SOUTHLAND : Panel Gives Peggy Ann Buckey Approval to Teach Disabled Pupils

A state commission narrowly decided today to allow Peggy Ann Buckey, a former defendant in the McMartin Pre-School molestation case, to teach deaf and learning-disabled children.

The Commission on Teacher Credentialing voted 7 to 6, with one abstention, to restore Buckey’s teaching credential, following the opinion of an administrative law judge. There was no comment or debate.

Buckey, 32, had held a permanent teacher’s position in Anaheim in 1984, when she was one of seven defendants charged with allegedly molesting students at the defunct Manhattan Beach school. All charges against her and four other defendants were dropped in January, 1986, for lack of evidence. Only Buckey’s brother, Ray, and mother, Peggy McMartin Buckey, remain on trial.

Judge’s opinion, Part 2, Page 1.