5D10-1627 Abrams v. Seminole Co. School Board

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State: Florida

Court: Florida Fifth District Court

Docket No: 5D10-1627

Case Date: 09/05/2011

Preview:IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF FLORIDA FIFTH DISTRICT JULY TERM 2011

CYDNEY ABRAMS, Appellant, v. SEMINOLE COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD, Appellee. ________________________________/ Opinion filed September 9, 2011 Administrative Appeal from the Seminole County School Board. Tobe Lev, of Egan, Lev & Siwica, P.A. Orlando, for Appellant. Marcia K. Lippincott, of Marcia K. Lippincott, P.A., Lake Mary, and Ned N. Julian, Jr., Sanford, for Appellee. PER CURIAM. Cydney Abrams ["Abrams"] appeals a final order of the Seminole County School Board that terminated her employment as a teacher. We conclude that the Seminole County School Board's ["School Board"] decision improperly disregarded the recommended order of the Administrative Hearing Officer assigned to hear the case. Accordingly, we reverse. Abrams was employed by the School Board as a special education teacher at Winter Springs High School. On March 11, 2009, Abrams engaged in what she Case No. 5D10-1627

acknowledges was a prolonged, unprofessional, and inappropriate verbal exchange

with one of her students, J.P., during her third period math class. Another student recorded twenty-six minutes of this exchange on her MP3 recorder. The recording captures an almost frenzied shouting match between teacher and student. J.P. is highly agitated and engages in a rapid-fire argument with Abrams over a range of topics, during the course of which Abrams makes innumerable statements or comments that do not appear to be appropriate for a classroom teacher. At times, Abrams's conduct appears to be calculated to reason with J.P., or to distract her, but other times, it seems to degenerate into a game of one-upmanship with the child that drives the child deeper into a frenzy. Even if the avalanche of words could be captured in an accurate transcript, listening to the audio is the only way this event can be appreciated. When J.P. complains that Abrams does not help her; Abrams tells J.P. she "must be crazy," after which a sustained shouting match ensues between student and teacher as to which of them is crazy and who called whom bad names. When Abrams told J.P. that she will not do her work for her because she will have to do her own work in life, J.P. retorted that she will have a better life than Abrams, prompting Abrams to reply, "Child, that's a joke" that she could look at J.P. and tell what her life was going to be. J.P. repeatedly asked to leave the class, but Abrams would not allow it. J.P. said that Abrams "always talks a bunch of crap" and called Abrams an idiot. Abrams

responded in kind. J.P. told her: "You don't know shit." Abrams responded: "And J.P. don't have to know shit. I done told you curse words don't bother me, baby." J.P. asked Abrams: "What the fuck are you gonna do?" Abrams responded: "I don't have to do a

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fucking thing, J.P.. What the fuck are you gonna do? Are you just gonna use profanity and think that's gonna shock me?" As the two continued to argue, Abrams asked J.P. what caused her to "pop off" on her when she simply told her to stop talking to another student. J.P. accused

Abrams of being a poor teacher; "You was one of my favorite teachers, now you don't do nothing." The two then argued about Abrams's handling of another student, B. Abrams again asked J.P. what was going on with her; it was the first time in three years that she had seen her like this. Abrams asked if she had been smoking or drinking, which J.P. referred to as a "stupid" question. Then, in another extended portion,

Abrams repeatedly told J.P. to go to the administration and to ask to be removed from her class because she (Abrams) was a "lousy idiot of a teacher." When Abrams

responded that she does "a damn good job" as a teacher, J.P. said that all the students only like Abrams because she takes them on field trips and gives them food. Abrams told J.P. that she does not have to worry about that because she will not be going on any more field trips. Abrams then called another teacher and told her that because J.P. had been cursing at her and had been so disrespectful and verbally abusive, J.P. will no longer be able to go on field trips. The withdrawal of this privilege appears to have made J.P. even more distraught and led to an argument between Abrams and J.P. over what curse words had been used and by whom. Finally

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