view of the discovery of her activities in purchasing a degree which she had not earned.

   
   

7. Since the time of her involvement in the purchase of an illegal graduate degree, the Respondent has been charged in the Circuit Court in Leon County, Florida, under the provisions of Section 831.02, Florida Statutes, with uttering a forgery, a third degree felony and entered a nolo contendere plea to that offense. For this plea, the defendant was adjudged guilty and placed on probation for a period of three (3) years. The terms of the disposition of Respondent's case may be found in petitioner's Exhibit No. 16, admitted into evidence, which is a copy of the judgment of guilt and placement of the defendant on probation.

   
   

8. At present, the Respondent is being used as a substitute teacher in the Duval County School System and as an employee in the library services of that school system. Her most recent evaluation, as well as those evaluations made of her performance during the pendency of her service with bits Duval County School System, has shown her to be a satisfactory employee.

   
   

   CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

   
   

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

   
   

10. The petitioner, at the commencement of the formal hearing in this cause, requested leave to amend the Administrative Complaint to include am allegation of a violation of Subsection 231.28(1), Florida Statutes, due to the charge of forgery against the Respondent and the indication that the Respondent had been adjudged guilty of a felony, and placed on three years probation following her plea of nolo contendere to a felony charge. After consideration of that motion, the Petitioner was allowed to make the aforementioned amendment to the Administrative Complaint.

    
    

11. As a part of its presentation, the Petitioner had offered the prehearing depositions of the witnesses Hardy Paul, Dr. Garfield Wilson, Scott Hunt and Dale E. Croy. Those depositions were accepted and became a part of this record. In addition, the exhibits attached to the depositions are admitted in series and shall carry those numbers as affixed at the time of the deposition, with the exception that the entire deposition package alluded to herein becomes the Petitioner's Composite Exhibit No. 1 and the attached exhibit in the deposition of Hardy Paul which carried the number Petitioner's Exhibit No. 1, now becomes Petitioner's Exhibit No. 1A.

    
    

12. The original Administrative Complaint alleged that the Respondent, in 1979, purchased a forged transcript indicating her compliance with all requirements for the issuance of a masters degree from Florida A & M University and with receiving that advanced degree. It was further stated that Respondent used that forged transcript to fraudulently receive a certificate from the Florida Department of Education, a teacher's certificate No. 413465, indicating a masters degree level. According to the Petitioner, those matters constituted certain violations of Section 231.28, Florida Statutes.

    
    

13. The facts found herein comport with the allegations made in the Administrative Complaint and are such that the Respondent has been shown to have committed an act of gross immorality and used a fraudulent means to secure a teacher's certificate, within the meaning of Section 231.28, Florida Statutes, and is subject to the penalties set forth in that section. It has also been

    alleged that the facts of the case demonstrate that the Respondent has engaged in conduct which seriously reduces her effectiveness as a teacher.. The proof in this instance does not sustain that allegation and the Respondent is not found to have violated that provision of Section 231.28, Florida Statutes, which refers to violations for engaging in conduct which seriously reduces the effectiveness of a teacher.

    
    

14. The facts as referenced in this discussion also are deemed by the Petitioner to be violations of Section 231.09, Florida Statutes, in that the Respondent has failed to provide a proper example for students by her conduct of purchasing a forged transcript and using that transcript to obtain her current teacher's certificate. The facts are such that it is concluded as a matter of law that the Respondent has failed to provide a proper example for students, in violation of Section 231.09, Florida Statutes. Likewise, as required in Chapter 6B-1, Florida Administrative Code, the Respondent, in the face of the facts as proven in this case, has not practiced her profession at the highest ethical standard and is found to have violated that provision as alleged. Although the Respondent has violated the provisions set forth in this paragraph, the provisions do not have associated penalties set forth in the provisions, and Section 231.28, Florida Statutes, does not by its terms establish penalties for the subject provisions in this paragraph. Therefore, penalties may not be imposed for violations set forth in this paragraph.

    
    

15. The amendment to the Administrative Complaint refers to Subsection 231.28(1), Florida Statutes, and the alleged felony violation by the Respondent for uttering a forgery, that forgery dealing with the utilization of an alleged bogus transcript for the purpose of obtaining certification at a masters level and the fact that the Respondent reportedly was adjudicated guilty of that felony and placed on three years probation in the fact of her nolo contendere plea and was adjudicated guilty and given three years probation and for this reason has violated the provisions of Subsection 231.28(1), Florida Statutes, related to conviction of felonies and is subject to the penalties set forth in that section. These violations as have been established pertain to one incident, and as such, would allow an assessment of penalties for each of the individual offenses only on a concurrent basis when imposing penalties for each individual violation, as opposed to the possibility of consecutive penalties for each violation proven.

RECOMMENDATION

Based upon the foregoing, it is RECOMMENDED:

That the license rights of the Respondent to teach in the State of Florida and the associated certificate No. 413465 be permanently revoked far the violations as established herein. 1/

DONE and ENTERED this 16th day of October, 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 16th day of October, 1981.

ENDNOTE

1/ The Petitioner has submitted a proposed recommended order. This proposal has been reviewed prior to the entry of this Recommended Order. To the extent that the proposed order is consistent with this Recommended Order, it has been utilized. To the extent that the proposed order is inconsistent with this Recommended Order, it is rejected.

COPIES FURNISHED:

L. Haldane Taylor, Esquire 1902 Independent Square Jacksonville, Florida 32202

William J. Sheppard, Esquire

215 Washington Street Jacksonville, Florida 32202

Docket for Case No: 81-001440

Orders for Case No: 81-001440