PHILLIP CHASE, APPELLANT,
v.
PINELLAS COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD, APPELLEE
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An agency may increase a hearing officer's recommended penalty if it adopts the findings of fact and conclusions of law, the statute provides penalty guidelines, and the increased penalty falls within those guidelines.
Phillip Chase, a physical education teacher, was suspended for three days without pay by the School Board of Pinellas County. Chase appealed the admin…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
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HALL, Judge.
Phillip Chase challenges the final administrative order of the School Board of Pinel-las County suspending him for three days without pay from his position as physical education teacher at Dunedin High School. We affirm. The supreme court recently disapproved two of the cases relied upon by Chase, Hanley v. Department of Professional Regulation, 549 So. 2d 1164 (Fla. 4th DCA 1989) and Bajrangi v. Department of Business Regulation, 561 So. 2d 410 (Fla. 5th DCA 1990), and modified a third case relied upon by Chase, Department of Professional Regulation v. Bernal, 531 So. 2d 967 (Fla.1988). Crim. Justice Standards & Training Comm ’n v. Bradley, 596 So. 2d 661 (Fla.1992).
Bradley involved the same issue as that presented by this case: whether an agency may adopt a hearing officer’s findings of fact and conclusions of law but reduce or increase the recommended penalty. Approving Judge Altenbernd’s dissent in Hambley v. Department of Professional Regulation, 568 So. 2d 970 (Fla.2d DCA 1990), the supreme court found
that it is a primary function of professional disciplinary boards to determine the appropriate punishment for the misconduct of the professionals it regulates. As long as the statute under which a professional agency operates provides guidelines for imposing penalties, the agency complies with section 120.-57(l)(b)10., and the increased penalty falls within the guidelines established by its statute, a professional board or agency has the discretion to increase the recommended penalty.
Bradley, 596 So. 2d at 663.
We find that the Pinellas County School Board satisfied all of these requirements for exercising its discretion to increase the hearing officer’s recommended penalty.
Affirmed.
SCHOONOVER, C.J., and PATTERSON, J., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
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Davis v. The Sch. Bd. OF Gadsden Cnty., 646 So. 2d 766 (Fla. 1st DCA 1994)…ave taken place, the final order falls short; the School Board’s order failed fully to take into account fact findings in the recommended order, findings that it adopted in full. The School Board’s reliance on Chase v. Pinellas County School Board, 597 So. 2d 419 (Fla. 2d DCA 1992) is misplaced. The school board that employed Chase properly “exer-cis[ed] its discretion to increase the hearing officer’s recommended penalty,” at 420, where the facts demonstrated misconduct. No penalty of any kind is authorized…
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Beverly Enterprises-Florida, Inc. v. Agency for Health Care Admin., 710 So. 2d 106 (Fla. 2d DCA 1998)…requested a fine of $700. Although the director does have the authority to re-evaluate the penalty proposed by the judge, see Criminal Justice Standards and Training Comm’n v. Bradley, 596 So. 2d 661 (Fla.1992); Chase v. Pinellas County School Bd., 597 So. 2d 419 (Fla. 2d DCA 1992), he is not free to amend the Agency’s complaint by adding other violations and seeking a larger fine after the hearing has occurred. Accordingly, we affirm the determination of a technical violation, but reverse the fine imposed,…
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Woods v. Miami-Dade Cnty. Sch. Bd., 41 So. 3d 995 (Fla. 3d DCA 2010)…PER CURIAM. Affirmed. See Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission v. Bradley, 596 So. 2d 661 (Fla.1992); Chase v. Pinellas County School Board, 597 So. 2d 419 (Fla. 2d DCA 1992). See also § 120.68, Fla. Stat. (2009). SALTER, J., and SCHWARTZ, Senior Judge, concur.…
Authorities Cited
- Dep't OF Prof'l Reg. v. Pedro F. Bernal, M.D., 531 So. 2d 967 (Fla. 1988)
- Henry v. State, 596 So. 2d 661 (Fla. 1992)
- M. James Hanley, R.N. v. Dep't of Prof'l Reg., 549 So. 2d 1164 (Fla. 4th DCA 1989)
- Rajendr Bajrangi v. Dep't of Bus. Reg., 561 So. 2d 410 (Fla. 5th DCA 1990)
- Hambley v. Dep't of Prof'l Reg., 568 So. 2d 970 (Fla. 2d DCA 1990)