Code of Ethics and Principles of Professional Conduct of the Education Profession in Florida
Despite there being a clear Code of Ethics and Principles of Professional Conduct for the Education Profession in Florida, we have all witnessed a myriad of court cases whereby educators are accused of violating these very same guidelines they are supposed to observe and promote. In this text, I highlight a number of cases where educators have violated the said ethical codes and principles. The court cases I will concern myself with include State of Florida vs. Debra Beasley Lafave, Howard W. Adams and Randy D. Ward, v. State of Florida, Professional Practices Council, and Tomerlin v. Dade County School Board.
State of Florida vs. Debra Beasley Lafave
In this particular case, a female teacher by the name Debra Beasley Lafave was accused of having sex with a student who was way below the age of majority. Lafave was charged with two felony counts after she readily admitted to having had relations of a sexual nature with the said student. At the time of the offense, Lafave was an educator at Angelo L. Greco Middle School (Daily Mail Reporter, 2011). In my opinion, Lafave's conduct as well as behavior violated, not one, but several ethical codes and principles. To begin with, with regard to the principles of professional conduct, she breached her obligation to the student by failing to protect one of her students from conditions deemed injurious or harmful to not only his learning but also his mental health. This is particularly the case given that her advances to the male student were bound to disrupt him from class or schoolwork. Secondly, Lafave also exploited her relationship with the said student for her own personal gain. It is also important to note...
Adams and Randy D. Ward v. State of Florida, Professional Practices Council
According to Leagle (2013), in this case, "appellants Adam and Ward appeal from appellee State of Florida Professional Practices Council's orders revoking their
teaching certificates pursuant to § 231.28, Florida Statutes." As Leagle (2013) further points out, the certificate in question was revoked as a result of the appellants' possession of several
plants of
marijuana. The appellants passionately argued that possession of the said plant did not in any way contravene any moral standards of the profession they were serving in at the time, i.e. The teaching profession. In seeking to further advance their
argument, the appellants according to Leagle (2013) largely relied upon the case of Pearl v. Florida Board of
Real Estate where it was ruled that the possession of a substance classified as controlled did not in any way "establish moral turpitude within the purview of Section 475.25(1) (e)." In my opinion, however, the appellants were in direct contravention of the Code of Ethics and Principles of Professional Conduct of the Education Profession. The court also seemed to hold the same view as it affirmed the earlier ruling. One of the provisions of the code of
ethics recommends that an…
