1 BEFORE THE TEACHER STANDARDS AND PRACTICES COMMISSION

2 OF THE STATE OF OREGON

3

4 In the Matter of the Educator ) DEFAULT ORDER OF DENIAL OF

5 License of ) APPLICATION AND REVOCATION OF

6 ) RIGHT TO APPLY

7 KURT JOHN DELONG ) FOR AN EDUCATOR LICENSE

8

9
10 On December 28, 2015, the Teacher Standards and Practices Commission
l 1 (Commission) issued a Notice of Opportunity for Hearing to Kurt John DeLong (DeLong) in
12 which the Commission charged him with Gross Neglect of Duty and Gross Unﬁtness. The
13 Notice was sent via U.S. First Class Mail and U.S. Certiﬁed Mail Receipt 7015 0640 0004
14 7539 6717 to the address on ﬁle with the Commission. The Notice designated the
1 5 Commission ﬁle as the record for purposes of proving a prima facie case. The Certiﬁed Mail
l6 receipt was returned to the Commission “signed” on January 8, 2016. The ﬁrst class mail
17 was not returned to the Commission. The Notice of Opportunity of Hearing, dated
18 December 28, 2015, and signed by Victoria Chamberlain, Executive Director, stated:

19 “IF A REQUEST FOR HEARING IS NOT RECEIVED WITHIN THIS 21-DAY
20 PERIOD, YOUR RIGHT TO A HEARING SHALL BE CONSIDERED WAIVED
21 UNLESS YOUR FAILURE TO REQUEST A HEARING WAS BEYOND YOUR
22 REASONABLE CONTROL. IF YOU DO NOT REQUEST A HEARING OR IF YOU
23 FAIL TO APPEAR AT A HEARING, THE COMMISSION WILL ADOPT AN ORDER
24 OF DEFAULT WHICH MAY INCLUDE THE REVOCATION OR SUSPENSION OF
25 YOUR LICENSE OR OTHER DISCIPLINE.”
26
27 DeLong did not request a hearing. The Commission, therefore, ﬁnds DeLong to be in default
28 and enters the following ﬁndings of fact, conclusions of law, and ﬁnal order, based on the
29 ﬁles and records of the Commission concerning this matter.

3O FINDINGS OF FACT

31 1. DeLong has been licensed by the Commission since July 1, 1971. DeLong previously

32 held a Basic Teaching License, with an endorsement in Basic Language Arts (020),

33 valid from October 8, 1974 through June 30, 1977. DeLong also held a Substitute

34 Teaching License, with an endorsement in Substitute Any Specialty (PP-12), valid

35 from November 30, 2004, through July 23, 2008. On July 22, 2015, DeLong made

36 application for renewal of his expired Substitute Teaching License.

37

PAGE 1-DEFAULT ORDER OF DENIAL OF APPLICATION AND REVOCATlON OF RIGHT TO APPY FOR
LICENSURE- KURT JOHN DELONG

l 2. On July 22, 2015, DeLong made application for the renewal of his expired
2 Substitute Teaching License. DeLong answered “No” to all the character
3 questions on the application, including question number four (4) “Have you ever
4 had any adverse action taken on a professional certiﬁcate, license or charter
5 school registration? Have you ever been placed on probationary status for
6 alleged misconduct while holding a professional license, certiﬁcate, registration,
7 or credential?”; question number seven (7) “Have you ever been disciplined by
8 any public agency responsible for licensure of any kind, including but not
9 limited to educational licensureP”; and question number eight (8) "Have you
10 ever been convicted or been granted a diversion or conditional discharge by any
1 1 court for any: (a) Felony; or (b) Misdemeanor; or (c) Major traﬂic violation
12 including but not limited to: driving under the inﬂuence of intoxicants or drugs;
13 reckless driving; ﬂeeing from or attempting to elude a police oﬂicer; driving
14 while your license was suspended, revoked or used in violation of any license
15 restriction; or failure to perform the duties of a driver or witness at an
l6 accident?” . Background checks determined that on or about April 17, 2009,
17 DeLong had been convicted Of two counts of conspiring to manufacture and
18 deliver a controlled substance. DeLong’s conduct leading up to the convictions
19 included DeLong, as a licensed dentist, prescribing narcotics for a patient outside
20 the scope of dentistry and in a manner that impaired the health and safety of the
21 individual. As a result, in January 2009, DeLong surrendered his license to
22 practice dentistry by consent order. On July 31, 2009, DeLong applied for
23 reinstatement of his dental license, which was conditionally granted on
24 September 25, 2009. On July 7, 2010, DeLong retired his Oregon Dental License.
25 Based on the above information, DeLong should have answered afﬁrmatively to
26 the Commission’s application character questions, 4, 7, and 8; and provided
27 written explanation for DeLong’s answers.
28
29 CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
30 3. Kurt John DeLong engaged in unprofessional conduct as described above. This
31 conduct constitutes Gross Neglect of Duty in violation of ORS 342.175(1)(b); OAR
PAGE 2-DEFAULT ORDER OF DENIAL OF APPLICATION AND REVOCATION OF RIGHT TO APPY FOR
LICENSURE— KURT JOHN DELONG

1 584-020-0040(4)(n) as it incorporates OAR 584-020-0010(5) (Use professional
2 judgment); OAR 584-020-0040(4)(c)( Falsiﬁcation of any document or knowing
3 misrepresentation directly related t0 licensure, employment, or professional
4 duties); and OAR 584-020-0040(4)(0) as it incorporates OAR 584-020-0035(3)(a)
5 (Maintain the dignity of the profession by respecting and obeying the law,
6 exemplifying personal integrity and honesty). This conduct also constitutes gross
7 unﬁtness in violation of ORS 342.175(1)(c); OAR 584-020-0040(5)(c)
8 (Conviction of violating any federal, state, or local law. A conviction includes any
9 final judgment of conviction by a court whether as the result of guilty plea, no
10 contest plea or any other means), and OAR 584-020-0040(5)(e) (Admission of or
1 I engaging in acts constituting criminal conduct, even in the absence of a conviction).
12
13 The Commission’s authority to impose discipline in this matter is based
14 upon ORS 342.175.
15 FINAL ORDER
16 The Commission hereby denies Kurt John DeLong’s application for licensure
17 and revokes Kurt John DeLong’s Right to Apply for an Educator License.
18 IT 1s so ORDERED THIS 2914/‘ day of February, 2016.
19 TEACHER STANDARDS AND PRACTICES COMMISSION
20 By:
21 Victoria Chamberlain, Executive Director
22
23 NOTICE OF APPEAL OR RIGHTS
24
25 YOU ARE ENTITLED TO JUDICIAL REVIEW OF THIS ORDER. JUDICIAL REVIEW
26 MAY BE OBTAINED BY FILING A PETITION FOR REVIEW WITHIN 6O DAYS FROM
27 THE SERVICE OF THIS ORDER. JUDICIAL REVIEW IS PURSUANT TO THE
28 PROVISIONS OF ORS 183.482 TO THE OREGON COURT OF APPEALS.
PAGE 3-DEFAULT ORDER OF DENIAL OF APPLIOATION AND REVOCATION OF RIGHT To APPY FOR
LlCENSURE- KURT JOHN DELONG

CERTIFICATE OF MAILING
I hereby certify that I served the foregoing notice of ﬁnal order, certiﬁed by me as such, by
mailing U.S. First Class Mail and U.S. Certiﬁed Mail—Return Receipt Requested, addressed to:
Kurt John DeLong
1338 Wagon Wheel Ct
Silverton, OR 97381-8700
Dated this ,2‘) ‘day of February, 2016.
By:
Pa heldon
Inv stigative Assistant
PAGE 1— CERTIFICATE OF MAILING— KURT JOHN DELONG