TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Teacher Misconduct Web Site Clarified

ADVERTISEMENT

By CATHERINE DOLINSKI | The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 24, 2007

Updated: 09/25/2007 08:55 am

TALLAHASSEE - Most teachers listed in the state's online database of misconduct cases never admitted to the charges against them, and they were never proved guilty.

However, anyone searching the state's database would not have known that - until now.

That's because Florida education officials omitted that level of detail one month ago when they launched www.myfloridateacher.com, an interactive public Web site listing all "substantiated" complaints that led the state to sanction teachers this year. The Web site, which has received more than 910,000 hits since Aug. 20, lists allegations ranging from lying on a job application to soliciting prostitution. The punishments vary as well, from revoked teaching licenses to letters of reprimand.

Until recently, the database lacked details about the specific charges and outcome of each case.

"The primary concern we had was that there wasn't a reference to the fact that in many cases they were allegations that were unproven," said Pam Cooper, general counsel for the Florida Education Association. "A lot of folks enter into settlement agreements, for a variety of reasons, on the express terms that those agreements indicate the person does not admit to the facts of the case."

As Cooper explained, state action against a teacher does not mean he or she admitted guilt or was proved guilty. A teacher could have agreed to settle a charge by accepting punishment without admitting guilt. Similarly, teachers facing criminal charges may have pleaded nolo contendre in court, meaning they accepted a penalty without admitting or denying a charge, and the court may have withheld adjudication.

Of the 337 cases listed at www.myfloridateacher.com, 240 ended in settlement agreements with no admission or denial of guilt. But the online records that initially appeared on the site listed only the state's final action against each teacher, not the manner of resolving the case. That changed after the state teachers union cried foul, arguing that the Web site unfairly fostered a presumption of guilt.

Details Added

After the Web site's launch last month, state education officials said listing more details would have been too cumbersome. But this week, they said it always was their intent to provide additional information. During the past several weeks they have updated all entries with links to the state's final order in each case, which provides more detail about the allegations. The department also has added notations indicating which cases ended in settlement agreements.

Pam Stewart, deputy chancellor of K-12 educator quality for the state, said technological barriers had prevented the department from providing more detail initially. The department launched the Web site anyway, she said, to time it with the start of the school year. The revised site "is an accurate representation and includes all of the information that is public so that individuals can see the entire picture."

Cooper said state officials have been responsive to the union's concerns since the launch. "I think there were a lot of folks who understood that once it's out on the Internet, the ability to recapture that information is slim to none. We have to be sensitive to what is put out on that Web site and the manner in which it is presented."

The database includes only cases in which the state issued a final order in 2007, but Stewart said the department gradually will add earlier rulings.

"This is a process to make this information more easily accessible to individuals who are going to be employers of teachers," said Marian Lambeth, chief of the Education Department's Bureau of Professional Practices Services, who noted that the information on the Web site always has been public.

Florida Site Mirrors Other States'

The www.myfloridateacher.comWeb site mirrors similar ventures in several other states, including Ohio, Texas and Vermont. Vermont Department of Education spokeswoman Jill Remick said her state's teacher misconduct Web site is not as expansive as Florida's, and it includes only cases in which the state revoked or suspended a teacher's license.

Jean Clements, president of the Hillsborough County teachers union, urged users of Florida's Web site not to interpret settlement agreements as indications of guilt.

Clements praised the recent Web site revisions, but they were cold comfort to Susann Reifenberg, a Brandon High School social studies teacher who appears in the database because of an allegation of petit theft.

"I just feel like when my kids go to that site, what are they going to think," said Reifenberg, a two-time Teacher of the Year who has taught in Hillsborough County for 22 years.

Reifenberg faced theft charges on or about June 1, 2005, when a security camera at Wal-Mart caught her exiting with unpaid merchandise valued at $28. She had received an emergency phone call while shopping, she explained recently, and rushed to pay for her items and leave. She did not realize she had failed to pay for several small things in her shopping cart, she said, until security staff stopped her.

It was a first offense for the teacher, who pleaded no contest nolo contendre to the charge. The court withheld adjudication. When state education officials pursued disciplinary action against her, she settled without admitting guilt. The state issued a written reprimand and fined her $300.

Reifenberg, who has taken a voluntary unpaid leave of absence from Brandon High for unrelated reasons, is searching for another job. Even with the context that state officials have added to her entry at www.myfloridateacher.com, she is worried about the potential effect on her prospects.

"I do have ethics, although this charge doesn't show it," she said. "I hope this doesn't ruin my life."

Reporter Catherine Dolinski can be reached at (850) 222-8382 or cdolinski@tampatrib.com.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT