State officials may decide next month if Jennifer Porter, the Hillsborough teacher who fled the scene of a 2004 accident that killed two children and injured two more, can return to a classroom.

The Times reported in April that Porter wants to continue teaching. She was a dance teacher at Muller Elementary when she drove away from a collision with four children, ages 2 to 13, who were crossing the street near the school in north Tampa. She pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of the accident - a felony - but avoided jail time through a judge's ruling.

Her attorneys have requested a hearing before the state's Educational Practices Commission, which is scheduled for July 16 and 17 in Tampa. You can follow the progress of the Porter case online. Teachers who commit criminal felony acts can face penalties ranging from suspension to revocation of teaching credentials.

(Times photo, 2005)