7-1302-9845-2
STATE OF MINNESOTA
OFFICE OF ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS
FOR THE MINNESOTA BOARD OF TEACHING
In the Matter of the Denial of Teaching FINDINGS OF FACT,
Licensure to T. Wendell Campbell, a/k/a CONCLUSIONS AND
Torrence Wendell Campbell. RECOMMENDATION
The above-entitled matter came on for hearing before Administrative Law Judge Richard C. Luis on August 18, 1995. Richard L. Varco, Assistant Attorney General, 1200 NCL Tower, 445 Minnesota Street, St. Paul, Minnesota 55101 appeared on behalf of the Minnesota Board of Teaching (“Board”). There was no appearance by or on behalf of T. Wendell Campbell, a/k/a Torrence Wendell Campbell. The record closed on August 18, 1995.
Notice is hereby given that, pursuant to Minn. Stat. § 14.61, the final decision of the Board of Teaching shall not be made until this Report has been made available to the parties to the proceeding for at least ten days, and an opportunity has been afforded to each party adversely affected to file exceptions and present argument to the Board. Exceptions to this Report, if any, shall be filed with Judith A. Wain, Executive Secretary, Minnesota Board of Teaching, 608 Capitol Square Building, 550 Cedar Street, St. Paul, Minnesota 55101.
STATEMENT OF ISSUE
Whether the application for a teaching license filed by T. Wendell Campbell, a/k/a Torrence Wendell Campbell, should be denied for the reasons stated in the Notice of and Order for Hearing issued in this matter on June 29, 1995?
Based upon all of the proceedings herein, the Administrative Law Judge makes the following:
FINDINGS OF FACT
1. On June 29, 1995, a Notice of and Order for Hearing in this matter was mailed to T. Wendell Campbell at his last known address - 1912 Glenwood Avenue North, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55405.
2. On July 17, 1995, the Office of Administrative Hearings received a Notice of Appearance, which Notice was in an envelope bearing a return address showing the same name and address noted in the preceding Finding. The Notice of Appearance indicated Mr. Campbell would be represented at the hearing by Reverend Jessie Griffin and Jane Matthews, M.A., a Licensed Psychologist.
3. On August 16, 1995, Mr. Campbell contacted the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) by telephone and requested orally a postponement of the hearing because the scheduled 9:00 a.m. start on August 18 conflicted with a job interview. The Administrative Law Judge agreed to postpone the hearing until later in the morning if Campbell could get the consent of his representatives and that of counsel for the Board.
4. On August 17, 1995, Mr. Campbell contacted the Administrative Law Judge by telephone and reported he would not be at the hearing and that he was withdrawing his request for a hearing. The ALJ asked for confirmation in writing. Campbell alleged Ms. Matthews was filing a letter of withdrawal for him. He had not contacted counsel for the Board.
5. On August 17, 1995, the Administrative Law Judge received a letter from Ms. Matthews. The letter is not a withdrawal. Rather, it makes a short, generalized argument that Mr. Campbell’s license not be “revoked”. The letter was dated much earlier (July 13, 1995) than the date it was filed, and was mailed to the Office of Administrative Hearings in an envelope bearing Mr. Campbell’s name and return address, as noted in Finding 2. No written withdrawal has been received.
6. On August 18, 1995, the Administrative Law Judge delayed the start of the scheduled hearing by 25 minutes. The hearing concluded at 10:00 a.m. There was no appearance by Mr. Campbell or anyone on his behalf.
7. The Notice of and Order for Hearing issued in this matter states, in relevant part:
SHOULD A PARTY FAIL TO APPEAR AT HEARING, THE ALLEGATIONS MADE IN THIS ORDER MAY BE TAKEN AS TRUE. If the allegations in this Order are taken as true, the application of T. Wendell Campbell for a teaching license will be denied for a minimum of five years and until such time as Campbell can demonstrate by independent evidence to the satisfaction of the Board of Teaching that he is fit to teach. No license will be issued to Campbell while he is on criminal probation pursuant to the sentences described in paragraph 5 above.
(See Finding 8(e)).
8. The Notice of and Order for Hearing contains, among others, the following factual allegations:
(a) On March 13, 1989, Mr. Campbell pleaded guilty to a charge of contributing to the delinquency of a minor in Circuit Court, St. Clair County, Illinois. He was fined $300.00 for that offense;
(b) On an August 23, 1990 application for a Minnesota Teacher License, Mr. Campbell answered ‘No’ to the question ‘Have you ever been convicted of a crime other than a traffic violation?’;
(c) On an application for a Minnesota Teacher License filed on or about December 1, 1992, Mr. Campbell answered ‘No’ to the question ‘Have you ever been convicted of a crime other than a traffic violation?’;
(d) On December 13, 1993, Mr. Campbell was convicted in Hennepin County District Court of two counts of second degree criminal sexual conduct (Minn. Stat. § 609.343) involving separate incidents of sexual contact with two juvenile boys in 1992. Campbell had met each boy while teaching at their (separate) schools. Sexual contact with one boy occurred between May and September, 1992, and with the other between September and December of the same year;
(e) On February 14, 1994, Mr. Campbell was sentenced for the crimes noted in (d) above. Part of his sentence is to serve a criminal probation period of 20 years (See Notice of and Order for Hearing, paragraph 5);
(f) Mr. Campbell has failed to complete successfully the examination of skills in reading, writing and mathematics required by Minn. Stat. § 125.05, subd. 1.(a) as a prerequisite to the granting of an initial teaching license;
(g) Mr. Campbell has not provided evidence of participating in a remedial assistance program in areas in which he did not obtain qualifying scores on the skills examination.
Based on the above Findings of Fact, the Administrative Law Judge makes the following:
CONCLUSIONS
1. The Administrative Law Judge and Board of Teaching have jurisdiction in this matter pursuant to Minn Stat. §§ 14.50 and 125.09, Subd. 1.
2. The Notice of Hearing was proper and the Board of Teaching has complied with all relevant substantive and procedural requirements of law and rule.
3. T. Wendell Campbell, a/k/a Torrence Wendell Campbell, having made no appearance at the hearing, is in default, and it is appropriate to take as true the allegations of the Notice of and Order for Hearing, as authorized by Minn. Rule 1400.6000.
4. The acts committed by Mr. Campbell forming the basis of his convictions for second degree criminal sexual conduct in violation of Minn. Stat. § 609.343 constitute immoral character or conduct, which is grounds for suspension or revocation of a teaching license under Minn. Stat. § 125.09, Subd. 1.(1).
5. By twice answering “No” on applications for a teaching license to whether he had been convicted of a crime other than traffic violations Mr. Campbell engaged in fraud and misrepresentation in obtaining a license, which is grounds for suspension or revocation of a teacher’s license under Minn. Stat. § 125.09, Subd. 1.(5).
6. It is appropriate that the same grounds for suspension or revocation of a teaching license, such as immoral character or conduct or engaging in fraud or misrepresentation to obtain a license, should stand also as grounds for denial of a teaching license application.
7. Pursuant to Minn. Rule 1400.6000 and the Notice of and Order for Hearing, and consistent with Minn. Rule 1400.5600, subp. 2.L., it is appropriate that the result of taking as true the allegations of the Notice are that the application of T. Wendell Campbell for a teaching License will be denied for a minimum of five years and until such time as Campbell can demonstrate by independent evidence to the satisfaction of the Board of Teaching that he is fit to teach. No license will be issued to him while he is on criminal probation pursuant to sentences received for the December 13, 1993 conviction of two counts of second degree criminal sexual conduct under Minn. Stat. § 609.343, as noted at Findings 8(d) and 8(e).
Based upon the foregoing Conclusions, the Administrative Law Judge makes the following:
RECOMMENDATION
IT IS RECOMMENDED that the Board of Teaching deny the teaching license application of T. Wendell Campbell, a/k/a Torrence Wendell Campbell for a minimum of five years and until such time as he can demonstrate to the satisfaction of the Board of Teaching that he is fit to teach. Furthermore, no license should be issued to Mr. Campbell while he is on criminal probation for December 13, 1993 convictions for second degree criminal sexual conduct in violation of Minn. Stat. § 609.343.
Dated this ____ day of September, 1995.
_____________________________
RICHARD C. LUIS
Administrative Law Judge
Reported: Taped
MEMORANDUM
The Administrative Law Judge has considered the letter received from Jane Matthews, M.A., a Licensed Psychologist, who argues against “revocation” of Mr. Campbell’s teaching license. Procedurally, this case involves denial of a license application rather than discipline against a current license, but the arguments made on Campbell’s behalf apply in either case - that Mr. Campbell is not a sexual predator, that he is capable of making a positive contribution as an educator and that denying him licensure as a teacher does nothing to protect children. Those conclusory, self-serving remarks, standing alone without factual support, have been accorded very little weight in light of Mr. Campbell’s failure to appear or produce witnesses to support his position. As noted by counsel for the Board, Matthews’s letter is relatively “old”, it was mailed by Mr. Campbell and not by Ms. Matthews and the default by Mr. Campbell makes it impossible to authenticate the letter.
In the face of strong, unchallenged evidence against the positions taken by Matthews on Mr. Campbell’s behalf, the Judge concludes that it is appropriate to view Mr. Campbell as dangerous to children, a person who must be denied a license to teach them until he can demonstrate he no longer presents such a risk and that he meets all other requirements of licensure.
R.C.L.