Florida Teacher and Administrator Certificate Defense

In Florida, a very large number of people hold teaching certificates or administrator certificates, and in any given year thousands of complaints are made about teachers or administrators who hold them. These complaints range from minor to serious, and can result in discipline being imposed against a certificate, whether that is a reprimand, a fine, probation, suspension, or permanent revocation. Cases against educator certificates are handled by the Florida Department of Education and, if pursued, ultimately go before the Education Practices Commission (EPC). If a case is not resolved by settlement and the facts are in dispute, it will usually be referred to the Division of Administrative Hearings for a full hearing. This hearing is equivalent to a trial, the difference being that an administrative law judge, and not a jury, makes the factual recommendations.

If you have been told of a complaint or an investigation, talk with us before you respond. Call us at 850-567-8445 or fill in the message form on this page.

How a Complaint Proceeds

The Department of Education must investigate any legally sufficient complaint. School districts, charter schools, and private schools that accept scholarship students are required to report misconduct to the Department within 30 days after they learn of it, so a problem at work usually becomes a certificate case as well. When an investigation begins, the Department notifies the educator and the employing school.

After the investigation ends, and before probable cause is decided, the educator may inspect and copy the complaint and the investigative file and is entitled to a conference if one is requested. The Commissioner of Education then decides whether there is probable cause. If there is not, the complaint is dismissed, sometimes with a letter of guidance. If there is, the Commissioner files a formal complaint and prosecutes it under chapter 120. Where material facts are in dispute, an administrative law judge hears the case and makes a recommendation to a panel of the Education Practices Commission, which enters the final order (section 1012.796, Florida Statutes).

What Is at Stake

The Commission may suspend a certificate for up to five years, revoke it for up to ten years, or revoke it permanently (section 1012.795(1)). It may also impose an administrative fine of up to $2,000 for each count, place the educator on probation, restrict the scope of the educator’s practice, or issue a written reprimand that goes in the certification file (section 1012.796(7)).

Allegations of misconduct that are a basis for action against a certificate may also result in disciplinary action by the employer, up to and including the loss of employment at the school board or charter school that employs the teacher or administrator. For school district employees, these cases too are typically referred to the Division of Administrative Hearings before going back to the school board for entry of a final order. The two proceedings are separate, and what happens in one can affect the other.

Mr. Woodring has worked with thousands of these complaints against teachers or administrators, going back to his days as General Counsel of the Florida Department of Education. Please contact us if you have been accused of actions that might affect your teaching or administrator’s certificate or your employment in a public school, and we can discuss whether we will be able to help you. You can call us at 850-567-8445 or email us at Info@woodringlawfirm.com.