The Issue The issue to be resolved in this proceeding concerns whether Respondent's employment as a teacher should be terminated for just cause, as delineated in Section 1012.33(1)(a), Florida Statutes (2005).
Findings Of Fact Kara Mort (Dr. Mort) has worked in the field of education since 1969 and in her chosen field as a Special Education teacher from 2001 through May 2005 in St. Johns County, Florida. She earned a Bachelor's Degree in Art Education from the University of North Carolina in 1968; a Master's Degree in Emotionally Disturbed Student Education from the Peabody College of Vanderbilt University in 1969; a Ph.D. in Special Education and Administration and Supervision from the University of North Carolina in 1982; and a Juris Doctorate Degree from the University of Florida in 1989. She has been certified to teach in North and South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida and holds an active Florida teaching certificate in the areas of Art, Emotionally Disturbed, Learning Disabled, Mental Retardation, and Administration and Supervision. Her licensure has never been subjected to any disciplinary action in any of the states in which she has had certification as an educator and the evidence reflects no prior employment discipline during her practice in the teaching profession. Dr. Mort has been a National Board Certified Teacher since 2001, which allows her to earn a bonus of 10 percent of the statewide average teacher's salary for each year of employment in a full-time position in a Florida public school. National Board Certified Teachers in Florida can also earn another 10 percent of the statewide average teacher salary as a separate bonus in any year in which they perform a required amount of mentoring services to help other teachers improve their classroom skills. Dr. Mort earned both types of bonuses in each of her four full years of service as a teacher for the Petitioner School District, but was ineligible to receive either bonus for the 2005-2006 school year because of the termination action. In April 2005, the St. Johns County School Board (Board) approved the Respondent for tenured teacher status under a professional services contract (PSC). Based upon her work in the 2004-2005 school year at Nease High School she received an outstanding performance evaluation. Principal Fred Cole offered praise of her relationships with her students and her leadership skills that year and she was selected by District officials to attend a two-day leadership retreat as one of the District's "cadre of excellent teachers and educational leaders." Dr. Mort had two classroom aides beginning with the 2004-2005 school year, Ms. Martha Lucas and Ms. Kathleen Tolx. Dr. Mort and the two aides were all new to Nease High School that year. Dr. Mort had been hired by the Principal of Nease High School, Robert Schiavone, to implement a new special education program. The program included students with significant learning disabilities and emotional disabilities. The curriculum was focused on basic level academic skills, as well as social, daily living, and employability skills. Dr. Mort had eight or ten Special Education students in her class at any given time during her school day that year. The students were all mentally retarded to one degree or another, with most having other substantial deficits, physical or emotional, or sometimes both. One of the students, J.H., has a history of engaging in physical attacks upon teachers, staff, and parents, apparently often related to seizures. J.H. is a large student, being approximately 5'10" tall and between 180 and 190 pounds in weight. When he is agitated he displays great physical strength and agility and is difficult to restrain or control. He often attacks his caretakers for seemingly minor reasons or totally unpredictably. His attacks typically involve grabbing his caretakers' arms to claw and scratch at them. He is extremely limited in his ability to communicate. His speech is very limited and the sign language he knows is imperfect and is best understood only by members of his family. Ms. Lucas had been previously involved in J.H.'s education, when she was part of a summer school program in which he was enrolled in a prior school year. He attacked Ms. Lucas during that summer school program and made a similar attack upon Dr. Mort in the fall of 2004. After that attack on Dr. Mort in the full of 2004, Ms. Lucas told Dr. Mort that she would not intervene if he became violent again, although she would continue to work with him on academic skills. J.H. made significant progress during the 2004-2005 school year as to his academic and developmental progress. His attacks on others diminished in frequency. His parents were very pleased with Dr. Mort's program, her relationship with their son, and the manner in which she managed his conduct when he became violent. Jane H., J.H.'s mother, and her husband continue to feel the same way about Dr. Mort and her ability to work effectively with J.H. and other students, notwithstanding the May "striking incident" described below. They made those feelings known to the Superintendent of the School District as well as the School Board when the termination of Dr. Mort's employment was under consideration. Dr. Mort and her staff and J.H.'s mother, Jane H., on some occasions are able to diminish the anger and violent conduct of J.H. by using certain techniques, such as threatening to call the school resource officer, a deputy sheriff, repeatedly making him aware that his conduct will not let him get his way; and persuading him to take his oral medication (Ativan) that tends to calm him down. His fits of anger and his attacks are unpredictable, however, as to when the occur, how long they will last, or how violent they may be. During their discussions concerning J.H.'s progress and management during the 2004-2005 school year, Mr. and Mrs. H and Dr. Mort agreed that the Ativan should only be used sparingly because it tends to put J.H. to sleep, wasting the remainder of the school day after the medication is administered. Additionally, since the medication is given orally, J.H. must be willing to cooperate for it to be taken or administered in order to achieve its calmative effect. Because of this discussion and circumstance, Dr. Mort chose to use verbal techniques to calm J.H. down, when possible, without given him the medication. During those times when he remained agitated and aggressive he was likely to refuse to take the medication anyway. The Ativan was kept in the office area between the two adjoining Special Education classrooms, one of which was Dr. Mort's. The District provides "walkie-talkie" communicators to teachers to enhance their ability to communicate with each other, the staff, and the school resource officer (SRO) during emergency situations. Ms. Binns kept two walkie-talkies in her classroom area next door to Dr. Mort's classroom. Dr. Mort and her classroom was not assigned a walkie-talkie because apparently the school did not have available the type that Dr. Mort requested. During the 2004-2005 school year the Petitioner began training a few of its special education teachers in a new crisis intervention program known as PCM. Ms. Binns received the training in the first half of that school year and her aide, Ms. Zwolinski, received PCM training in April or May of that school year. The Respondent had requested the training, but was not scheduled to attend any of the 2004-2005 training sessions. PCM training was not provided to Ms. Lucas or Ms. Tolx during that year either. The special floor mat that is required in order to use PCM restraint techniques was not present at Nease High School during the school year and the school did not yet have a full PCM team of three or more trained persons during that school year. PCM techniques are not authorized to be used in restraining students by persons not trained in PCM techniques. The physical restraint methods used in PCM require two, three, or four PCM trained individuals. On March 7, 2005, Dr. Mort suffered a serious injury to her left wrist and arm when another student, N.W., accidently pushed her to the ground while trying to get past her. She fractured her wrist in trying to break her fall, hurt her tailbone, and hit her head on a cabinet. She was unable to use her left hand or arm during the reminder of the 2004-2005 school year. Her left hand remains substantially useless as of the date of the hearing. Although she was seriously injured, Dr. Mort had the presence of mind to remain calm and spoke kindly to N.W. in order to keep him from feeling guilty about causing her injury. On May 17, 2005, J.H. was not feeling well. He apparently was upset about school personnel changes he had recently heard about involving the principal and assistant principal leaving the school at the end of that school year. He wanted to go home because he felt badly. He became very agitated when Dr. Mort told him she was unable to send him home because she was unable to contact his parents to come get him at that time. Over the course of that morning J.H. intermittently became upset, calmed down to the point where he would lie down for periods of time, only to become agitated again. During the lunch period that day, shortly before noon, he again became angry and frustrated about his circumstances and acted out by throwing books and other objects off a classroom table and onto the floor, which caused a great deal of noise. Dr. Mort repeatedly told him in a stern tone that he would have to pick up the books before he could go home. Eventually, he did kneel down and begin picking up the books. Ms. Zwolinski, Ms. Binns' aide, heard the books land on the floor and looked through the window between the classrooms to see what was happening. She entered Dr. Mort's room briefly through the hallway between the rooms and heard Dr. Mort twice ask Ms. Lucas to press the "panic button" to get help. This is a button by which help can be summoned from elsewhere on the campus during an emergency situation. Ms. Zwolinski saw Ms. Lucas push the emergency button after Dr. Mort's second, more agitated request. Ms. Zwolinski then returned to Ms. Binns' room to work with the students who were returning from lunch. During the event she observed, Ms. Zwolinski did not see Ms. Tolx in Dr. Mort's room nor did she see Ms. Tolx passing through Ms. Binns' room on the way to the adjoining room from the cafeteria. She never heard Ms. Tolx ask Dr. Mort if she needed help dealing with J.H. Dr. Mort then went to a nearby table where student J.P. was seated. He was in the vicinity of where the books landed. Dr. Mort was trying to be sure that he had not been hit or hurt by the flying books. In the meantime, J.H. stopped picking up the books and went to the day bed in the classroom. After sternly telling J.H. once again that he would not be able to go home until he picked up the books, Dr. Mort began to kneel down to help J.H. pick the books up. At that moment J.H. ran at Dr. Mort, and grabbed her arms as part of the first of three attacks over a period of the next few minutes. Initially he grabbed Dr. Mort's arms and clawed at the lower parts of both arms. Dr. Mort stepped back and pulled away from J.H. slightly and then he grabbed her again and began clawing at her breast area with one hand and the upper part of her usable arm with his other hand. She continued to try to twist out of his grasp as best she could, managing to break free slightly from his hold. He then attacked more violently a third time resumed his clawing of Dr. Mort's upper arms and buried his head into her chest and began biting her breast. By the time of this third assault Dr. Mort moved back to a nearby table and was leaning back against it with her lower body. J.H.'s clawing and biting of her breast caused severe pain, during which Dr. Mort continued to plead for Ms. Lucas' assistance. Ms. Lucas was in the room during the attack and finally pushed the emergency button at some point to summon help from the administration. No help ever came. The attacks intensified and Dr. Mort continued pleading for Ms. Lucas to help her. Ms. Lucas then retreated into Ms. Binns' classroom and got the walkie-talkie to try to summon the school resource officer. This was to no avail. The deputy, the SRO, never arrived. Dr. Mort's severe pain continued as she tried unsuccessfully to fend J.H. off with her one functional arm and hand. She was very concerned that his severe biting would cause damage to her breast and nipple and made repeated efforts to verbally snap J.H. out of his trance-like state, to no avail. Seeing no sign of any help and being in severe pain, Dr. Mort testified that she "cupped" her good hand and struck firmly one time at J.H.'s upper shoulder. Dr. Mort hoped that a "cup-pop" type of blow would create noise that would snap J.H. out of his seizure like state and stop the attack. Dr. Mort's one strike of J.H. coupled with her request for him to stop hurting her ultimately caused him to end his assault and he let go of her immediately thereafter. The single blow, on or near J.H.'s left shoulder was administered in the hope by Dr. Mort that it would prevent further serious harm to her without harming him. She did not strike him out of anger, but as a means to defend herself and snap him out of his trance-like state and end the attack. J.H. suffered no injury or bruises with respect to the May 17th incident, although Dr. Mort certainly did. Moreover, J.H. was never injured during the 2004-2005 school year, apart from occasional self-inflicted bite marks on his arms. Both Ms. Tolx and Ms. Lucas maintained that Dr. Mort had slapped J.H. in the face with her open hand, rather than administering a "cup-pop strike" to J.H.'s shoulder. In fact, however, the competent, persuasive evidence shows that Ms. Tolx was in the lunchroom during the May 7, 2005, incident and did not even see the attack of J.H. upon Dr. Mort nor Dr. Mort's strike of J.H. Ms. Lucas could not clearly seeing what was occurring between Dr. Mort and J.H. because the room was somewhat dark, she was busy locating and trying to use the walkie-talkie in the next room and has poor vision. She generally tried to avoid dealing with J.H. when he became violent. Ms. Tolx and Dr. Mort had been roommates for a few months in the Falll and Winter of 2004, because two hurricanes had rendered Dr. Mort's home temporarily unlivable. Ms. Tolx had angrily ordered Dr. Mort to leave her home one evening in January of 2005 for allegedly causing an argument between her and her 36-year-old developmentally disabled son that resulted in him leaving the house. Moreover, the relationship between Ms. Lucas and Dr. Mort was a strained one as well. Dr. Mort considered Ms. Lucas a poor employee and had previously told her so. Ms. Lucas and Dr. Mort had had a heated argument only a week before the J.H. incident and Ms. Lucas believed that Dr. Mort planned to have her fired. Ms. Lucas sought a re- assignment at some point and no longer works for the school district. It is determined that the testimony of Ms. Lucas and Ms. Tolx's under the above-found circumstances is not credible and persuasive. The testimony of Dr. Mort and Ms. Zwolinski is more credible. Consequently, Dr. Mort's testimony concerning the details of the incident involving the attack on her by J.H. is more credible and is accepted over that of Ms. Lucas and Ms. Tolx. Moreover, J.H. is a quite large, 190 pound student who is unpredictably aggressive and violent. If, indeed, Dr. Mort had slapped his face in an effort at self-defense and in trying to get him to end an acutely painful and injurious attack, it is deemed to have been reasonable force, undertaken in a last ditch effort at self-defense, to prevent further physical harm to herself, while causing the least possible harm to the student in trying to stop his attack. She did not strike J.H. in anger or as a means of retaliation for his hurting her. Under the circumstances found herein, based on persuasive, credible evidence, even more force than a slap to the face would have been reasonable. The Department of Education has adopted guidelines to evaluate the reasonableness of incidents of force used by teachers to prevent physical harm to themselves, school staff, or students. Those guidelines were adopted in 1997 by the Department of Education, as required by Section 1003.32(1)(j), Florida Statutes (2005). Given the circumstances with which Dr. Mort was confronted on May 17, 2005, her physical response to J.H.'s repeated and increasingly violent, painful, and injurious attacks was undertaken solely to prevent more serious injury to herself and to minimize injury to the student J.H. (in fact he was not injured at all). Such constituted reasonable force as authorized by Section 1003.32(1), Florida Statutes (2005), the referenced guidelines, as well as the applicable collective bargaining agreement. Nothing Dr. Mort did on May 17, 2005, reduced her effectiveness as an employee of the School District. The testimony adduced from witnesses presented by the Petitioner, to the effect that there has been a loss of trust by parents, other teachers, and students in Dr. Mort, because of her striking J.H., and to the effect that she cannot in the future maintain a calm, positive, productive, and safe educational environment in her classroom and with staff and parents is deemed unpersuasive. There is no persuasive evidence that other parents, some of whom testified, have found her to have lost her effectiveness as a teacher and an employee of the School District nor that parents have lost confidence and trust in Dr. Mort as a teacher of their children. More credible and accepted is Dr. Mort's testimony and that of J.H.'s mother herself (and the other parent witnesses) who find that Dr. Mort has provided an effective, positive, productive, and loving educational environment for J.H. and other students. In fact, it is undisputed that Dr. Mort is academically well-qualified to teach exceptional students and the parents of the students in her classroom have characterized her as an effective teacher during her tenure at Nease High School. Additionally, Mr. Cole, who was responsible for evaluating her during the 2004-2005 school year, observed and found a healthy learning environment maintained by Dr. Mort. He gave her a very favorable formal evaluation for that year. Dr. Mort's replacement for the 2005-2006 school year, Mr. Hill, did receive PCM training. That means that Nease High School now has a full PCM trained team of three individuals. In the fall of the 2005-2006 school year, Mr. Hill and Ms. Zowlinski responded to yet another physical encounter between J.H. and Ms. Tolx. They had to use an aggressive two- person PCM restraint technique to subdue J.H. In order to restrain J.H., who continued flailing and scratching at them during this occurrence, Mr. Hill and Ms. Zowlinski ultimately had to sit on him for an hour and ten minutes before calling the school resource officer to help end the encounter. Ms. Zowlinski suffered a serious back injury as a result of this incident and restraint of J.H. Because of the termination action, Dr. Mort lost a substantial amount of regular salary, supplemental pay, and bonus income she would have otherwise earned. Among those lost wages and bonuses are her previously-approved summer school pay, hospital/home bound salary for services she expected to provide that summer and into the next school year, and almost $10,000.00 payable to her because of her National Board Teacher's certification status. Additionally, she could not attend, and was not paid for an approved two-day leadership retreat to which she had been invited. She has lost both leave and retirement- related credits and benefits and had to pay COBRA insurance premiums of over $400.00 dollars per month to secure continued medical insurance coverage since October 1, 2005. In summary, the above-found facts, based upon persuasive, credible testimony and evidence show that Dr. Mort employed reasonable force in her involvement in the incident of May 17, 2005.
Recommendation Having considered the foregoing Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law, the evidence of record, the candor and demeanor of the witnesses, and the pleadings and arguments of the parties, it is, therefore, RECOMMENDED that a final order be entered by the School Board of St. Johns County dismissing all charges and reinstating Dr. Mort to her employment position with the full range of regular and supplemental back-pay and reimbursement of all categories of lost benefits, as delineated above, as a "make- whole" remedy. DONE AND ENTERED this 18th day of May, 2006, in Tallahassee, Leon County, Florida. S P. MICHAEL RUFF 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 COPIES FURNISHED: Thomas J. Leek, Esquire Kelly Parsons, Esquire Cobb & Cole Post Office Box 2491 Filed with Clerk of the Division of Administrative Hearings this 18th day of May, 2006. Daytona Beach, Florida 32115-2491 Anthony D. Demma, Esquire Meyer & Brooks, P.A. Post Office Box 1547 Tallahassee, Florida 32302 Dr. Joseph Joyner Superintendent St. Johns County School Board 40 Orange Street St. Augustine, Florida 32084-3693 Honorable John Winn Commissioner of Education Department of Education Turlington Building, Suite 1514 325 West Gaines Street Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0400 Daniel J. Woodring, General Counsel Department of Education Turlington Building, Suite 1244 325 West Gaines Street Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0400
The Issue The issues presented are whether Respondent committed the acts alleged in the Administrative Complaint and by doing so violated Sections 1012.795(1)(d), 1012.795(1)(g) and 1012.795(1)(j), Florida Statutes (2008),1/ and Florida Administrative Code Rule 6B-1.006(3)(a), (e) and (f). If one or all of the violations alleged are proven, what penalty would be appropriate?
Findings Of Fact Respondent is licensed as a teacher in Florida, and has been issued Florida Educator's Certificate 449960. Her certificate covers the area of mentally handicapped, and expires June 30, 2013. During the 2008-2009 school year, Respondent taught at Chaffee Trail in Duval County, Florida. She was assigned as an exceptional education teacher in a self-contained classroom for trainable mentally handicapped students in the first through third grades. Respondent generally had eight to eleven students in her class, and was aided by a paraprofessional, Julie Brooke. Respondent's classroom was on the first-grade hallway. One of Respondent's students was a nine-year-old named C.L. C.L. was a thin, frail, African-American student who, at the time of the incidents giving rise to these proceedings, was approximately four feet, four inches tall and weighed approximately 60 pounds. He was described as very low functioning, with an IQ in the 40's. Despite his significant limitations, C.L. was an active, friendly child who had a tendency to wander and needed redirection. His IEP included specific strategies for dealing with behavior problems in the classroom. Ms. Brooke worked with C.L. daily and he often sat at her desk to work on his assignments. They got along well together. November 18, 2008 On November 18, 2008, there were only four or five students in Respondent's class, because a number of students were absent. That morning, Ms. Brooke took another student to the office because he had been misbehaving. On her way back to Respondent's classroom, she heard loud voices and screaming coming from Respondent's classroom and recognized the voices as those of Respondent and C.L. When she entered the classroom, Ms. Brooke saw Respondent sitting in an office chair, holding C.L. face down on the floor with both of his arms twisted behind his back. Respondent appeared to be pushing C.L. down so that his face and body were pressed against the floor. C.L. was screaming and crying and appeared to be frightened. Ms. Brooke walked over to her desk and sat down. C.L. wanted to go over to Ms. Brooke, but was not allowed to do so. Respondent let him get up, but pinned him into the corner of the classroom near the door, by hemming him in with her chair. Respondent was facing C.L. and pressing the chair against his body, while he continued to scream and cry. About this same time, Assistant Principal Wanda Grondin received a call from a substitute teacher in another classroom on the first-grade hallway, complaining that there was yelling going on that was disturbing her classroom. Ms. Grondin went to the first-grade hallway, and could also hear yelling that was coming from Respondent's classroom. As Ms. Grondin approached the classroom, the yelling stopped. As she entered the room, she saw Respondent sitting in the office chair, with C.L. pinned in the corner of the room, held there by Respondent's chair. C.L. was crying and fighting back. Respondent indicated that he had refused to do something and she was trying to calm him down to give him options. Upon Ms. Grondin's arrival, Respondent slid her chair back, and C.L. fell into Ms. Grondin's arms, crying. Respondent told C.L. that he could now go to Ms. Brooke. C.L. went to Ms. Brooke and she comforted him and gave him some work to do. Later in the day, Ms. Brooke reported to Ms. Grondin that another child in the classroom, M.C., had reported to Ms. Brooke that Respondent had twisted C.L.'s arm and had locked him in the closet in the classroom. Although there was testimony presented regarding conversations that Ms. Grondin, the principal and the guidance counselor had with M.C., and his description of what allegedly happened to C.L., neither M.C. nor any other person who actually witnessed C.L. being locked in the closet testified at hearing. December 16, 2008 Brian Harvell is a first-grade teacher whose classroom is across the hall from Respondent's. On December 16, 2008, he was in his classroom when he heard loud voices and banging noises. Mr. Harvell walked out into the hallway and saw Respondent with C.L., struggling in the doorway. Respondent had her back against the doorframe, and one arm around D.L.'s torso and one of C.L.'s arms twisted behind his back. Mr. Harvell approached Respondent and C.L., and she stated, "Look what's happening in my classroom." When he looked past her, it appeared that a desk had been turned over. C.L. was squirming and crying out while Respondent restrained him. At that point, Mr. Harvell stated, "C.L., come to me." Respondent released C.L. and he walked over to Mr. Harvell, who took him to his classroom. In the classroom, he showed him a carpeted area and a toolbox full of cardboard books. C.L. sat and played quietly for approximately 15-20 minutes, until Ms. Brooke came for him. Mr. Harvell reported the incident to Ms. Grondin. It is not appropriate to control a student by twisting his arm behind his back, pinning him into a corner, or pushing his face toward the floor. It is especially inappropriate to subject a small, frail, mentally handicapped child of C.L.'s size and capacity to such methods of restraint. Respondent was removed from Chaffee Trail on December 19, 2008, as a result of the incidents involving C.L. Her employment with the Duval County School District was terminated in February 2009. The allegations against Respondent were reported in both the print and broadcast news media. The incidents in question also prompted complaints to be filed with the Department of Children and Family Services, and investigations were conducted by DCFS to determine whether there were indicators for child abuse. However, the investigations by DCFS do not address violations of professional standards governing teachers, and the findings are a result of evidence that is different from that presented at the hearing in this case.
Recommendation Upon consideration of the facts found and conclusions of law reached, it is RECOMMENDED: That the Education Practices Commission enter a Final Order finding that Respondent violated Subsections 1012.795(1)(d),(g) and (j), Florida Statutes, and Florida Administrative Code Rules 6B-(3)(a),(e) and (f), and permanently revoking her certificate. DONE AND ENTERED this 24th day of November, 2010, in Tallahassee, Leon County, Florida. S LISA SHEARER NELSON Administrative Law Judge Division of Administrative Hearings The DeSoto Building 1230 Apalachee Parkway Tallahassee, Florida 32399-3060 (850) 488-9675 Fax Filing (850) 921-6847 www.doah.state.fl.us Filed with the Clerk of the Division of Administrative Hearings this 24th day of November, 2010.
The Issue Whether Respondent should be transferred from Glades Middle School to an opportunity school.
Findings Of Fact For the 1989-90 school year John Sarmiento was enrolled in the Dade County public school system and he was assigned to the eighth grade at Giades Middle School. On November 27, 1989, Petitioner administratively transferred him from Glades Middle School to J.R.E. Lee, an opportunity school. The stated basis for the transfer was the student's disruptive behavior and his failure to adjust to the regular school. As an opportunity school, J.R.E. Lee has a more structured program than a traditional school, such as Glades Middle School, and is designed to assist students with discipline problems. While attending Glades Middle School, John Sarmiento repeatedly engaged in disruptive conduct that interfered with his own learning and with the learning of others in his classes. This conduct resulted in his being referred to the assistant principal's office between five and ten times per week. On one occasion the student, while in class, threw a piece of chalk at another student. On another occasion, the student engaged in an argument with another student that almost resulted in a fight during class. On an almost daily basis, the student would wander around the class while making loud, boisterous comments. This student's misconduct would have merited his suspension according to the district code of student conduct. Instead of suspending this student, the school officials worked with him and with his parents in an effort to improve his behavior. Unfortunately the considerable efforts of the personnel at Glades Middle School to serve the student's educational needs did not succeed. The student needs the structured environment that the opportunity school can provide, and his educational needs will best be served by his transfer.
Recommendation Based on the foregoing findings of fact and conclusions of law, it is RECOMMENDED that Petitioner enter a final order which approves John Sarmiento's assignment to the J.R.E. Lee opportunity school. DONE AND ENTERED this 3rd day of April 1990, in Tallahassee, Leon County, Florida. CLAUDE B. ARRINGTON 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 3rd day of April 1990. COPIES FURNISHED: Frank R. Harder, Esquire 2780 Galloway Road, Suite 100 Twin Oaks Building Miami, Florida 33165 Maria Ruiz de la Torre, Esquire 7111 Biscayne Boulevard, Suite Three Miami, Florida 33138 Madelyn P. Schere, Esquire Assistant Board Attorney Dade County Public Schools School Board Administration Building 1450 Northeast Second Avenue Miami, Florida 33132 Dr. Paul W. Bell Superintendent of Schools Dade County Public Schools School Board Administration Building 1450 Northeast Second Avenue Miami, Florida 33132
The Issue The issues in these cases are whether Petitioner, Osceola County School Board (School Board or Petitioner), has just cause to terminate Respondents Mona Sagar and Kristie Gilmore from their employment contracts.
Findings Of Fact The School Board is duly constituted and charged with the responsibility and authority to operate, control, and supervise the public schools within Osceola County, Florida. Art. IX, Fla. Const.; ch. 1012, Fla. Stat. The School Board has the authority to discipline employees. § 1012.22(1)(f), Fla. Stat. At all times relevant to this proceeding, Ms. Sagar and Ms. Gilmore were employed by the School District. Ms. Sagar has been in the education field for years. She attended “teachers college” in Trinidad and taught school there for ten years. She was hired as a paraprofessional (para) by the School District in 2011. Ms. Sagar was assigned to an autistic classroom at Discovery Intermediate School (Discovery) and later switched to an “intellectually disabled mild” (InD mild) classroom. She has not been subject to any prior disciplinary action. At the start of the 2013-2014 school year, Ms. Sagar was the para assigned to the “intellectually disabled severe” (InD severe) class. The InD severe class had a teacher and two paras,7/ and was composed of children who were mainly confined to wheelchairs or who needed special assistance to walk. Ms. Sagar completed the crisis prevention intervention (CPI) class, a class that instructs personnel on how to physically and verbally restrain, redirect, and prompt a child who is misbehaving. Ms. Gilmore became a para in exceptional student education (ESE) in 2005. She arrived at Discovery in August 2005. Ms. Gilmore worked with students with varying educational needs including: emotional behavior disorder (EBD); autism; InD mild; intellectually disabled moderate (InD moderate); intellectually disabled profound (InD profound); and regular educational students.8/ Ms. Gilmore had completed the CPI training twice before, but she was not re-certified at the start of the 2013-2014 school year. She has not been subject to any prior disciplinary action. Discovery had six self-contained ESE classrooms for the 2013-2014 school year. There were two autistic classrooms, one InD mild classroom, one InD moderate classroom, one InD severe classroom, and one EBD classroom. All six classrooms are located on the first floor of one of Discovery’s buildings, in close proximity to the office of the dean of students. Student safety is of paramount concern for School District employees. As such, every EBD classroom has a land-line telephone and a walkie-talkie for use to request assistance, to notify the appropriate office of a student’s unscheduled exit from the classroom and to provide other information. The telephone is primarily a school-based phone that has its own five-digit internal extension number.9/ In the event a walkie-talkie is not available, a teacher or para may use the telephone to communicate with other school personnel. The walkie-talkies are limited to the self-contained classrooms, guidance counselors, deans, school resource officer, administrators, principal’s secretary, academic coaches, athletic coaches, and maintenance staff. The walkie-talkies are on one channel or frequency, and when used, everyone who has a walkie- talkie can hear the conversation. Discipline referrals may be written by any adult at Discovery for any infraction in the student code of conduct. The referral form reflects the student’s name, identification number, the classroom, school, grade level, date of birth, race, sex, homeroom teacher, incident date and time, location of the incident, the problem or explanation of the problem, the action taken by the adult prior to the referral, the signature of the referring adult, and the date signed. The bottom of the referral form was for “administrative use only,” and reflects what if any action was taken. Ms. Gilmore, as the para in the EBD self- contained classroom, authored numerous discipline referrals for student J.G. During the 2013 summer, Ms. Chowdhary was notified that she would be re-assigned to Discovery’s EBD self-contained classroom for the 2013-2014 school year. Ms. Chowdhary did not want this assignment; however, Ms. Chowdhary contacted Ms. Gilmore and asked if she (Ms. Gilmore) would consent to be Ms. Chowdhary’s para in her EBD self-contained classroom. This request was based on their positive working relationship during the 2012-2013 school year in an autistic classroom. Ms. Gilmore agreed, the school administration concurred, and Ms. Gilmore was assigned to Ms. Chowdhary’s EBD self-contained classroom. At the beginning of the 2013-2014 school year there were ten male students in Ms. Chowdhary’s EBD self-contained classroom. This classroom had a walkie-talkie and telephone. Each student had an individual educational plan (IEP), a different EBD, and a medical condition. On the first day of school, each student was given a welcome packet that contained an emergency contact sheet and a health care report form. The parents are requested (but not required) to complete as much of the information as they wish, and return it to the classroom. Ms. Gilmore read the responses “thoroughly” regarding the medical conditions of students J.G. and J.C., as provided by their respective parents or guardians. In early December 2013, Ms. Gilmore was re-assigned to an InD moderate classroom as an accommodation for her pregnancy. Ms. Chowdhary requested a male para to replace Ms. Gilmore. Based on the support staff already engaged by Discovery, Ms. Sagar was transferred to work in Ms. Chowdhary’s self- contained classroom. Ms. Sagar observed and worked with Ms. Gilmore on two separate days for several hours prior to the actual transfer in mid-December. Approximately two weeks before the Christmas break, a female student, J.T., arrived in the EBD self-contained classroom. J.T. was taller and heavier than either Ms. Chowdhary or Ms. Sagar. J.T.’s language was loud and predominantly profanity-laced. J.T. did not complete her classroom assignments, and she did not follow the classroom rules regarding the use of her cellphone.10/ On January 9, 2014, Ms. Gilmore learned that Ms. Chowdhary was absent from school. Ms. Gilmore volunteered to be the substitute teacher in Ms. Chowdhary’s classroom.11/ In the early afternoon of January 9, two male students engaged in a physical altercation (Altercation No. 1) in the EBD self-contained classroom. J.T. took out her cellphone and recorded Altercation No. 1 (Petitioner’s Exhibit 6, Respondents’ Exhibit 21). That recording showed one student, J.G., standing over and taunting another student, J.C. J.G. called J.C. a “taco.” J.C. responded that J.G. should call J.C. “Taco Bell,” and added that J.G. was the dark meat in his taco. J.G. took J.C.’s remark to be a racist comment. J.C.12/ was crumpled on the floor behind a desk where J.G. grabbed J.C. by his warm-up jacket collar/shirt. J.G. pulled J.C. up by the collar/shirt and pushed J.C. into a chair at a computer cubby and small space near a wall. J.G. kept one hand on J.C. while pinning J.C. to the small space. J.G. continued to taunt J.C. and is heard to say: Next comment I’m gonna stomp on your [J.C.’s] heart, and I know you got a condition to where I stomp on it, you dead, and I don’t give a f . So you can’t keep making a racist joke. Ms. Gilmore and Ms. Sagar were both present and observed Altercation No. 1. Ms. Gilmore was sitting at the teacher’s desk in the front of the room when Altercation No. 1 started. When J.G. “dumped [J.C.] out of the chair,” [to start the altercation], [Ms. Gilmore] told J.G. to “knock it off,” and when J.G. had J.C. on the floor, she [Ms. Gilmore] “told him to quit.” Ms. Gilmore testified that she didn’t call for help because “It was over.” Her testimony is not credible because the recording shows that J.G. then pulled J.C. up to a standing position, and continued to taunt him. Further, Respondents’ Exhibit 16 is a discipline referral that Ms. Gilmore authored on January 9, the day of the altercations. Ms. Gilmore documented in this discipline referral the following “PROBLEM – EXPLAIN:” During Science class, 5th period, [J.G.] was talking about how he fights and got into an altercation with another student. Words were exchanged and [J.G.] didn’t like what the student [J.C.] said so he [J.G.] flipped him [J.C.] out of his chair, kicked him [J.C.] a couple times and threatened to kill the other student [J.C.] by stomping on his [J.C.’s] heart. Ms. Sagar was seated at a desk assisting another student, J.M., when Altercation No. 1 started. Ms. Sagar did not hear any loud shouting or threats at the beginning of Altercation No. 1, but it escalated to the point where she was “alarmed.” Ms. Sagar admitted that she got up to leave the room, then decided not to do so, telling herself: “I shouldn’t leave the class at this time.” The reason she did not leave the classroom was because the altercation “wasn’t settled like down, down, down. It still had like the talking and everybody, so I turned around and came back to my seat.” Ms. Sagar did not move to intervene or call for help. Neither Ms. Gilmore nor Ms. Sagar moved to intervene in Altercation No. 1, and neither used the walkie-talkie or the telephone to call for assistance or to alert the administration of the volatile situation. A few minutes later another altercation (Altercation No. 2) took place in the EBD self-contained classroom. J.T. also recorded Altercation No. 2 (Petitioner’s Exhibit 8) on her cellphone. J.G. was again taunting J.C. J.G. dared J.C. to “take a swing” at J.G. J.C. did not swing at J.G. J.G. proceeded to talk to the class about J.C. and other classmates. J.C. then expressed his desire to die because his life “sucks,” his father was dead, and his step-father didn’t love him. J.C. violently kicked/pushed a chair several feet away from himself, began to cry, stated that he’d be “happy if you [J.G.] kill me,” violently overturned a desk, and walked out of the EBD self- contained classroom. Again, Ms. Gilmore and Ms. Sagar were present in the EBD self-contained classroom, and observed Altercation No. 2. During Altercation No. 2, Ms. Gilmore was at the front of the class at the teacher’s desk. Ms. Gilmore confirmed that J.C. “flipped a desk and walked out of class.” Ms. Gilmore testified she “opened the door, . . . and put myself at the doorway to get the rest of the kids out of the class if I had to get them out.” Ms. Gilmore is briefly partially seen in the recording, and she is heard asking J.C. to pick up the desk before he left the classroom. J.C. did not pick up the desk. The recording shows Ms. Sagar seated at a work table with J.M. At one point Ms. Sagar rises from her seat, walks to a counter with a microwave, stays at the counter for a short time, returns to her seat, and then eats something while Altercation No. 2 is on-going. Neither Ms. Gilmore nor Ms. Sagar used the walkie- talkie or telephone to obtain assistance or alert the administration of the continuing volatile situation. J.C. went to the dean of students (Ms. Rice’s) office after he walked out of the EBD self-contained classroom. Once there, he screamed at Ms. Rice about the events that had just taken place in his classroom. Ms. Rice observed J.C. to be distraught and angry. Based on J.C.’s comments, Ms. Rice understood that a recording of the classroom events was made. Ms. Rice requested the principal to obtain the recording. Between when J.C. left the EBD self-contained classroom and when the principal arrived at the EBD self-contained classroom to retrieve the recording, yet another altercation, Altercation No. 3, occurred. J.T. started recording Altercation No. 3 (Petitioner’s Exhibit 10) on her cellphone. Student W.F. held a chair over his head and threatened to throw it at another student, D.S. The other students in the classroom can be heard urging W.F. to throw it, but W.F. did not. J.G. can be seen standing behind D.S., and heard to say he’ll “make sure it hit[s] you [D.S.].” When it became apparent that W.F. was not going to throw the chair, J.T. handed her phone to W.F., who continued to record the action, and J.T. threw the chair. J.T. testified that she did not intend to hurt D.S., but she was not “play acting.” Ms. Gilmore testified she did not remember much of Altercation No. 3. She thought she might have been writing a referral at her desk, and did not call for help because the altercation was over so quickly. Again, Ms. Gilmore and Ms. Sagar were present in the classroom, observed Altercation No. 3, and did nothing to radio or call for assistance or alert the administration of the volatile situation. There is no credible evidence that any of the altercations were pretend fights, or that they were staged for the benefit of the other students. Ms. Gilmore’s contention, that the altercations were staged, is not credible. This EBD self-contained classroom is a challenging class, one that should be closely monitored and adequately staffed to ensure learning can occur, and safety maintained. Respondents never attempted to gain control of the classroom or students. They never called for help or removed the other students from the area. Petitioner has proven by a preponderance of evidence that Petitioner has just cause to terminate the employment of Ms. Gilmore and Ms. Sagar.
Recommendation Based on the foregoing Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law, it is RECOMMENDED that Petitioner, Osceola County School Board, enter a final order finding that just cause exists for terminating the employment of Ms. Sagar and Ms. Gilmore. DONE AND ENTERED this 19th day of June, 2015, in Tallahassee, Leon County, Florida. S LYNNE A. QUIMBY-PENNOCK Administrative Law Judge Division of Administrative Hearings The DeSoto Building 1230 Apalachee Parkway Tallahassee, Florida 32399-3060 (850) 488-9675 Fax Filing (850) 921-6847 www.doah.state.fl.us Filed with the Clerk of the Division of Administrative Hearings this 19th day of June, 2015.
Findings Of Fact During the first semester of the 1981-1982 school year, David Michael Wolfe was absent 66 times from his homeroom class. His absences from other classes, each of which, like homeroom, met 90 times during first semester, ranged from 56 to 87. From January 28, 1982, till March 5, 1982, while he was still enrolled at North Miami Junior High School, David went still less frequently to class. Not one of these absences was excused. Mrs. Wolfe is very cooperative with the school authorities, but her daughter is absent more than David. David, who was born June 20, 1968, was referred to the Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services because of his truancy. On December 8, 1981, David and four other students missed their fourth period class(es) but were apprehended on or near school grounds by William G. Murray, an assistant principal at North Miami Junior High School. Mr. Murray spanked each boy, and sent them to class. Like the others, David never went to class that afternoon. In addition to corporal punishment and a court referral, the school administration employed both "indoor suspension" and "outdoor suspension," in an effort to improve David's attendance. Nothing worked. David was not disruptive in the sense of disturbing the few classes he did attend, according to Mr. Murray. He did, however, for the first semester of the 1981-1982 school year, fail all six subjects, also getting an "F" in conduct.
Recommendation It is, accordingly, RECOMMENDED: That petitioner assign David Michael Wolfe to the Jan Mann Opportunity School-North. DONE AND ENTERED this 9th day of June, 1982, in Tallahassee, Florida. ROBERT T. BENTON II Hearing Officer Division of Administrative Hearings The Oakland Building 2009 Apalachee Parkway Tallahassee, Florida 32301 Telephone: (904) 488-9675 FILED with the clerk of the Division of Administrative Hearings this 9th day of June, 1982. COPIES FURNISHED: Mrs. Bonnie Wolfe 2260 Northeast 135 Lane North Miami, Florida 33181 Michael Niemand, Esquire Suite 300 3050 Biscayne Boulevard Miami, Florida 33137 Leonard M. Britton Superintendent Dade County School Board 1410 Northeast Second Avenue Miami, Florida 33132
Findings Of Fact Introduction At all times relevant hereto, respondent, Michael A. Graham, was a middle school teacher at West Miami Junior High School (WMJHS) in Miami, Florida. He is under a continuing contract as a teacher for petitioner, School Board of Dade County (Board). He has been an employee in the school system since 1975 and a full-time teacher since 1981. Graham holds bachelor and master degrees from the University of Miami and is currently taking course work at Florida International University towards a second master's degree. On January 12, 1988 the Board voted to suspend Graham without pay for thirty days effective January 20, 1988 for "just cause and misconduct in office." On July 1, 1988 the Board issued a Notice of Charges containing six counts of alleged misconduct. 1/ The charging document alleged that respondent failed to disclose on his job application dated September 24, 1981 that he had been previously arrested on numerous occasions, (b) intentionally exposed a student, I.M., to unnecessary embarrassment, (c) intentionally exposed a student, V.E., to unnecessary embarrassment or disparagement, (d) intentionally committed a battery on U.C., a student, (e) continually and intentionally refused to discontinue uttering profane and/or vulgar language in his classroom during school years 1985-86, 1986-87 and 1987-88, and (f) continually and intentionally refused to discontinue excessive tardiness and excessive absences during the same school years. These charges will be taken up separately below. Filing A False Application (Counts I and II) During the course of his employment with the Board, Graham has filled out various applications and other informational forms. Relevant to this proceeding is an application for an instructional position filed with the Board on September 24, 1981. The application asked the following question: Have you ever been convicted of anything other than minor traffic violations? Graham responded in the negative. Sometime after Graham filed the above application, the Board had an occasion to run a background check on him. Among other things, the Board uncovered the fact that Graham had been arrested on February 29, 1976 for resisting an officer without violence to his person and disorderly conduct, both misdemeanors. The first charge was nolle prossed while Graham was found guilty of the second charge and received a suspended sentence. Certified copies of these records have been introduced into evidence as petitioner's exhibit 10. Although petitioner did not introduce into evidence certified copies of other arrests, there was testimony, without objection, that Graham had been arrested for the following charges: 12/17/71 - public drunkenness 6/05/74 - theft 5/14/76 - worthless checks 4/08/77 - "warrant arrests" 5/18/77 - worthless checks 9/11/79 - worthless checks 9/17/81 - aggravated battery 11/05/82 - worthless checks 2/21/86 - worthless checks During a conference with a school administrator on August 21, 1987, Graham acknowledged that, with the exception of the May 14, 1976 arrest which he did not remember, and the April 8, 1977 matter which he stated involved a voluntary return on his part to the State of Indiana, all other arrests occurred. However, there is no evidence that Graham was convicted of any of these charges, and his testimony that all charges were later dropped was not contradicted. At hearing Graham explained that he thought the question concerning prior arrests on the employment application meant whether his civil rights had ever been taken away. Since they had not, he stated he believed his negative answer was appropriate. Exposing Students to Embarrassment or Disparagement (Counts III and IV) It is alleged that in school year 1986-87, respondent exposed I.M., a seventh grade female student, to "unnecessary embarrassment or disparagement." The student did not appear at hearing but gave post-hearing deposition testimony. As clarified at hearing, this charge stems from alleged off-color remarks about I.M.'s clothing made by Graham to I.M. in front of the class. I.M. was a student in Graham's history class in school year 1986-87. While in class on May 11, 1987, I.M. left her desk to go to the restroom. She was wearing tight fitting pants. When she returned, Graham remarked in a loud voice, and in front of the class, that her pants were so tight he "could see her crack and count the hairs." Graham also made her perform a "fabric test" to ascertain whether she could pinch the cloth on the pants without pinching her skin. If I.M. pinched both skin and cloth, this confirmed that the pants were too tight. After Graham made his comments and required I.M. to take the "fabric test," I.M. became embarrassed, felt "cheap," began crying and left the room. She reported the incident to her counselor and prepared a written statement which is attached to her deposition. Also, she described the incident to a school investigator the same day, giving essentially the same version of events described above. This account is deemed to be more accurate and credible than a slightly different version of events given by I.M. by deposition some fifteen months later. Graham recalled the incident differently. According to his recollection, when I.M. returned from the bathroom to the classroom, he told her she had "inappropriate clothing," and if she disputed this, she would be given a hall pass to visit the principal. If the principal approved the pants, she could wear them to school. Otherwise, Graham told her not to wear them to his class in the future. Graham contended also that he said "Your clothing is too tight around the hips and crotch" and denied using the words "hairs" or "crack." He conceded he may have asked her to perform a "fabric test." However, this version of events is not deemed to be credible and is hereby discredited. Student V.E. is a fundamentalist Christian who was in Graham's American History class for the first three days of school year 1987-88. On the first or second day of class Graham gave a class assignment requiring the students to use the Bible as a historical reference but to explain the story without the (i ideas of miracles and deity. V.E. understood this to mean that she was to "take all miracles" out of the story and to "not have God in it." During class that day, V.E. asked a question about a Bible parable being discussed by Graham and, after she gave the biblical version of what happened, Graham asked her if she believed in magic. V.E. felt "bad" and "intimidated" by Graham's question. When she went home that evening, V.E. told her mother about the class assignment. The mother was upset and prepared a letter for Graham and the assistant principal questioning the subject matter of the assignment. V.E. was told by her mother to hand carry a copy of the letter to Graham the next day. Before she could do this, the assistant principal told Graham that V.E.`s mother had sent a letter. When she entered the classroom the next day, V.E. was asked by Graham if she had a letter for him. After being handed the letter, Graham asked V.E. why she told her mother about the assignment and added "I'm pissed." This episode took place in front of the entire classroom. This caused V.E. to be very "upset" and "embarrassed." She immediately transferred out of Graham's class. Graham countered that there was no "homework assignment" per se and that he was merely seeking to obtain "critical thinking" from his students. According to Graham, his discussion was consistent with the approved curriculum and was intended to have the students reconcile biblical stories with other theories of evolution of men. Graham believed that V.E. had misunderstood the discussion as being an attack on religion when in fact it was not. He added that, of all the students, only V.E. reached that erroneous conclusion. He conceded that he "may have" used the words "I'm pissed" but contended that he was justified in questioning her in front of the entire classroom because students frequently hurried off to other classes once the end-of-period bell rang. Battering Urbano (Count IV) In school year 1986-87, Urbano was a fifteen year old male student. He has since departed the state. It is alleged that Graham committed battery on Urbano. According to Graham, who gave the only eyewitness account of the entire fray, Urbano was still a student when the incident occurred but was in the process of withdrawing from school and moving to California. Urbano had been in several classes taught by Graham and had a history of disruptive conduct. Urbano returned to the campus one day to speak with a girlfriend who was in Graham's classroom. Urbano entered the classroom during a change in classes. Not wanting a confrontation, Graham requested the girl to ask Urbano to leave. When she did this, Urbano began cursing Graham and slowly backed into the hallway outside of Graham's classroom. As Graham attempted to close his door, Urbano blocked the door and pushed Graham who responded by pushing Urbano out of the doorway. Urbano then threw a four pound textbook into Graham's chest. After Graham asked Urbano to follow him to the principal's office, Urbano drew back his fist to strike Graham. At that point, and in self-defense, Graham struck Urbano with a blow to the side of his face. In retaliation, Urbano threw a karate kick into Graham's left knee. Graham followed by administering a second blow to Urbano's face. A female physical education teacher then approached the melee, grabbed Urbano on the shoulder and escorted him to the principal's office. According to Graham, Urbano was immediately suspended from school. This was not contradicted. There is no evidence that Graham was criminally charged with battery or disciplined by the school for the incident. Using Profane and Vulgar Language in Class (Count V) It is charged that in school years 1985-86, 1986-87 and 1987-88 Graham was given direct orders to discontinue "uttering profane and/or vulgar language while in the performance of assigned duties as a classroom teacher," and that respondent "continually and intentionally refused to discontinue" doing so. The allegations stem from disciplinary action taken in the fall of 1985. On October 17, 1985 respondent participated in a conference for the record with WMJHS principal Kavenaugh for using "very salty language" in the classroom. Neither Kavenaugh or Graham could recall what words were actually used by Graham. As noted in finding of fact 11, Graham used the words "I'm pissed" while talking to student V.E. in September, 1987. About the same time, he recited a "parable" in V.E.'s class which went generally as follows: A large flock of birds immigrated south one winter but one bird's wings froze, and it fell to the ground. A horse came along and deposited cow shit on the bird. Although the cow shit did not smell good, it kept the bird warm. A cat then came upon the fallen bird, wiped the cow shit off of its wings and ate it. The moral: not everyone who shits on you is your enemy, and not everyone who does you a favor is your friend. Graham acknowledged reciting the above story in class but claimed he used the word "chip" instead of "shit." However, V.E. stated she heard the word "shit," and this version of the events is accepted as being more credible. Principal Kavenaugh gave some vague testimony about other incidents of vulgarity but could not give specifics as to when this occurred or what was said. Other than the order to quit using "very salty language" in October 1985, there is no evidence of any other orders given to Graham by a principal or administrative officer directing him to refrain from using vulgarity or profanity. Excessive Tardiness and Absences (Count VI) The notice of charges alleges that in school years 1985-86, 1986-87 and 1987-88 Graham was "given direct orders to discontinue his excessive tardiness and/or excessive absences," and that he "continually and intentionally refused to discontinue" doing so. Assistant principal Sotolongo authored memoranda to respondent on May 27, 1986 and March 25, 1987 regarding class absences. The first concerned respondent sitting in the teacher's lounge ten minutes after class had started on May 23, 1986. For this infraction, Graham received a reprimand. The assistant principal stated that Graham was "periodically" absent from class but could not recall the number of times this occurred or the dates of such absences. The second memorandum was prompted by Graham being absent from school during the afternoon of March 24, 1987. Graham's explanation of having to see a doctor for a workers' compensation injury was not accepted as being satisfactory. Principal Kavenaugh authored a memorandum on May 6, 1986 concerning punctual attendance by Graham. The memorandum was prepared after Graham had been late to school at least ten times between January 10, 1986 and May 5, 1986. Respondent promised to make an "extra effort" to comply with attendance requirements. There is no evidence that, after the May 6, 1986 memorandum, Graham was late for school or that he refused to comply with attendance requirements. Miscellaneous Graham was told by principal Kavenaugh on one occasion "to be courteous and free of sarcasm" while teaching his students. This order was memorialized in a memorandum dated June 19, 1987. There is no evidence he disobeyed this order. On November 10, 1987 Graham was placed on prescription for one item of performance. This meant he had to correct a deficiency in professional performance and responsibilities. The prescription was prompted primarily by the V.E. incident and the parable given in the history class, both occurring in September, 1987. There is no evidence that Graham did not fulfill the terms of the prescription. According to Dr. D. Patrick Gray, who was accepted as an expert in professional ethics, performance appraisal and professional or personnel management, Graham violated the teachers' code of ethics by intentionally exposing a student to unnecessary embarrassment or disparagement, unreasonably denying a student access to a diverse point of view, and failing to keep the confidence of personally identifiable information concerning a student. He opined further that, given respondent's conduct as described in the Notice of Charges, Graham's effectiveness as a teacher had been seriously impaired.
Recommendation Based on the foregoing findings of fact and conclusions of law, it is RECOMMENDED that respondent be found guilty of those charges in Counts I and II and a portion of Count III. All others should be dismissed. Respondent should also be suspended without pay for thirty days as proposed by the agency in its suspension notice effective January 20, 1988. DONE AND ORDERED this 19th day of September, 1988, in Tallahassee, Leon County, Florida. DONALD R. ALEXANDER Hearing Officer Division of Administrative Hearings The Oakland Building 2009 Apalachee Parkway Tallahassee, Florida 32399-1550 (904) 488-9675 Filed with the Clerk of the Division of Administrative Hearings this 19th day of September, 1988.
The Issue The issues are whether Respondent violated Section 231.28(1)(i), Florida Statutes, and Rules 6B-1.006(3)(a) and 6(3)(e), Florida Administrative Code, and if so, what discipline should be imposed.
Findings Of Fact Respondent is licensed to teach emotionally handicapped children in the elementary schools of Florida. She holds Florida teaching certificate number 696889 which is valid through June 30, 1998. At all times material to this proceeding, Respondent was employed by the Volusia County School Board as a teacher of emotionally handicapped children in a self-contained classroom at New Smyrna Middle School. Prior to November 13, 1995, Respondent had no prior disciplinary history. The 1995-96 school year was Respondent's first year as a teacher at New Smyrna Middle School. Her previous teaching experience consisted of serving as a resource teacher. In that circumstance the students went to Respondent's class for a portion of the school day for instruction in certain academic areas. In August of 1995, Respondent requested a conference with the assistant principal, Sue Wolter. One of the items that Respondent wanted to discuss was the procedure she should follow in case a student had a weapon in the classroom. Ms. Wolter instructed Respondent that she should press the buzzer in the classroom three times. When the office staff receives this signal, they know there is a severe problem in the classroom. When a teacher presses the buzzer a light turns on beside the room number. Ms. Wolter also told Respondent that she could use the school intercom and say "Code 3" to alert the office about an emergency situation without letting the class know that she was calling for help. Lastly, Ms. Wolter advised Respondent to send her teaching assistant to the office for assistance. Respondent used these methods to summon help to her classroom on numerous occasions prior to the incident at issue here. In November of 1995, Respondent's class consisted of 12 sixth-grade students. The students' chronological ages varied from 11-to-14 years of age. Respondent's class consisted of students with "varying exceptionalities." Many of the students were dually diagnosed as having psychological and emotional disorders as well as mental retardation. The students' I.Q.'s were exceptionally low. Respondent's students were impulsive, volatile, and often exhibited poor judgment. They had difficulty at times distinguishing between right and wrong. Therefore, it was essential for Respondent to exercise appropriate classroom control at all times. Respondent had a difficult time maintaining discipline in the class. Students were frequently out of their seats or leaving the classroom without permission. Due to the chaotic classroom environment, several different teaching assistants were assigned to Respondent's classroom prior to November 13, 1995. On November 13, 1995, Ms. Linda Baker was Respondent's teaching assistant. Respondent and Ms. Baker did not have a successful working relationship. Ms. Baker felt that Respondent was a poor classroom disciplinarian. Ms. Baker also resented what she perceived as Respondent's condescending attitude. Respondent, on the other hand, resented Ms. Baker's admitted refusal to follow instructions which, at times, amounted to blatant insubordination. As a result of their communication problems, Respondent often wrote notes to Ms. Baker setting forth her classroom duties instead of speaking to her directly. Lavagus Brown, Michael Binder, and Klara Mills were students in Respondent's classroom on the morning of November 13, 1995. Klara Mills was the only girl in the class. As class began that morning, Lavagus Brown told Respondent that Klara had something in her bag that the teacher should know about. Next, Michael Binder told Respondent that Klara had a knife in her bag. Ms. Baker was sitting in the back of the room. She also heard from the children that Klara had a knife. Respondent wrote a note to Ms. Baker and took it to her in the back of the classroom. Respondent asked Ms. Baker to take the note to the office and get an administrator. Respondent did not reveal the contents of the note or explain to Ms. Baker why it was necessary for an administrator to come to the classroom immediately. Ms. Baker took the note and left the classroom. She returned later without an administrator. When questioned by Respondent, Ms. Baker told Respondent that she had delivered the note to the office. Respondent still did not discuss the seriousness of the situation with Ms. Baker. Respondent asked Klara to get her things together so that they could go to the office. Klara took her backpack purse and left the room with Respondent. She did not take her bookbag with her. Ms. Baker stayed in the classroom with the remaining students. She began taking the boys down the hall to the restroom. In order to get to the main office, Respondent and Klara had to walk out of one building, down the main walkway past a second building, and into the second entrance of a third building. Respondent did not attempt to retrieve Klara's backpack purse during the walk through the campus. When Respondent and Klara arrived at the office, Jasmine Gutierrez, a teacher's aide, was waiting in the outer office to see Ms. Wolter, who was in her office with the door partially closed. Cheryl Tucker, one of two secretaries, was also in the outer office. Ms. Tucker was busy answering the phone and writing passes for students. While she was waiting for Ms. Wolter, Ms. Jasmine Gutierrez helped Ms. Tucker write passes for students so they could go to class. Respondent and Klara stood in a corner of the office where they had an argument. Klara denied that she had a knife, claiming that she only had a toy in her bookbag, which was still in the classroom. Klara wanted to go back to the classroom. Respondent wanted Klara to give an object to Respondent or someone that Klara trusted. Respondent asked Ms. Tucker if Ms. Wolter was in the office. Ms. Tucker responded in the negative. Respondent then asked Ms. Tucker to watch Klara while she looked for an administrator. Respondent did not see anyone in Ms. Wolter's office through the partially opened door. Respondent walked toward the office workroom to check her mailbox. Klara was still in the office when Respondent walked back toward the office and around a corner to go to the clinic. Respondent thought that Ms. Wolter might be in the clinic helping the nurse. Unable to locate Ms. Wolter in the clinic, Respondent returned to the office. Ms. Tucker was no longer in the outer office. Ms. Debra Gutierrez, the main secretary, was at her desk next to the office door which was slowly closing. Klara was not in the office. Learning that Klara had returned to class, Respondent left the office without telling anyone in the office that Klara possibly had a knife in her possession. Respondent caught up with Klara before she re-entered the classroom. Respondent told Klara to go to her desk and gather all of her things, including her backpack purse and bookbag, because they needed to return to the office. When Respondent entered the classroom, Ms. Baker was sitting at her place in the back of the room. Respondent immediately began to deal with a student who was in the time-out room, screaming and yelling. Respondent attempted to calm the student down. The time-out room is a small closet with a desk where students can go when they want to work undisturbed. Respondent also used the room for students who were behaving inappropriately and needed time to cool off before returning to class. At times, Respondent would put herself in the time-out room when she felt she was losing patience with the children. While Respondent was in the time-out room with the other student, Ms. Baker took Klara to the restroom. In the hallway, Ms. Baker asked Klara if she had a knife. Klara denied having a knife. As Ms. Baker and Klara entered the classroom, other students began asking Klara about her knife. Klara did not respond to their comments. When Ms. Baker and Klara came back into the classroom, Respondent was standing in the doorway of the time-out room with the door partially closed. From that vantage point, Respondent could talk to the student who was upset and watch Klara who was sitting at her desk. Ms. Baker sat at her place in the back of the room for a few minutes. Then she went to the office where she located Elaine Haskins and Lenny Carr, campus advisors, advising them that Klara possibly had a weapon in the classroom. Ms. Haskins used her walkie-talkie to advise Ms. Wolter that she and Mr. Carr were proceeding with Ms. Baker to Respondent's room because there was a problem. When Ms. Haskins, Mr. Carr, and Ms. Baker arrived at Respondent's classroom, Klara was working quietly at her desk. Ms. Haskins entered the room and told Klara to get all of her things and accompany her to the office. Mr. Carr and Ms. Baker stayed in the hall. At this time, Respondent was still in the time-out room with the other student. Ms. Haskins walked to the time-out room and knocked on the partially-open door. Ms. Haskins advised Respondent that she was taking Klara to the office. Respondent did not advise Ms. Haskins that Klara possibly had a knife. Mr. Carr escorted Ms. Haskins and Klara back to the office. On the way, Ms. Haskins radioed Ms. Wolter to tell her that they were taking Klara to the office. Ms. Haskins told Ms. Wolter that Klara possibly had a weapon in her bag. The school resource officer met the campus advisors and Klara in Ms. Wolter's office. Klara admitted to Ms. Wolter that she had a knife in her bookbag. As Klara emptied her bag on Ms. Wolter's desk, she took out a large hunting knife. The knife was approximately eight and three-quarter inches in length when the retractable blade was extended. The blade alone was four inches long. Subsequently, Ms. Haskins went back to Respondent's classroom to tell her that Klara would not be coming back to class. There is no persuasive evidence of the following admissions by Respondent: (a) to Ms. Haskins that she knew Klara had a knife and "just hadn't responded on that" and (b) to Ms. Baker that she (Respondent) was too busy to handle the situation with Klara and the knife. About one week after the incident involving Klara, Respondent and Ms. Baker had a major disagreement. Ms. Baker was removed as the teaching assistant in Respondent's classroom. Respondent knew from the beginning that she had a potentially dangerous situation in her classroom. The potential for violence created an extremely unsafe environment for all the children involved, including Klara. The Volusia County School District's Student Code of Conduct states that possession of a weapon is a major offense which requires a recommendation of expulsion. Pending a decision on expulsion, a student will be suspended and lose all extracurricular privileges. Respondent was familiar with the Student Code of Conduct. However, the Volusia County School District has no written policy explaining the proper procedure a teacher should follow in searching a student when confronted with actual knowledge or a reasonable suspicion that the student has possession of a concealed weapon.
Recommendation Based on the foregoing Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law, it is recommended that Petitioner enter a Final Order suspending Petitioner's teaching certificate for two weeks and imposing two years of probation. DONE AND ENTERED this 16th day of September, 1997, in Tallahassee, Leon County, Florida. SUZANNE F. HOOD Administrative Law Judge Division of Administrative Hearings The DeSoto Building 1230 Apalachee Parkway Tallahassee, Florida 32399-3060 (904) 488-9675 SUNCOM 278-9675 Fax Filing (904) 921-6847 Filed with the Clerk of the Division of Administrative Hearings this 16th day of September, 1997. COPIES FURNISHED: Ron Weaver, Esquire Ron Weaver and Associates, P.A. Post Office Box 10825 Tallahassee, Florida 32302-2865 Paul Kwilecki, Esquire 433 Silver Beach Avenue, Suite 104 Daytona Beach, Florida 32176 Kathleen M. Richards, Executive Director Department of Education 224-E Florida Education Center 325 West Gaines Street Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0400 Michael H. Olenick, Esquire Department of Education The Capitol, Plaza Level 08 Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0400 Jerry Whitmore, Program Director Professional Practices Services 352 Florida Education Center 325 West Gaines Street Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0400
The Issue Whether the Respondent should be reassigned to the Opportunity School.
Findings Of Fact Dwayne was repeating the seventh grade during the 1984- 85 school year. He has a history of truancy and disruptive behavior. In an effort to remedy Dwayne's behavior several parent conferences were held and various disciplinary measures were imposed, including indoor and outdoor suspension. Dwayne was referred to the visiting teacher in an attempt to improve his attendance record, but his attendance did not improve. Dwayne began the school year on September 6, 1984, and on October 16, 1984, he was referred to the visiting teacher because he had already passed the threshold requirement of 10 absences. Further, when Dwayne went to school he often would not attend class. Dwayne has a history of disciplinary problems. He was involved in fights in October of 1983, March of 1984, and December of 1984. In the fight occurring in March a classroom window was broken and a sewing machine knocked over. In the December fight the grill of a car was broken. On May 23, 1984, he threatened a teacher. Dwayne was also referred to the office on November 2, November 8, and November 28, 1984, because he was disruptive and skipped class. Dwayne's behavior was bad enough for him to be expelled. Along with his poor attendance and disciplinary records, Dwayne had a poor academic record.
Recommendation Based on the foregoing findings of fact and conclusions of law, it is RECOMMENDED that a final order be entered approving the assignment of the Respondent to the opportunity school program at Jan Mann Opportunity School - North. DONE and ENTERED this 6th day of August, 1985, in Tallahassee, Leon County, Florida. DIANE A. GRUBBS, 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 6th day of August, 1985. COPIES FURNISHED: Mark A. Valentine, Jr., Esq. Assistant School Board Attorney McCrary & Valentine, P.A. 3050 Biscayne Boulevard Miami, Florida Honorable Ralph D. Turlington Commissioner of Education The Capitol Tallahassee, Florida 32301 Dr. Leonard Britton Superintendent of Schools Board Administration Building Dade County Public Schools 1410 Northeast Second Avenue Miami, Florida 33132 Mrs. Arlevia Taylor, 1099 N. W. 151st Street North Miami, Florida 33169 Madelyn P. Schere Assistant Board Attorney Dade County Public Schools 1450 N.E. 2nd Avenue Miami, Florida 33132 Jesse J. McCrary, Jr., Esq. 3000 Executive Plaza Suite 800 3050 Biscayne Boulevard Miami, Florida 33137 Phyllis O. Douglas Assistant Board Attorney Dade County Public Schools 1410 Northeast Second Avenue Miami, Florida 33132
The Issue The issues are whether Respondent, William Doran, committed the acts alleged in the Statement of Charges and Petition for Ten-Day Suspension Without Pay, and, if so, the discipline to be imposed.
Findings Of Fact The School Board is a duly-constituted school board charged with the duty of operating, controlling, and supervising all free public schools within St. Lucie County, Florida, pursuant to Article IX, section 4(b), Florida Constitution, and section 1001.32, Florida Statutes. At all times material hereto, Respondent was employed as a teacher at SMS, a public school in St. Lucie County, Florida, pursuant to a professional services contract. Respondent has been employed by the School Board for approximately eight years. Respondent most recently provided individualized instruction and assistance to students with individualized education plans. At all times material to this case, Respondent’s employment with the School Board was governed by Florida law, the School Board’s policies, and the collective bargaining agreement between the School Board and the St. Lucie Classroom Teachers’ Association. Lydia Martin, principal of SMS, was authorized to issue directives to her employees, including Respondent. The 2010-2011 School Year On November 8, 2010, Respondent was counseled by Principal Martin for discourteous and disparaging remarks to students causing them to feel unnecessary embarrassment. Students and parents reported that Respondent made comments in the classroom including “the Bible is crap and we should not believe it,” told students they could not work in groups because they “would just bullshit,” called a student “stupid,” and referred to a group of African-American students as the “black coffee group.” Parents also expressed concern that Respondent discussed prostitution and told students that, in some countries the younger the girls are, the better it is considered because they have not lost their virginity. Respondent denied saying that the Bible is “crap” but admitted telling students that he did not believe in it. Respondent denied calling a student stupid but admitted that he told a student certain choices may be what a “not so smart” person would do. Respondent admitted to referring to a group of black students as a “coffee klatch,” but denied any reference to race or ethnicity. Respondent admitted discussing prostitution in the context of human rights and his personal observations of sex trafficking while serving in the military in East Germany. Principal Martin provided Respondent with a written Summary of Conference that stated, “In the future, do not make comments to students that may cause them embarrassment or that are unprofessional. My expectation is that you will treat students with respect and follow the district guidelines under 6.302 Employee Standards of Conduct and Code of Ethics for Educators.” On May 2, 2011, Principal Martin gave Respondent a Letter of Concern for making comments to a student that caused embarrassment to the student when Respondent stated that, “somebody cried about not getting their stupid PTO FCAT Goodie bag” and that “they were filled with cheap candy.” The daughter of the PTO president was in the class. The 2011-2012 School Year During the fall of 2011, Respondent was accused of inappropriately touching students.1/ As a result, on December 5, 2011, Respondent was removed from the classroom at SMS and placed on Temporary Duty Assignment at the School Board district office pending an investigation into the allegations. In a letter from Maurice Bonner, director of personnel, dated December 14, 2011, Respondent was directed not to engage witnesses, their parents, or potential witnesses during the open investigation. While he was working at the district office, two co- workers of Respondent overheard Respondent contact the parents of one of the student witnesses involved in the investigation by telephone to discuss the investigation. Also, during the investigation, it was discovered that Respondent had taken pictures of students when they were misbehaving in his class as a means of disciplining those students. On February 13, 2012, Principal Martin provided Respondent a Letter of Reprimand for the violation of the administrative directive (not to contact witnesses and parents during a pending investigation) and inappropriately disciplining students. This Letter of Reprimand reminded Respondent of his previous counseling and Letter of Concern and notified Respondent that his failure to follow the prior directives or violation of any other School Board policy would result in more severe disciplinary action being taken against him. In May 2012, Respondent received a three-day suspension without pay for embarrassing students. Respondent is alleged to have announced a student’s name in class and stated that he (Respondent) was “just wasting red ink” by grading the student’s paper. Respondent does not deny the statement, but claims he muttered it under his breath, and it was overheard by several students. Respondent embarrassed another student by sharing personal information about her family with the class. A student’s mother had privately discussed with Respondent the fact that her daughter might act out in class due to the distress she was experiencing as a result of her parents’ divorce. During a classroom discussion about families, this student made a comment that she had a “normal” family. Respondent said to the student, in front of the class, “If you’re so normal, where is your father?” Respondent admits this was inappropriate behavior on his part. The 2012-2013 School Year On May 3, 2013, Respondent was in the classroom of another teacher for the purpose of providing additional teaching assistance for several students. On this date, the usual classroom teacher was absent, and a substitute teacher was present. While walking around the classroom, Respondent observed two students, M.M. and A.L., engaged in a game of “slaps,” in which both students tried to hit each other’s hands. Respondent directed M.M. to stop and asked why he was doing the game during class time. M.M. responded that he was trying to cheer up A.L., it felt good, and they liked playing the game. At this time, Respondent was approximately eight to ten feet away from M.M. who was sitting at a desk. Respondent told M.M. that he didn’t care if it felt good for M.M. to “jump off a bridge,” it was not to go on in the classroom and to get back to work. M.M. asked Respondent what he meant and the two began to argue. Respondent approached M.M. and bent over him while M.M. remained seated at his desk. Respondent testified that he closed the gap between him and M.M. when he felt M.M. told him to shut up by saying “get out of my face.” Respondent stated, “At that point I decided I wasn’t going to let him push me around and I decided to engage him.” The credible testimony from several of the student witnesses was that Respondent approached M.M. and stood over him and that M.M. repeatedly asked Respondent to “please, get out of my face” and to leave him alone. M.M. also cursed and used a racial slur directed at Respondent.2/ Respondent told M.M. to get up and get out of the classroom. When Respondent did not move away from looming over M.M., M.M. said something to the effect of “I don’t want to do any of this.” M.M. stood up, and he and Respondent were face to face, only a few inches apart. M.M. told Respondent that he was a grown man and that he was “acting like a bitch.” Respondent repeatedly mocked M.M., yelling in his face, “Come on big man-- What are you going to do about it, hit me?” and told M.M. to hit him because it would “make my day.” Respondent called M.M. a coward several times when M.M. refused to hit Respondent and backed away. While this was going on, the other students in the classroom believed that Respondent and M.M. were going to have a physical fight, and they stood up, pushed the desks and chairs back, and got out their cell phones to take photos and video. Several of the students began screaming and yelling.3/ M.M. left the classroom and continued to curse at Respondent as Respondent followed him to the Dean’s office. During this altercation, the substitute teacher did not intervene or attempt to help or contact the SMS office. Respondent admits that, once M.M. told Respondent to “get out of his face,” Respondent did nothing to de-escalate the situation. To the contrary, Respondent intentionally escalated the altercation. According to Respondent, “He [M.M.] needed to be shown you can’t tell an adult to shut up.” Respondent testified that he believed that he was teaching M.M. a “life lesson”-–that “you can’t engage an adult and expect to get away with it.” SMS has a protocol for handling belligerent students in the classroom. Teachers receive training at the beginning of each school year regarding the difference between classroom managed behaviors and office managed behaviors. Teachers are trained not to engage a belligerent student but rather to use the buzzer which is tied to the intercom or telephone, available in every classroom, to notify the main office of the situation. In response, someone from the trained management team will come to the classroom to retrieve the student and bring them back to the Dean’s office. As explained by Principal Martin, the purpose of sending an adult from out of the classroom to retrieve a disruptive student is to minimize the possibility of harm to either the student, teacher, or other students, and to allow a “cooling off period” while the misbehaving student is escorted to the Dean’s office. During the altercation with M.M., Respondent made no effort to use the buzzer or the telephone or ask anyone else to notify the office of the escalating situation. Respondent was aware of the protocol but chose to ignore it. According to Respondent, “[M.M.] wanted to intimidate me and he failed and I let him know about it.” Respondent was purposely confrontational and testified that he wanted to show M.M. that Respondent “was not going to back down.” Respondent disregarded the protocol because he believed it would be ineffective and he wanted to teach M.M. a “humility lesson.” Respondent’s explanation, that he thought using the buzzer or telephone would be ineffective because sometimes the buzzer does not work or he was blocked from reaching the buzzer by M.M., was not supported by credible evidence. Further it was directly contradicted by Respondent’s explanation that he didn’t contact the office because M.M.’s behavior problems likely started in elementary school and that at this point, M.M. was not responsive to “conventional means of disciplining students.” While the undersigned is sensitive to the difficulty faced by teachers when dealing with confrontational and unruly students, no rational justification was provided for Respondent’s extreme and outrageous act of attempting to engage M.M. in a fight and labeling him a coward in front of his peers. Respondent’s actions were an unwarranted attempt to bully and belittle a middle school student. In May 2013, Respondent received a letter from then Superintendent Michael Lannon advising Respondent that he was recommending him to the School Board for a ten-day suspension without pay. During the School Board’s investigation and at the final hearing of this matter, Respondent expressed no remorse regarding his actions towards M.M. and testified that, despite knowing his actions constitute a violation of School Board policies, he would do the same thing again. Respondent received all the necessary steps of progressive discipline required by the collective bargaining agreement between the parties prior to receipt of the recommendation for the ten-day suspension without pay. As discussed in greater detail below, the School Board proved by a preponderance of the evidence that Respondent engaged in misconduct in office in violation of rule 6A-5.056(2).
Recommendation Based on the foregoing Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law, it is RECOMMENDED that the St. Lucie County School Board enter a final order finding William Doran guilty of misconduct in office, suspending his employment without pay for a period of ten school days, and placing him on probation for a period of one year. DONE AND ENTERED this 19th day of August, 2014, in Tallahassee, Leon County, Florida. S MARY LI CREASY Administrative Law Judge Division of Administrative Hearings The DeSoto Building 1230 Apalachee Parkway Tallahassee, Florida 32399-3060 (850) 488-9675 Fax Filing (850) 921-6847 www.doah.state.fl.us Filed with the Clerk of the Division of Administrative Hearings this 19th day of August, 2014.
The Issue The issue is whether the allegations contained in the Second Amended Administrative Complaint filed by Petitioner are true, and if so, what discipline should be imposed.
Findings Of Fact The School Board has employed Dr. Whalen since 1997. She first worked as a teacher at Gladys Morse Elementary School. When Morse closed she was transferred to Taylor Elementary School, a new school. She continued teaching at Taylor Elementary School until January 19, 2005. Her employment was pursuant to a professional services contract. Dr. Whalen holds Florida Educator's Certificate No. 530568. Dr. Whalen has been confined to a wheelchair for almost 55 years. She cannot move her lower extremities and she is without feeling in her lower extremities. On January 19, 2005, she was approximately 58 years of age. During times pertinent Dr. Whalen taught a "varying exceptionalities" class. A "varying exceptionalities" class is provided for students who have a specific learning disability, or have emotional difficulties, or who have a physical handicap. She has been an exceptional student education teacher for about 20 years. She has never been disciplined by an employer during her career. In addition to her teaching activities she is also County Coordinator for the Special Olympics. The Commissioner of Education is the chief educational officer of the state and is responsible for giving full assistance to the State Board of Education in enforcing compliance with the mission and goals of the K-20 education system. The State Board of Education's mission includes the provision of certification requirements for all school-based personnel. The Education Practices Commission is appointed by the State Board of Education and has the authority to discipline teachers. Nonviolent Crisis Intervention Kathy Kriedler is currently a teacher at Taylor Elementary School. She is certified in teaching emotionally impaired children and has taught emotionally impaired children in Taylor County since 1983. She is an outstanding teacher who was recently named Taylor County Elementary School Teacher of the Year and Taylor County District Teacher of the Year. Ms. Kriedler is a master level instructor in Nonviolent Crisis Intervention, which is a program of the Crisis Prevention Institute. The use of skills associated with the program is generally referred to as CPI. CPI arms teachers with the skills necessary to de-escalate a crisis involving a student, or, in the event de-escalation fails, provides the skills necessary to physically control students. Ms. Kriedler has been the School Board's CPI teacher since 1987. CPI teaches that there are four stages of crisis development and provides four staff responses to each stage. These stages and responses are: (1) Anxiety-Supportive; (2) Defensive-Directive; (3) Acting Out Person-Nonviolent Physical Crisis Intervention; and (4) Tension Reduction- Therapeutic Rapport. The thrust of CPI is the avoidance of physical intervention when possible. The CPI Workbook notes that, "The crisis development model . . . is an extremely valuable tool that can be utilized to determine where a person is during an escalation process." It then notes, helpfully, "Granted, human behavior is not an orderly 1-4 progression." The CPI Workbook provides certain responses for a situation that has devolved into violence. CPI physical control techniques include the "children's control position" which is also referred to as the "basket hold." CPI also provides a maneuver called the "bite release" which is used when a child bites a teacher and the "choke release" which is used when a child chokes a teacher. CPI specifically forbids sitting or lying on a child who is lying on the floor because this could cause "positional asphyxia." In other words, an adult who lies upon a child could prevent a child from breathing. CPI holds are not to be used for punishment. The School Board encourages teachers to learn and apply CPI in their dealings with students. The use of CPI is not, however, mandatory School Board policy nor is it required by the State Board of Education. Dr. Whalen took and passed Ms. Kriedler's CPI course and took and passed her refresher course. She had at least 16 hours of instruction in CPI. She could not accomplish some of the holds taught because of her physical handicap. The alleged chain incident Ms. Amanda Colleen Fuquay taught with Dr. Whalen when both of them were teachers at Gladys Morse Elementary School. Ms. Fuquay, like Dr. Whalen, taught exceptional children. Ms. Fuquay's first teaching job after receipt of her bachelor's degree was at Morse Elementary School. At the time Ms. Fuquay began teaching, Dr. Whalen was also a teacher at Morse. The record does not reveal when Ms. Fuqua initially began teaching at Morse, but it was after 1997 and before August 2002, when Morse Elementary merged into the new Taylor Elementary School. During Ms. Fuqua's first year of teaching she entered Dr. Whalen's class. She testified that upon entry she observed a male student chained to a chair at his desk. The chain may have been about the size of a dog choker. She said that the chain ran through the student's belt loop and around the chair. Ms. Fuqua said that she inquired of Dr. Whalen as to the reason for the chain and she replied, in perhaps a joking way, that the student wouldn't sit down. The evidence does not reveal when this occurred or even in what year it occurred. The evidence does not reveal the name of the alleged victim. The evidence does not reveal the victim's response to being chained to the chair. The evidence does not reveal whether Dr. Whalen chained the child or if someone else chained the child or if it just appeared that the child was chained. Robin Whiddon was Dr. Whalen's aide for school years 1998-99, 1999-2000, and 2000-2001, and she testified at the hearing. She did not mention this incident. Ms. Fuqua could not discern if this was a serious matter or whether it was some sort of a joke. She said, "I didn't have a clue." Ms. Fuqua failed to report this incident because she was new to teaching and she had not, "learned the ropes." Dr. Whalen denied under oath that she had ever chained a student to a chair, and specifically denied that she had done it in 1999, which is within the time frame that Ms. Fuqua could have observed this. Moreover, she specifically denied having chains in her classroom. The Commissioner has the burden of proving the facts in this case, as will be discussed in detail below, by clear and convincing evidence. Undoubtedly, Ms. Fuqua saw a chain of some sort that appeared to be positioned in such a manner as to restrain the unidentified student. However, the lack of any corroborating evidence, the paucity of details, and the denial of wrong-doing by Dr. Whalen prevents a finding, by clear and convincing evidence, of maltreatment. The alleged incident involving S.A. On August 13, 1998, at Morse, Ms. Kriedler was called by Dr. Whalen to her class. When Ms. Kriedler entered the class she observed Dr. Whalen holding S.A.'s arms to his desk with her right hand and holding the hair of his head by her left hand. She stated to Ms. Kriedler that, "If he moves a quarter of an inch, I'm going to rip the hair out of his head." Dr. Whalen also related that S.A. had kicked her. Dr. Whalen also said to S.A., in the presence of Ms. Kriedler, "Go ahead and kick me because I can't feel it." This referred to her handicap. By this time S.A. was motionless. After a discussion with Ms. Kriedler, Dr. Whalen released S.A. and Ms. Kriedler took him to her classroom. Subsequently, Ms. Kriedler requested that he be transferred to her class and that request was granted. Ms. Kriedler reported this incident to Shona Murphy, the Taylor County School District Exceptional Student Education Administrator. Ms. Murphy stated that Ms. Kriedler reported to her that that S.A. was flailing about and kicking when Dr. Whalen threatened to pull his hair. Robin Whiddon was Dr. Whalen's aide on August 13, 1998. She recalls S.A. and described him as a troubled young man who was full of anger. He would sometimes come to school appearing disheveled. He had blond hair that was usually short. Ms. Whiddon has observed him lash out at others with his hands. Ms. Whiddon was not present in the classroom when the incident described by Ms. Kriedler occurred. However, upon her return to the classroom, Dr. Whalen informed her that she had grabbed S.A. by the hair until she could control him. Ms. Murphy discussed the incident with Principal Izell Montgomery and Superintendent Oscar Howard in late August 1998. As a result of the discussions, these officials decided to video-tape Dr. Whalen's classroom, and to take no other action. Dr. Whalen denied under oath that she grabbed S.A.'s hair. Despite Dr. Whalen's assertion to the contrary and upon consideration of all of the evidence, it has been proven by clear and convincing evidence that Dr. Whalen grabbed and held S.A.'s hair and threatened to pull it out. Grabbing a student's hair is not an approved CPI hold. However, at the time this occurred Dr. Whalen was not required to use CPI methods. Grabbing a student's hair is generally unacceptable conduct unless, for instance, it is done in self- defense, or in order to protect the student or others. It has been not been proven by clear and convincing evidence that grabbing S.A.'s hair was impermissible. Dr. Whalen told Ms. Kriedler that S.A. had been kicking her. This statement raises the possibility that the action was initiated as a self-defense measure. When one considers that Dr. Whalen has limited mobility, and that her aide was not present, she was permitted to take reasonable actions to defend herself. Grabbing a student's hair may have been reasonable under the circumstances and, in the event, the record does not provide enough evidence to permit a determination. The video-tape of November 20, 2002 A video-tape, that included audio, and which was made part of the record of the case, portrays events on the morning of November 20, 2002. The video-tape was brought to the attention of the school administration by a parent who had received the video-tape from Dr. Whalen. The picture quality of the video is satisfactory but the audio is derived from a microphone near Dr. Whalen's desk. Therefore, it is clear that the microphone did not record all of the words spoken in the classroom at the time and date pertinent. Accordingly, facts found as a result of viewing the video-tape are limited to those which are clearly depicted by it. The School Board had discussed the wearing of apparel with representations of the Confederate battle flag on them in a meeting immediately prior to November 20, 2002. Early in the morning of November 20, 2002, there was a discussion with regard to the School Board deliberations among some of Dr. Whalen's students. The discussion came close to degenerating into physical conflict. This was reported to Dr. Whalen's aide, Ruth Ann Austin. It was further reported that some students called some of their fellow students "rebels," and others called other students "Yankees" and "gangsters." Assistant Principal Verges visited the classroom at the beginning of the school day, at Dr. Whalen's request, and he explained the matters discussed at the School Board meeting. Upon the departure of Assistant Principal Verges, Dr. Whalen unleashed a torrent of criticism upon her students addressing the subject of name-calling. Dr. Whalen spoke to the students in a loud and threatening tone of voice. While delivering this tirade, Dr. Whalen traveled to and fro in her motorized wheelchair. The video-tape revealed that this wheelchair was capable of rapid movement and that it was highly maneuverable. The lecture was delivered in a wholly confrontational and offensive manner. The lecture continued for more than 30 minutes. This behavior was the opposite of the de-escalating behavior that is suggested by CPI. However, Dr. Whalen had never been directed to employ CPI. S.O. was a student in Dr. Whalen's class and was present on November 20, 2002. He was a student of the Caucasian race who had, prior to this date, displayed aggressive and violent behavior toward Assistant Principal Verges and toward Ruth Ann Austin, Dr. Whalen's aide. Some on the school staff described him, charitably, as "non-compliant." S.O. was quick to curse and had in the past, directed racial slurs to Ms. Austin, who is an African-American. Because of his propensity to kick those to whom his anger was directed, his parents had been requested to ensure that he wear soft shoes while attending school. On November 20, 2002, S.O. was wearing cowboy boots and a Dixie Outfitters shirt with the Confederate battle flag emblazoned upon the front. Subsequent to Dr. Whalen's tirade, S.O. slid out of his chair onto the carpeted floor of the classroom. Dr. Whalen instructed him to get back in his chair, and when he did not, she tried to force him into the chair. She threatened S.O. by saying, "Do you want to do the floor thing?" When S.O., slid out of his chair again, Dr. Whalen forcibly removed S.O.'s jacket. Thereafter, Ms. Austin approached S.O. Ms. Austin is a large woman. Ms. Austin removed S.O.'s watch and yanked S.O.'s boots from his feet and threw them behind his chair. Dr. Whalen drove her wheelchair into the back of S.O.'s chair with substantial violence. Thereafter, Ms. Austin removed S.O. from the classroom. Removing S.O.'s jacket, watch, and boots was acceptable under the circumstances because they could have been used as weapons. The act of driving the wheelchair into the back of S.O.'s chair, however, was unnecessary and unhelpful. A memorandum of counseling was presented to Dr. Whalen by Principal Ivey on December 2, 2002, which addressed her behavior as portrayed by the video-tape. The S.O. and C.C. incidents Reports from time to time were made to Assistant Principal Verges, and others, that Dr. Whalen engaged in an activity commonly referred to as "kissing the carpet." This referred to physically taking children down to the floor and sitting on them. During April 2003, Dr. Whalen reported to Assistant Principal Verges and Ms. Kriedler that she had recently put two students on the carpet. During the four years Mr. Verges was Dr. Whalen's Assistant Principal, Dr. Whalen reported a total of only about four instances of having to physically restrain students. Dr. Whalen has never told Mr. Verges that she has regularly restrained children on the floor. Dr. Whalen's agent for using physical restraint is her aide, Ms. Austin, because Dr. Whalen's handicap does not permit her to easily engage in physical restraint. Ms. Austin physically restrained children five or six or seven times during the four years she was Dr. Whalen's aide. On four occasions a child actually went to the floor while being restrained by Ms. Austin. One of the two students who were reported to have been physically restrained during the April 2003, time frame was S.M. During this time frame S.M. became a new student in Dr. Whalen's class. S.M. was unhappy about being placed in a "slow" class. It was Ms. Austin's practice to meet Dr. Whalen's students when they exited the school bus in the morning. Accordingly, she met S.M., the new student. S.M. was "mouthy" when she exited the bus and would not get in line with the other children. S.M. and the rest of the children were taken to the lunch room in order to procure breakfast. While there, S.M. obtained a tray containing peaches and other food and threw the contents to the floor. Ms. Austin instructed S.M. to clean up the mess she made. S.M. responded by pushing Ms. Austin twice, and thereafter Ms. Austin put S.M. in a basket hold. S.M. struggled and they both fell on the floor. Ms. Austin called for assistance and someone named "Herb" arrived. Herb put a basket hold on S.M. while Ms. Austin tried to remove S.M.'s boots because S.M. was kicking her. S.M. was almost as tall as Ms. Austin and was very strong. At the end of the day, Ms. Austin was trying to "beat the rush" and to get her students on the school bus early. She was standing in the door to the classroom attempting to get her students to form a line. She and Dr. Whalen had planned for S.M., and another student, with whom she had engaged in an ongoing disagreement, to remain seated while the rest of their classmates got on the bus. While the line was being formed, S.M. and her fellow student had been directed to sit still. Instead, S.M. rose, said that she was not going to wait, and tried to push by Ms. Austin. Ms. Austin responded by asking her to sit down. S.M. said she would not sit down and pushed Ms. Austin yet again. Ms. Austin tried to restrain her and told the other students to get to the bus as best as they could because she was struggling with S.M. and was having substantial difficulty in restraining her. Ms. Austin asked for help. She and S.M. fell to the floor. S.M. was on the carpet. Dr. Whalen slid from her wheelchair and attempted to restrain the top part of S.M.'s body. Ms. Austin held the bottom part of her body and attempted to remove her boots with which S.M. was kicking. S.M. was cursing, screaming, and otherwise demonstrating her anger. Dr. Whalen talked to her until she calmed down. They then released S.M. The actions taken by Ms. Austin and Dr. Whalen were appropriate responses to S.M.'s behavior. The S.M. affair precipitated the C.C. incident. C.C. was a large male student who had no history of violence. C.C. teased S.M. about having been "taken down" by Ms. Austin. C.C., teasingly, told Ms. Austin, that he did not think Ms. Austin could take him down. Ms. Austin said she could put him in a basket hold which she did. C.C. challenged Ms. Austin to put him on the floor and she did. This was considered a joke by C.C. and Ms. Austin. This incident was nothing more than horseplay. As the result of the comments made by Dr. Whalen, addressing the S.M. and C.C. incidents, to Ms. Kriedler and to Assistant Principal Verges, a memorandum issued dated April 7, 2003. It was signed by Principal Sylvia Ivey. The memorandum recited that Dr. Whalen's comments raised concerns with regard to whether Dr. Whalen was using appropriate CPI techniques. The memorandum stated that Dr. Whalen's classroom would be video-taped for the remainder of the school year, that Dr. Whalen was to document each case of restraint used, that she should use proper CPI techniques, and that she should contact the office should a crisis situation arise in her classroom. The J.R. incident On January 19, 2005, J.R. was a student in Dr. Whalen's classroom. On that date, J.R. was a ten-year-old female and in the third grade. J.R. had been a student in Dr. Whalen's classroom only since about January 10, 2005. Dr. Whalen did not know much about J.R.'s history on January 19, 2005. At the hearing J.R. appeared physically to be approximately as large as Dr. Whalen. A determination as to exactly who was the larger could not be made because Dr. Whalen was seated in a wheelchair. Assistant Principal Verges found that J.R.'s physical strength was greater than average for an elementary school student on an occasion when he had to restrain her after she bit another person. J.R. brought a CD player to class on January 19, 2005, and after lunchtime, Dr. Whalen discovered it and confiscated it. Dr. Whalen took possession of the CD player because school rules forbid students to have CD players in class. Dr. Whalen put it in a drawer by her desk. When this happened, in J.R.'s words she, "Got mad." A heated discussion between Dr. Whalen and J.R., about the dispossession of the CD player ensued, but after a brief time, according to Dr. Whalen's aide, Angela Watford, "the argument settled." Even though Ms. Watford's lunch break had begun, she remained in the room, at Dr. Whalen's request, until she was satisfied that the dispute had calmed. Subsequent to the departure of Ms. Watford, J.R. approached Dr. Whalen, who was seated behind her desk working. The configuration of the desk and furniture used by Dr. Whalen was such that she was surrounded by furniture on three sides. In order to obtain the CD player, it was necessary for J.R. to enter this confined space. J.R. entered this space, moving behind Dr. Whalen, and reached for the drawer containing the CD player in an effort to retrieve it. When Dr. Whalen asked her what she was doing, J.R. said, "I am getting my CD player and getting out of this f class." Dr. Whalen told J.R. to return to her desk. J.R. continued in her effort to obtain the CD player and succeeded in opening the drawer and grasping the headset part of the CD player. Dr. Whalen attempted to close the drawer. J.R. reacted violently and this surprised Dr. Whalen. J.R. attempted to strike Dr. Whalen. Dr. Whalen reared back to avoid the blow and then put her arm around J.R. When J.R. pulled away, this caused Dr. Whalen to fall from her wheelchair on top of J.R.'s back at about a 45-degree angle. Immediately thereafter, J.R. bit Dr. Whalen several times. The bites broke Dr. Whalen's skin in three places and the pain caused her to cry. J.R. began cursing, screaming, and kicking. J.R. said she was going to "kick the s _ _ _" out of her teacher. In fact, while on the carpet, J.R. kicked Dr. Whalen numerous times. Dr. Whalen believed she would be in danger of additional harm if she allowed J.R. to regain her feet. This belief was reasonable. J.R. was in no danger of asphyxiation during this event because Dr. Whalen removed part of her weight from J.R. by extending her arms. Upon returning from lunch Ms. Watford spotted T.B., a boy who appears to be eight to ten years of age. T.B. was standing outside of Dr. Whalen's classroom and he calmly said to Ms. Watford, "Help." Ms. Watford entered the classroom and observed Dr. Whalen lying on top of and across J.R., who was face down on the carpeted floor, and who was cursing and kicking while Dr. Whalen tried to restrain her. Ms. Watford ran over to assist in restraining her by putting her legs between J.R.'s legs. J.R. thereafter tried to hit Ms. Watford with her right hand. Ms. Watford grabbed J.R.'s right arm and was severely bitten on the knuckle by J.R. The three of them ended up, Ms. Watford related, "in a wad." Within seconds of Ms. Watford's intervention, Frances Durden, an aide in the classroom next door came on the scene. She was followed by Takeisha McIntyre, the dean of the school, and Assistant Principal Verges. Ms. McIntyre and Mr. Verges were able to calm J.R. and safely separate her from Dr. Whalen. Then J.R. stated that Dr. Whalen had bitten her on the back. Dr. Whalen and Ms. Watford went to the school's health clinic to have their wounds treated. The wounds were cleaned and Ms. Watford subsequently received an injection. While Dr. Whalen and Ms. Watford were at the health clinic, J.R. was ushered in by Ms. McIntyre. J.R.'s shirt was raised and the persons present observed two red marks between her shoulder blades. Dr. Whalen said that the marks must have been produced by her chin or that possibly her teeth may have contacted J.R.'s back. She said that she had forced her chin into J.R.'s back in an effort to stop J.R. from biting her. Ms. McIntyre took photographs of the marks. The photography was observed by Mr. Verges. The photographs reveal two red marks positioned between J.R.'s shoulder blades. The two marks are vertical, parallel, and aligned with the backbone. They are from one, to one and one half inches in length. The skin is not broken. There is no wound. Teeth marks are not discernible. A teacher who has many years of experience in the elementary or kindergarten education levels, and who has observed many bite marks, may offer an opinion as to whether a mark is a bite mark. Mr. Verges has the requisite experience to offer an opinion as to the nature of the marks on J.R.'s back and he observed the actual marks as well as the photographs. It is his opinion that the two marks were caused by a bite. Ms. McIntyre, who has also observed many bite marks in her career, and who observed the actual marks as well as the photographs, stated that the marks were consistent with a bite. Registered Nurse Cate Jacob, supervisor of the School Health Program observed Julia's back on January 19, 2005, and opined that the red marks on J.R.'s back were bite marks. J.R. reported via her mother, the day after the incident, that she had been bitten by a boy on the playground of Taylor Elementary School, by a black boy with baggy pants, possibly before the incident with Dr. Whalen. Facts presented at the hearing suggest that it is unlikely that J.R. was bitten on the playground under the circumstances described in this report. T.B. was the only nonparticipant close to the actual combat who was a neutral observer. He did not see Dr. Whalen bite J.R., but did see her chin contact J.R.'s back and he heard Dr. Whalen say words to the effect, "I am going to make you say 'ouch.'" Dr. Whalen denied biting J.R. She stated at the time of the event, and under oath at the hearing, that she forcibly contacted J.R.'s back with her chin. She stated that it was possible that in the heat of the struggle her teeth may have contacted J.R.'s back. The opinion of the school personnel as to the origin of the marks upon J.R.'s back is entitled to great weight. On the other hand, a study of the photographs exposed immediately after the incident, reveals no teeth marks and no broken skin. The marks could be consistent with pressing one's chin upon another's back or pressing one's teeth in one's back. In the latter case, whether J.R. was bitten may be a matter of definition. Generally, a bite occurs when the victim experiences a grip or would like that experienced by Ms. Watford or Dr. Whalen in this incident. Although J.R. asserted that the marks occurred because of the actions of, "a boy on the playground," given J.R.'s general lack of credibility, that explanation is of questionable reliability. The evidence, taken as a whole, does not lend itself to a finding of the origin of the marks on J.R.'s back. Because proof by clear and convincing evidence is required in this case, it is not found that Dr. Whalen bit J.R. Principal Ivey's memorandum of April 7, 2003, specified that ". . . Mr. Howard and I informed you that we will video-tape your classroom . . . ." Thus it is clear that it was not Dr. Whalen's duty to cause the classroom to be video-taped. It is clear that for many months Dr. Whalen's classroom was video-taped and until the November 20, 2003, incident, none of her actions caused attention to be drawn to her teaching methods. It is found that the assault on Dr. Whalen was sudden and unexpected. Any actions taken by Dr. Whalen were taken in permissible self-defense. J.R. was suspended from Taylor Elementary School for ten days following this incident. Miscellaneous Findings Sylvia Ivey has been the principal of Taylor Elementary for three years. She has evaluated Dr. Whalen three times. She has evaluated Dr. Whalen as "effective," which is the top mark that a teacher may receive. From approximately 1997, when the S.A. hair pulling allegedly occurred, until December 2, 2002, not a single document was created indicating dissatisfaction with Dr. Whalen's teaching methods. Dr. Whalen's normal voice volume is louder than average. She would often elevate her already loud voice, intimidate students and pound on her desk. The aforementioned activities are not part of CPI. On the other hand, these methods worked for Dr. Whalen for 20 years. She was not required to use CPI until subsequent to the memorandum of April 7, 2003. There is no evidence that she failed to use CPI once she was required to employ it. As revealed by the testimony of Dr. Whalen, Ms. Kriedler, Assistant Principal Verges, Ms. Austin, and others, some of these children would strike, kick, bite, throw objects, curse, and hurl racial epithets at their teachers. Teaching some of these children was difficult.
Recommendation Based upon the Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law, it is RECOMMENDED that Respondent be found guilty of Counts 3 and 4, that she be issued a reprimand, that she be placed on probation as that term is defined in Florida Administrative Code Rule 6B-11.008, for a period of one year. DONE AND ENTERED this 15th day of June, 2005, in Tallahassee, Leon County, Florida. S HARRY L. HOOPER 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 15th day of June, 2005. COPIES FURNISHED: Kathleen M. Richards, Executive Director Education Practices Commission Department of Education 325 West Gaines Street, Room 224 Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0400 Mary F. Aspros, Esquire Meyer and Brooks, P.A. 2544 Blairstone Pines Drive Tallahassee, Florida 32302 Brian A. Newman, Esquire Pennington, Moore, Wilkinson, Bell & Dunbar, P.A. 215 South Monroe Street, Second Floor Tallahassee, Florida 32301 Daniel J. Woodring, General Counsel Department of Education Turlington Building, Suite 1244 325 West Gaines Street Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0400 Marian Lambeth, Program Specialist Bureau of Educator Standards Department of Education 325 West Gaines Street, Suite 224-E Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0400
