90 teacher misconduct cases

Another month. Another meeting of the Education Practices Commission. Another long list of cases involving alleged teacher misconduct.

If you're shocked by the recent wave of teacher sex scandals, then you might want to pay closer attention to what goes on at the EPC, which sits in judgment of teachers accused of serious misconduct, sexual or otherwise, and decides what sanctions should be placed on teaching certificates.

The 17-member panel meets in Tampa Thursday and Friday with a full agenda of 90 cases, including 17 from around the Tampa Bay area. Among them:

* Frances Sepulveda and Bryant Wilburn, teachers at Coleman Middle School in South Tampa who resigned in 2006 after students reported watching through a classroom window while the pair were allegedly having sex.

* William Scales, a teacher at Seminole High in Pinellas who was suspended for five days in July 2006 after being adjudicated guilty of a misdemeanor drunk driving charge.

* Margaret Brady, a teacher at Armwood High in Hillsborough who was removed from her class in November 2005 after students working on her car in an auto body repair class found a loaded .22 caliber handgun in her console.

The meetings begin at 9 a.m. at the Embassy Suites in Tampa, 555 N. Westshore Blvd. They're open to the public. To see past EPC agendas, or to find out what actions it took on past cases, click here.