Using the title of Dr. with a CA state approved doctorate

I would appreciate if Bill Huffman would kindly present the link to the Florida Supreme Court ruling that indicates that the Florida statute I presented was unconstitutional and thus unenforceable. At this time no one at a number of Florida Boards of licensure are aware of this supreme court ruling. Thanks, Simon

 

BTW, a recent conversation with a representative of the Board of Psychology Licensure of california revealed some salient information. Primarily, graduates of California State approved schools DO NOT appear to experience as much bias in terms of employment opportunites than has been thought to be the case. Interestingly, after obtaining a state approved doctorate and licensure in Psychology and working in the field for five years in California, one is eligible to apply through another psychology organization/association (I did not obtain the name of this national agency) for review and the strong possiblity of meeting reciprocity licensing requirements in a number of other states (obviously if the state is oriented towards APA approval this will most likely not apply).

 

Bill Huffman may be speaking from having read Bears' Guide, which, on page 35 of the 15th edition, mentions that Sections 817.566 and .567, Florida statutes, 1988 supplement was found unconstitutional by the Florida Supreme Court in 1995. BG15 didn't mention the name of the case.

 

I appreciate the feedback but due to the fact that a statement was made re: a specific supreme court ruling that negates the statute I was informed is currently in place, it is necessary to clarify the exact ruling. Keep in mind that at this point based on the statute you note above, one can be charged with criminal intent if they represent themselves as having a doctoral degree that is not congruent with Florida statutes UNLESS there is definitive and corroborative data that contradicts this statute. Simon

 

Bill Huffman, would appreciate if you could provide the Florida Supreme court ruling that negates the FL statute noted above. Thanks, Fisher

 

I believe this is the Florida Supreme Court ruling that Mr. Huffman was alluding to:

http://www.law.fsu.edu/library/flsupct/81230/op-81230.pdf

 

Sorry, I'm not a lawyer and do not know how to find the link. The link that you presented is not the same one that I read a number of years ago. I distinctly remember a phrase about the court feeling that the intent of the law was valid and would be in the public best interest if the legislature would redraft the law. I also remember that it was the Florida Supreme Court that made the ruling.

 

Maybe someone could look up www.findlaw.com . Or do a www.google.com search for "school licensing laws - florida."

 

Unfortunately, it may very well have that effect. A number of states have statutes and rules that specifically spell out their nonsupportive position regarding unaccredited degrees. The licensing boards that I contacted in several states stand strongly behind these statutes and will vehemently defend them. Therefore if a licensee seeks legal redress with the support of a supreme court ruling to buttress their position they must be ready for a protracted and very uncomfortable "battle". In my opinion it is not worth the level of angst or antagonism that will ensue and persist even if you win in court. Such a victory will be quite costly and questionable due to the bad feelings that ensue with a board that oversees your license and which you may have other issues to deal with in the future!

 

If you do not recall the specific title or number of the FL Supreme Court ruling or cannot find or direct any of us to a link to this ruling then we cannot bank on it at this time in support of unaccredited degrees in Florida. In fact, if what you recall is accurate, it is obvious that the state of Florida legislature did not comply with the supreme court ruling in 1995 (if that is in fact the actual date of the ruling) and the state statutes regarding the use of unaccredited degrees remain absolutely enforceable at this point in time.

 

Another thing, now that I recall, is that that entry from Bears' Guide 15th edition on school licensure laws in Florida did mention that the 1995 Florida Supreme Court case deciding the unconstitutionality of said 1988 statute re the use of unaccredited degrees did mention that, were the Florida legislature to re-draft the law more narrowly, it might pass constitutional muster. So, there may be some post-1995 statute re unaccredited degrees in Florida that has not been struck down ... yet.

 

I don't believe that the Florida statute ever came up for review by the US Supreme Court, only the Florida Supreme Court. Sorry I can't find the listing.

 

Perhaps Dr. John Bear can comment and elaborate on this issue and clarify the specific ruling in question.

 

I'll go find Dr. Bear over at www.degreediscussion.com .

 

I was referring to the Florida Supreme Court, as noted in my first sentence, not the US supreme Court.

 

According to the Administrator of degreediscussion, the relevant decision, made in July 1995, was Strong v. Satz, 884 F. Supp. 504 (S. D. Fla. 1995). Again, the Court did mention that the law might pass constitutional muster were it re-drawn more narrowly. However, it appears that the only re-drafting of said law was to change the name of Florida's state education regulatory agency.

 

I appreciate the information. Based on the available data regarding this issue I would suggest that anyone considering clinical work in Flordia abide by this state's statute that specifically requires one to have a regionally accredited doctoral degree. There is no point to become embroiled in an ongoing battle with any board of licensure over this issue that will definitely not result in a clear cut victory no matter what the outcome.

 

ADDENDUM:

Subequent to the above post, I reviewed the issue of utilization of state approved doctoral degrees in Florida further and found that IN FACT if one has a doctoral degree from a Florida school that is approved by the Florida Commission on Independent Education, not California or any other state (unless one can successfully argue the fact that other state education boards are equivalent to Floridas, a very difficult case to prove in my opinion), one can refer to themselves as a Ph.D or Dr. in the state of florida.



http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?mode=View%20Statutes&SubMenu=1&App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=CH0817/Sec567.HTM