P.F-G v. Dep't of Educ.
| Decision Date | 20 July 2018 |
| Docket Number | Case No. 5D17-3675 |
| Parties | P.F-G, Appellant, v. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, DIVISION OF VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION, Appellee. |
| Court | Florida District Court of Appeals |
P.F-G, Appellant,
v.
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, DIVISION OF VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION, Appellee.
Case No. 5D17-3675
District Court of Appeal of Florida, Fifth District.
Opinion filed July 20, 2018
Rehearing Denied August 28, 2018
P.F-G., Clermont, Pro se.
Brent McNeal, Florida Department of Education, Tallahassee, for Appellee.
PER CURIAM.
P. F-G. appeals the dismissal, with prejudice, of her amended petition challenging the use of an unadopted rule in vocational rehabilitation proceedings, filed pursuant to section 120.56(4), Florida Statutes (2017). Appellant raises several issues on appeal, but we only address the arguments that were preserved.1 First, Appellant asserts the State of Florida Division of Administrative Hearings ("DOAH") erred by dismissing her initial petition when she alleged sufficient facts to challenge the unadopted rule. Second, Appellant argues that DOAH erred by dismissing her amended petition with prejudice because section 120.569, Florida Statutes (2017), does not expressly state that DOAH may dismiss with prejudice in this situation. We disagree and, therefore, affirm on both grounds.
After receiving assistance for her undergraduate degree, Appellant returned to the Florida Department of Education, Division of Vocational Rehabilitation ("Division"),2 seeking further assistance to attend law school. The Division denied her request, and Appellant brought this petition, challenging the Division's use of the Counsel Policy Manual. Appellant argued that section 13.01 of the Policy Manual is an unadopted rule "because it implements, interprets, or prescribes law or policy or describes the procedure or practice requirements," of the Division.
On September 22, after conducting a telephonic hearing, DOAH dismissed the petition, with leave to amend within ten days. Appellant untimely filed her amended petition on October 2 at 6:22 p.m. According to Florida Administrative Code 28-106.104 (3), "[a]ny document received by the office of the agency clerk before 5:00
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