STATE OF FLORIDA

DIVISION OF ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS

RALPH D. TURLINGTON, Commissioner ) of Education, )

)

Petitioner, )

)

vs. ) CASE NO. 81-1756

)

HENRIETTA FORBES, )

)

Respondent. )

)

RECOMMENDED ORDER

Pursuant to notice dated February 2, 1982, this cause came on for hearing on March 3, 1982, before Linda M. Rigot, the assigned Hearing Officer of the Division of Administrative Hearings in Tallahassee, Florida.

APPEARANCES

For Petitioner: Thomas F. Woods, Esquire

Woods, Johnston, Carlson & Sanford 1030 East Lafayette Street, Suite 112

Tallahassee, Florida 32301

For Respondent: Did not appear and was not represented.

Petitioner filed a Petition for the Revocation of Teacher's Certificate seeking to revoke or suspend the teaching certificate of Respondent.

Accordingly, the issue for determination is whether Respondent's teaching certificate should be revoked or suspended.

Petitioner presented the testimony of Edward J. Foley, Jr., Leiva Hull, and Ollice Davis, Sr., all by deposition. Additionally, Petitioner's Exhibits numbered 1 through 6 were admitted in evidence, with Petitioner's Composite Exhibit numbered 6 being a late-filed exhibit.

Petitioner submitted post-hearing proposed findings of fact in the form of a Proposed Recommended Order. To the extent that any proposed findings of fact have not been adopted in this Recommended Order, they have been rejected as not having been supported by the evidence, as having been irrelevant to the issues under consideration herein or as constituting unsupported argument of counsel or conclusions of law.

FINDINGS OF FACT

1. Respondent holds Florida teaching certificate number 380391, Post Graduate, Rank II, valid through June 30, 1986, covering the areas of math and junior college.

2. Respondent was employed in the public schools of Palm Beach County as a math teacher at Lake Shore Middle School for the 1979-1980 school year.

   
   

3. During the first few weeks of school, Respondent summoned her students into the classroom by shouting an obscenity at them and staged a funeral ceremony for a dead rat in her math class. Students reported these incidents to the principal and to the assistant principal for administration at Lake Shore Middle School.

   
   

4. Respondent told another teacher in her carpool that she had found herself in the emergency room of a hospital and did not know how she had gotten there or why she was there. She further admitted being under the care of a psychiatrist.

   
   

5. On October 12, 1979, Respondent was seen outside chasing students in an attempt to get them into her classroom, including students that did not belong there. Later, Assistant Principal Davis took Respondent out of her classroom and sent her to the teachers' lounge since she was unable to maintain control over her students in the classroom. Respondent later became subject to alternating outbursts of laughing and crying, without apparent reason. Respondent was driven home by the members of her carpool.

   
   

6. Respondent did not return to Lake Shore Middle School. She was absent without leave from October 13, 1979, until her written resignation was accepted by the Palm Beach County School Board on December 3, 1979.

   
   

7. On June 18, 1979, Respondent was arrested for possession of marijuana. She elected to participate in the Palm Beach County Pre-Trial Intervention Program. On November 8, 1979, Respondent was again arrested for possession of marijuana. Respondent was not prosecuted pursuant to the first arrest because of her participation and completion of the Pre-Trial Intervention Program. The record in this cause contains no evidence as to the disposition of Respondent's second arrest.

   
   

8. The Petition for the Revocation of Teacher's Certificate dated July 29, 1980, was mailed by certified mail to Respondent at her last-known address.

   This and all subsequent mailings to her at her last-known address were returned marked "Unclaimed." Notice of Action was published in The Post, a Palm Beach County newspaper. Respondent's present whereabouts is unknown to each of the Petitioner's witnesses.

   
   

   CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

   
   

9. The Division of Administrative Hearings has jurisdiction over the subject matter and the parties hereto. Section 120.57(1), Florida Statutes (1981).

   
   

10. Petitioner has given proper notice to the Respondent of the allegations against her, and all statutory notice requirements have been fulfilled.

    
    

11. The Petition for the Revocation of Teacher's Certificate alleges that Respondent is guilty of conduct which is grossly immoral. The use of an obscenity on one occasion cannot be deemed conduct which is grossly immoral, nor can Respondent's arrest for possession of marijuana be deemed grossly immoral. Respondent was not prosecuted as a result of the first arrest, and Petitioner has failed to present any evidence regarding the disposition of the second

    arrest. Accordingly, this record is devoid of any evidence upon which a finding of gross immorality can be based, and Petitioner has failed to meet its burden of proof regarding that charge.

    
    

12. The Petition further charges that Respondent has failed to set a proper example for her students, that her conduct is sufficiently notorious to bring her and the education profession into public disgrace and disrespect, and that her conduct has seriously reduced her effectiveness as an employee of the school board. Petitioner has proven that Respondent was unable to maintain control of herself and her classroom and that the students themselves found Respondent's conduct sufficiently inappropriate to complain to the administrative staff at the school. Additionally, Respondent's absence without leave is highly unprofessional, sets a poor example for students, renders her ineffective as a teacher, and encourages public disrespect for the education profession. Accordingly, Petitioner has met its burden of proof that Respondent has violated Section 6B-1, Florida Administrative Code, and Section 231.09(2), Florida Statutes, and is therefore subject to the disciplinary procedures authorized by Section 231.28, Florida Statutes.

RECOMMENDATION

Based upon the foregoing findings of fact and conclusions of law, it is, therefore,

RECOMMENDED THAT:

A final order be entered revoking the teaching certificate of Henrietta Forbes, certificate number 380391.

RECOMMENDED this 16th day of April, 1982, in Tallahassee, Florida.

LINDA M. RIGOT

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 April, 1982.

COPIES FURNISHED:

Thomas F. Woods, Esquire

Woods, Johnston, Carlson & Sanford 1030 East Lafayette Street

Suite 112

Tallahassee, Florida 32301

Mr. Donald L. Griesheimer Executive Director

Education Practices Commission

125 Knott Building Tallahassee, Florida 32301

Ms. Henrietta Forbes 1812 "B" Road

Loxahatchee, Florida 33470

Docket for Case No: 81-001756

Orders for Case No: 81-001756