Employment and Tenure Crystal Hirst

1. Employment and TenureCrystal Hirst Under the Fourteenth Amendment, tenure provides teachers with a unique right to due process should his or her actions be questioned. A tenured teacher can only be dismissed after being provided a due process hearing. In this presentation we will take a deeper look into Due Process with related cases Board of Regents of State College v. Roth and Perry v. Sindermann. We will look at collective bargaining and a related case Lehnert v. Ferris Faculty Association. Finally, we will examine several causes for dismissal and the case Morrison v. the State Board of Education.

2. Procedural Due Process and the Fourteenth Amendment Tenured teachers do not have protection from being fired, but rather a property right in their positions and a right to due process before dismissal. Due process procedures vary in different states. School districts must give a tenured teacher “adequate notice of the charges for dismissal” and an “opportunity to dispute the charges” in court. (Looney, 262). Non-tenured teachers are not entitled to due process protection. http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/constitution.amendmentxiv.html

3. Board of Regents of State College v. Roth, 1972 In this case, a non-tenured teacher, Roth, was informed in an adequate amount of time, that he would no longer have his teaching position the following year. He was not provided with a statement of reasons for not being rehired the next year. It was concluded by the Supreme Court that Roth did not have a property right in his position therefore he was not entitled to due process protection. http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/historics/USSC_CR_0408_0564_ZO.html

4. Perry v. Sindermann, 1972 In this case, a non-tenured teacher, Sindermann, was not offered a teaching contract for the following year. He had taught for four consecutive years in a College with no tenure system. He, like Roth, was not provided with a statement of reasons, and additionally was not given an opportunity for a hearing. Although Sindermann was not tenured, due to his allegations that he was not rehired for reasons that violated his freedom of speech, the court remanded the case for a full hearing. This case is valuable to look at since many states to not have tenure laws. http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/historics/USSC_CR_0408_0593_ZS.html

5. Collective Bargaining Collective bargaining is a negotiation process between an employer and often a union where the goal is to come to an agreement on the terms of employment. In some states unions represent teachers directly and negotiate all details of the contract. In other states where unions are not as powerful a meet-and-confer process is used. http://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/index.php/Collective_bargaining

6. Lehnert v. Ferris Faculty Association This case poses issues involving “constitutional limitations, if any, upon the payment, required as a condition of employment, of dues by a nonmember” to a public school union. (Looney, 271). According to the Michigan Public Employment Relations Act, employees of Michigan public schools who choose not to become members of the union can be required to pay a “service fee” to the union. The District Court and the Court of Appeals decided that non-members can be charged for specific expenses that directly benefit them as a part of the bargaining unit although they are not a union member. Specific guidelines were developed to determine which fees non-members can legally be charged for. http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/cgi-bin/getcase.pl?court=US&vol=500&invol=507

7. Cause for Dismissal Teachers, tenured or not, can be dismissed from their positions for many different reasons. Specific causes for dismissal have changed over the years and vary among districts. Most districts have specific policies regarding dismissal of teachers for insubordination, incompetence, immoral conduct, sexual activity, criminal activity, and “just cause”.

8. Insubordination Insubordination is described as “constant or continuing intentional refusal to obey a direct or implied order, reasonable in nature, and given by and with proper authority.” (Looney, 278). Insubordination is a common reason for dismissal of teachers. Normally, to dismiss a teacher for insubordination their behavior must be intentional or deliberate.

9. Incompetence Failure to maintain discipline, inability to manage a classroom, and failure to address areas suggested by administrators are examples of incompetence. An evaluation takes place to determine if a faculty member is incompetent. If a teacher or administrator is determined to be incompetent in their position, they can be legally dismissed.

10. Immoral Conduct Immoral Conduct involves actions of a teacher in close contact with students that have a negative affect on students. There is not a clear cut definition of immoral conduct. The court has developed factors to help determine if a teacher’s conduct is immoral and has a negative affect on students. Some considerations include whether the act took place in public, the nature of the conduct, the chance of repeating the conduct, the impact on the teachers ability to perform his job, and what negative affect it will have on students.

11. Sexual Activity “There is little dispute among the courts that teachers who have sexual contact with students will be dismissed.” (Looney, 285). Simply put, teachers should in no way have sexual contact with students.

12. Criminal Activity Criminal activity covers a range of criminal actions. Dismissals have occurred when teachers are simply a part of wrongful activity. At the same time, dismissals have not always taken place when a teacher is convicted of a crime. Examples include a teacher growing marijuana in his a backyard and a teacher assisting a friend who was arrested for possession of marijuana.

13. Just Cause “Just cause” or “good cause” is a catch-all phrase that applies in a range of situations to dismiss a teacher. An example of this is a teacher who was transferred to a new building who did not report to work for three months. This teacher had be notified several time that she needed to return to work. The court sided with the district’s dismissal of “good cause.”

14. Evaluation Evaluation of teachers is necessary to provide the best learning experiences for students. Evaluations are not always as high of a priority as they need to be. Faculty members usually appreciate the guidance and feedback provided from an evaluation.

15. Summary Under the Fourteenth Amendment, tenure provides teachers with a unique right to due process meaning he can only be dismissed after being provided a due process hearing. State laws and the way a faculty is represented will determine how much protection a teacher has in their employment. There are many causes for dismissal that teachers should avoid. In addition, it is important to keep good documentation as you never know when it may be needed.

16. Employment and Tenure Outline and Resources Overview Procedural Due Process and the Fourteenth Amendment http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/constitution.amendmentxiv.html Board of Regents of State College v. Roth, 1972 http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/historics/USSC_CR_0408_0564_ZO.html Perry s. Sindermann, 1972 http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/historics/USSC_CR_0408_0593_ZS.html Collective Bargaining http://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/index.php/Collective_bargaining Lehnert v. Ferris Faculty Association http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/cgi-bin/getcase.pl?court=US&vol=500&invol=507 Cause for Dismissal Insubordination, Incompetence, Immoral Conduct, Sexual Activity, Criminal Activity, Just Cause, Evaluation Summary Looney, S. D. Education and the Legal System: A Guide to Understanding the Law.