In addition to dismissal for causes related to teacher performance and fitness, legislation generally permits the release of teachers for reasons related to declining enrollment, financial exigency, and school district consolidation. Whereas most state statutes provide for such terminations, some states have adopted legislation that specifies the basis for selection of released teachers, procedures to be followed, and provisions for reinstatement. These terminations, characterized as reductions-in-force (RIF), also may be governed by board policies and negotiated collective bargaining agreements.
Unlike other termination cases, the employee challenging a RIF decision shoulders the burden of proof. There is a presumption that the board has
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To illustrate, a tenured teacher challenged her dismissal that was part of a RIF plan arguing that she had a right to be recalled before the untenured teachers who were also part of the RIF. She also claimed that she had a right to be recalled before a new teacher was hired to fill her former position. An Illinois appellate court upheld the tenured teacher’s dismissal reasoning that her recent unsatisfactory performance rating was a legitimate reason for the district to choose not to recall her (despite her tenured status).
Both the Montana and Nebraska high courts concluded that school boards have broad discretion in deciding what factors to use in their RIF policies and how to weigh those factors. Guidelines or criteria established by state or local education agencies, however, must be applied in a uniform and nondiscriminatory manner. For example, in a New Mexico case, the school board was required to determine that no alternative positions exist for teachers targeted for release.
The Fourteenth Amendment requires procedural protections in dismissals for cause, but courts have not clearly defined the due process requirements for RIFs. The Eighth Circuit noted that tenured teachers possess a property interest in continued employment and thereby must be provided notice and an opportunity to be heard. Specific procedural protections for employees vary
Kelley v. Indep. Sch. Dist. No. 12 was a 2003 wrongful termination case heard by the 10th circuit of the United States Court of Appeals. The issue at hand was if the plaintiff’s 14th amendment procedural due process rights had been violated when he was employment terminated by the defendant school district. The school district had relieved the plaintiff from his position as the school’s head football and wrestling coach after the plaintiff had been ejected from a football game he had been coaching. The plaintiff’s had argued that the school district had violated the coach’s constitutionally granted due process rights by not giving the coach 30-days notice of termination or a post-termination hearing to explain himself. The district court ultimately
teachers who had already notified the district of their intent to leave their positions, and
The California Superintendent of Public Instruction was the petitioner in this case. Honig was seeking permission from the court to remove students from the school setting who displayed violent behaviors without following the procedural safeguards outlined in the Education Handicapped Act (EHA). The EHA (now the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act or IDEA) requires schools receiving federal funding to provide a free and appropriate public education (FAPE) for all students with disabilities (Essex, 2012). Council for Honig was hoping the court would grant a “dangerousness exception” to the “stay put” rule. Thus, giving schools latitude in suspending and expelling students with disabilities who exhibit serious disruptive behavior. The respondents were two students from the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) was identified as being emotionally disturbed and were suspended based on their persistent and aggressive behaviors. In both cases the students were suspended and/or recommended for expulsion by the school district without a hearing. The first respondent “John Doe” had been suspended multiple times for serious physical violence, such as choking a peer. The second respondent, “Jack Smith” schedule was reduced to half days due to his
Removing a teacher from his or her position is very difficult to do. “Tenure benefits the state by helping to create a permanent and qualified teaching force” (Underwood, Webb 36). This makes it difficult to let a teacher go even when it is to make the school a better environment for the students. Although teachers do have the right to freedom of speech and are able to exercise their First Amendment right, that freedom is in a way limited by the school board. Pickering v. Board of Education (1968) is a great example of this. A high school science teacher was terminated by the board of education because a letter he wrote was published in one of the community’s newspapers. The letter discussed the unequal funding between academics and athletics. After
(Cleveland Bd. Of Ed. v. Loudermill, 1985). However, different guidelines may be sued in school decision depending on if it is an academic or disciplinary judgment (Harris v. Blake, 1986). For academic decision, the school can satisfy due process by notifying the student before termination or suspension. Disciplinary actions, however, require an oral or written notice of charges, an explanation of the evidence, and the opportunity to tell their side of the story. For this case, the Plaintiff argues his case is disciplinary and the court concurs. However, the procedures implemented by the Defendants satisfied the requirements for due process for a disciplinary dismissal. The May 26, 2010 letter written by Dean Agrawal provided notice to the
[The educator] Shall not on the basis of race, color, creed, sex, national origin, marital status, political or religious beliefs, family, social or cultural background, or sexual orientation, unfairly:
The United States Supreme Court, as well as federal district and state courts, defines employee rights and an employer’s liability for employment law violations. Treatment on the job, including hiring, firing, and promotions, must be based on qualifications and merit and not on race, gender, age, sexual preference or how one responds to sexual advances. Yet despite these laws and policies, many employees continue to suffer from workplace harassment and employment discrimination.
In a large suburban high school in Wisconsin, a teacher has been dismissed for his actions that put students in danger in the eyes of the administration and school board. The teacher has appealed the decision with the Wisconsin Labor Relations Board (WLRB) and has won his appeal. This means the teacher will be returning to work with back pay. After winning his appeals case said teacher has sued the district in federal court for wrongful dismissal as a violation of his civil rights. He has asked for $500,000 and won the case being awarded the amount of $5,000. Throughout this report we will take a look back at the entire situations and discuss alternatives to what could have been done. (Teacher Dismissal For Cause)
v. Chicago. In short, state entities ought to be held to the same legal standard in which they were when schools were
The literal definition of the word “redemption” is the act, process, or an instance of redeeming (forgiven). When I as a human being think of redemption I think of it as a way to accept, forgive and move on after an instance of extreme, usually emotional, infliction. When we think of this in terms of prison, humans are put into isolation where they are given ample time to logically think of these trespasses and how they are paying for it with their lives. At the same time these people are doing very manual labor while getting ‘paid’ very little in order to redeem themselves to hopefully regain some rank again in society. In life where most of us live outside walls redemption comes in many different forms, although not all as painful.
Board of Regents of State Colleges v. Roth, 408 U.S. 564 (1972) is an example of the Due Process Clause. David Roth was employed at Wisconsin State University. After Roth contract end, the school informed Roth that his contract was not up for renewal. The school did not provide Roth with a reason; consequently, Roth filed a claim. The ruling stated that although Roth is owed an explanation for not rehiring him, Roth’s right was not violated. Roth does not have any property rights.
However, California’s usage of racial quotas in this case violated the Equal Protection Clause and did not meet those requirements. The Equal Protection Clause outlaws a state from denying “to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws” (McBride). The court concluded that the school discriminated against whites because it barred them from 16 out of the 100 admission spots exclusively because of race. The fact that blacks have historically been discriminated against more than whites did not matter at all in this case because racial quota systems, no matter who they are applied to, are always “odious to a free people whose institutions are founded upon the doctrine of equality”
Tenure in school systems has been a highly controversial topic lately. Tenure refers to the job security of teachers after they have worked at a certain school for three years. When teachers earn tenure, it is very difficult to take away their jobs. This is especially true in higher education. According to the Washington Post, 32 states grant tenure after three years, nine states grant tenure after four or five years and four states never grant tenure at all. Granting tenure to all teachers gives everybody a job for life which should not be the case. Under-performing teachers should not have definite job security. America should remove academic tenure, replace it with a different system, and re-evaluate school teachers and professors.
First and foremost, I take full responsibility for my poor academic performance which has led to my dismissal; it is no ones fault but my own. Respectfully, I do feel that there were some contributing factors that resulted
several campuses having to cut teachers salaries and hours, resulting in some classes being terminated.