STATE OF FLORIDA

DIVISION OF ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS

SCHOOL BOARD OF DADE COUNTY, )

)

Petitioner, )

)

vs. ) CASE No. 89-0973

)

SHAWANNA SHAW, )

)

Respondent. )

)

RECOMMENDED ORDER

Pursuant to notice, this cause was heard by Linda M. Rigot, the assigned Hearing officer from the Division of Administrative Hearings, on May 16, 1989, in Miami, Florida.

APPEARANCES

For Petitioner: Jamie C. Bovell, Esquire

370 Minorca Avenue

Coral Gables, Florida 33134

For Respondent: Mrs. Alberta Shaw

2360 N.W. 90th Street Miami, Florida 33147

PRELIMINARY STATEMENT

By letter dated January 27, 1989, Petitioner School Board of Dade County advised Respondent's parent, Mrs. Alberta Shaw, that Respondent was being administratively re-assigned to the Jan Mann Opportunity School-North, and Respondent's parent timely requested a formal hearing on that determination. Accordingly, the issue for determination herein is whether Respondent should be administratively re-assigned to the opportunity school program.

Petitioner presented the testimony of Janet Elaine Willson, Virginia Elizabeth Ruddy, and Barbara P. Bell. Additionally, Petitioner's Exhibits numbered 1-3 were admitted in evidence.

Respondent's mother, Alberta Shaw, testified on Respondent's behalf.

Additionally, Respondent's Exhibit numbered 1 was admitted in evidence.

Both parties submitted posthearing proposed recommended orders.

Petitioner's proposed findings of fact numbered 1-6 have been adopted either verbatim or in substance in this Recommended Order. Respondent's letter did not contain any proposed findings of fact.

FINDINGS OF FACT

1. During the 1988/1989 school year, Shawanna Shaw was a student in the sixth grade at Madison Middle School.

   
   

2. During the 1988/1989 school year Respondent was a student in the reading class of Ms. Willson. At the beginning of the school year Respondent's performance and conduct were acceptable. Shortly thereafter, however, Respondent began to demonstrate a severe disinterest in school. She would only complete about 10% of the homework assignments, would come to class without materials and otherwise unprepared, and refused to do work in class. Moreover, Respondent fell into a pattern of disruptive behavior which seriously interfered with the learning activities in the classroom. This behavior included yelling out in class, thereby breaking the silence required in a reading classroom, and showing open disrespect to her teacher by defying her authority and using abusive and foul language towards her. Respondent's behavior in Ms. Willson's class became so disruptive and unproductive that she was relegated to a separate table so as to separate her from other students. During these separations Respondent would sleep and did not benefit from any of the classroom activities. On other occasions, Respondent would defy her teacher's authority by simply leaving the room without permission.

   
   

3. Ms. Willson attempted to improve Respondent's conduct in school by different methods, including a conference with the mother. Notwithstanding, there was no positive change in Respondent's behavior. As a result of Respondent's failure to make progress and depriving other students of making progress, she received a grade of "F3F," which constitutes a failing academic and conduct grade and the lowest rating for effort.

   
   

4. Respondent was assigned to Ms. Ruddy, one of the school counselors, during the 1988/1989 school year. Because of the frequent conflicts that Respondent had with different teachers and the fact that she was not making progress Ms. Ruddy spent a disproportionate amount of time with her. Efforts by Ms. Ruddy to reactivate Respondent's interest in school were to no avail. Conferences with Respondent and her parents were ineffective. Respondent's skipping of classes became chronic; frequently Ms. Ruddy would find Respondent wandering the halls during normal class times. Further, Respondent frequently tried to engage other students in fighting both during classes and after school, and on one occasion Respondent pushed another student down the stairs. These latter acts can warrant expulsion.

   
   

5. Like other schools within the Dade County School District, it is the practice at Madison Middle School for teachers and administrators to document troublesome student behavior. Written reports are made on Student Case Management Referral Forms, which are reserved to document serious behavior problems. Between September 8, 1988, and January 10, 1989, Respondent received eight Referral Forms from her teachers relating to disruptive and otherwise unacceptable conduct. Ms. Ruddy and the assistant principal, Barbara P. Bell, had numerous conferences with Respondent and her mother in an attempt to improve Respondent's behavior. Numerous techniques were considered, and in the process it was determined that the misbehavior of Respondent was not due to any learning disability, but was primarily the result of poor discipline.

   
   

6. Madison Middle School is not geared to address the peculiar needs of students nor can it provide individual students with continuous special attention. For example, Ms. Ruddy, as a guidance counselor, has between 550 and 600 students assigned to her for counseling. The number of students assigned to

   her simply precludes any sort of in-depth, continuous, or special counseling for Respondent. By contrast, in an opportunity school there are far more counselors available to help develop students with individualized and continuous assistance. Moreover, at an opportunity school there is a full-time psychologist on staff, and the student to teacher ratio is less than half of what it is in a regular school program. As such, students can be provided with a much more structured and individualized program at an opportunity school.

   
   

7. Both Ms. Ruddy and Ms. Bell are of the opinion that Respondent is simply not making any progress at Madison Middle School, and her disruptive behavior is preventing other students from benefiting from normal classroom activities. The more structured environment of an opportunity school could be of great benefit to Respondent and help her to resolve the discipline problems she is experiencing.

   
   

8. Because of Respondent's poor grades, unacceptable conduct, and behavior which deprived other students of a learning experience, a child study team conference between teachers and an administrator was held at which the decision was reached to administratively assign Respondent to an opportunity school.

   
   

9. At various times during the 1988/1989 school year Respondent's mother has requested that Respondent be tested for a learning disability and has refused consent for such testing. She has also requested that Respondent be transferred to the Opportunity School voluntarily and has refused to allow Respondent to be so transferred. During the course of the final hearing, Petitioner agreed that Respondent would be psychologically evaluated by Petitioner, resulting from the parent's request that such evaluation be performed. Although Respondent's Stanford Achievement Test scores are low to below average, it is the opinion of the school personnel having repeated contact with Respondent that her disruptive behavior and failure to do her work are not the result of a learning disability since she has been doing her work prior to October of 1988. They believe her conduct to be a result of lack of discipline. It is expected, however, that should the psychological evaluation indicate the possibility of a learning disability, the School Board of Dade County and Respondent's mother would permit and provide the appropriate testing to determine the presence of any learning disability in order to assist Respondent.

   
   

   CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

   
   

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

    
    

    Section 230.2316, Florida Statutes, is entitled the Dropout Prevention Act and provides for a number of programs alternate to the traditional or regular school program for students meeting the criteria of that Section. Subsection (4)(d) allows for the establishment of disciplinary programs such as the Jan Mann Opportunity School-North for students meeting the following criteria:

    
    

    1. The student has a history of disruptive behavior in school or has committed an offense which warrants suspension or expulsion from school according to the district code of student conduct. For the purposes of this program, "disruptive behavior" is behavior which:

1. Interferes with the student's own

   learning or the educational process of others and requires attention and assistance beyond that which the traditional program can provide or results in frequent conflicts of a disruptive nature while the student is under the jurisdiction of the school either in or out of the classroom; or

2. Severely threatens the general welfare of students or others with whom the student comes into contact.

Petitioner has met its burden of proving that Respondent has a history of disruptive behavior and that Respondent is in need of an educational program which can better fulfill her need for specialized attention than the traditional program.

RECOMMENDATION

Based upon the foregoing Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law, it is RECOMMENDED that a Final Order be entered assigning Respondent Shawanna

Shaw to the Opportunity School Program at Jan Mann Opportunity School-North until such time as her performance reveals that she can be returned to the regular school program.

DONE AND ENTERED this 18th day of July, 1989, in Tallahassee, Leon County, Florida.

LINDA M. RIGOT

Hearing Officer

Division of Administrative Hearings The DeSoto Building

1230 Apalachee Parkway

Tallahassee, Florida 32399-1550

(904) 488-9675

Filed with the Clerk of the Division of Administrative Hearings this 18th day of July, 1989.

COPIES FURNISHED:

Madelyn P. Schere, Esquire

School Board Administration Building 1450 Northeast Second Avenue

Miami, FL 33132

Dr. Joseph A. Fernandez Superintendent of Schools Dade County Public Schools

School Board Administration Building 1450 Northeast Second Avenue

Miami, FL 33132

Frank A. Howard, Jr., Esquire Board Attorney

Dade County Public Schools

School Board Administration Building 1450 Northeast Second Avenue

Miami, FL 33132

Jaime C. Bovell, Esquire

370 Minorca Avenue Coral Gables, FL 33134

Mrs. Alberta Shaw

2360 N.W. 90th Street Miami, FL 33147

Docket for Case No: 89-000973

Orders for Case No: 89-000973