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Code of Ethics and Principles of Professional Conduct of the Education Profession in

Florida

A code of ethics regulates the teachers’ relationships, communication, interactions, and

conduct with their students and families. One of the main importance of setting clear ethics and

principles of professional conduct for the education profession is that it protects the rights of

both the teachers and the students while at the same time standardizing on the relationship that

each of those parties should have when it comes to education. In general, it helps the government

control the behavior of the teachers, students and even the public during the learning process. In

regards to this matter, whenever any of these principles are broken, necessary government

interventions are taken through court whereby the perpetuator might end up facing penalties

ranging from fines, being fired from their jobs o even being jailed depending on the weight and

impact of the issue at hand. Florida, like any other state in the U.S, has been a victim of various

individuals violating their "Code of Ethics and Principles of Professional Conduct of the

Education Profession in Florida”. Therefore, this research aims to analyze some the cases of

violations and demonstrate the importance of ethical codes to students and teachers.

1. “Cydney ABRAMS, Appellant, v. SEMINOLE COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD, Appellee”

This is one of the unique cases that arose after Ms. Abrams, a former teacher at the

Winter Springs High School had been sacked by the Seminole county school board after

engaging in an inappropriate verbal exchange with J.P who was one of her students during that

time. In this case, Abrams is appealing over being fired by the school board that thinks she

behaved unprofessionally when arguing with her student. The whole argument evidence was

caught on a n MP3 recorder by one of the students that was in he classroom when both J.P and

Abrams were furiously arguing with each other (FindLaw’s District Court of Appeal of Florida
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case and opinions, 2011). In regards to this case, under rule 6A-10.081, the following clause

were violated; 1(c), 2 (a)(3,4 & 5) and 2(c)(1). This clause emphasize that the educator should

learn the vitality of maintaining respect of their workmates, students and any other party while in

the line of duty. They also forbid the educator from intentionally suppressing the views of the

students, exposing them to embarrassment or alter with the subject matter relevant to a student’s

academic program (Florida Department of Education, 2023). These clauses were violated by

Abrams when she first engaged in a heated argument with the student in a manner that suggested

that she did not respect her views and in also in a way that exposed the student to embarrassment

in front of her classmates. Also, when Abrams was angry and decided to verbally ban J.P from

going any more field trips with her, it demonstrated how she was trying to use her power to

violate the rights of the student within the academic program. Therefore, the teacher's sentiments

and actions were discriminatory, and therefore providing conditions that were harmful to the

student in the mental and physical capacity.

2. “A.B. v. Rhinebeck Central School District & Thomas Mawhinney”

This case involved four current and former high school students alongside a school

employee going to court against the former school principal, Mr. Thomas on the claims that he

was sexually harassing them within his ten-year tenure within the facility. The students and the

employee claimed that the school district and Mawhinney violated state and federal laws because

no action was being taken against his actions during his rule as the principal of the school. It was

later decided by the court on March 2006 that a consent decree should be implemented which

requires the school to implement a comprehensive plan to eliminate any form of discrimination

within the educational settings with the students including training on how to eliminate different

forms of sexual harassment (U.S. Department of Justice, 2009). On top of that, the court ruled
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that a fee of over $152,000 to be paid as compensation to the students and employees affected

by the former principal’s behavior (U.S. Department of Justice, 2009). In regards to this case, the

different ethical principles under Rule 6A-10.081 that had been violated include; 1(c), 2(a)(8)

and 2(c)(2&4). These clause prevent any educator to engage in discriminating or harassing

students or any other members of the institution based on their sex or any other form of personal

differences (Florida Department of Education, 2023). It also requires the educator to be

respectful of every person’s dignity and to respect them in every way. The principal together

with the management of the school district clearly violated these clause and promoted sexual

harassment during his tenure.

3. “Our Lady of Guadalupe School V. Morrissey-Berru”

This is the third case that basically involved Ms. Morrisey-Berru holding a claim against

her former school where she taught called “Our Lady of Guadalupe” based on the Age

Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA). In this case, the main claim was that the school had

terminated her contract unlawfully based on her age. At first the case was ruled in favor of the

school based on the claim that apart from being a teacher, Ms. Morrisey-Berru was considered to

have a “ministerial role” at the Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church, something which

was overruled by the court of appeal (Oyez, 2020). In the end, after the “ministerial role

exception” it was identified that even though the teacher was only teaching the students faith

lessons, it was not the court’s decision to decide which teacher should teach faith lessons in a

church school and hence the work dismissal was validated (Oyez, 2020). In this case, under Rule

6A-10.081, the following clause were violated; 2 (b)(1 & 2). In this regard, the clauses require

that the educator to take precautions on differentiating between their own views with those of the

institution and also forbids them from misrepresenting facts regarding an education matter based
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on an institution’s decision publicly. All these clause were violated and that is why the verdict

favored the school.

The benefit of having codes of ethics guiding the students and teachers is that they help

adhere to certain principles that include integrity, discipline, and honesty. They can also guide

behavior and actions undertaken in the day-to-day, ensuring that individuals always make the

right decisions. These rules also provide a framework that shows how people should conduct

themselves. With the policies, all individuals can engage morally and responsibly to improve the

school environment. Finally, the ethical codes also provide a platform where people can resolve

disputes. Finally, as a teachers, it is important to constantly protect the rights and needs of the

students by providing a healthy environment for operation while at the same time observing the

institution’s guidelines and abiding to their decisions. The second is that teachers should ensure

they work following the educational code of ethics guidelines. In addition, it is necessary that

both students and teachers well equipped with the information of what amounts to good behavior

, the ethical conducts and principles required by the education system in both the state and the

whole country. This will help ensure that vital factors such as equal treatment of students and

discouraging harassment and discrimination despite their race, ethnicity or nationality, and

physical ability are observed.

References
FindLaw’s District Court of Appeal of Florida case and opinions. (2011). Findlaw.

https://caselaw.findlaw.com/fl-district-court-of-appeal/1579734.html

Florida Department of Education (2023). PRINCIPLES OF PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT FOR

THE EDUCATION PROFESSION IN FLORIDA.

https://www.fldoe.org/teaching/professional-practices/code-of-ethics-principles-of-

professio.stml

Oyez (2020). Our Lady of Guadalupe School v. Morrissey-Berru.

https://www.oyez.org/cases/2019/19-267

U.S. Department of Justice (2009). Case Summary: A.B. v. Rhinebeck Central School District &

Thomas Mawhinney. DOJ Civil Rights Division Case Summary.

https://casetext.com/analysis/case-summary-ab-v-rhinebeck-central-school-district-

thomas-mawhinney