TENURE LAWS

The 1948 convention adopted the following statement of principles upon which sound tenure laws might be based:

• Tenure should be continuing from the initial date of employment.

• Specific conditions of employment should be in writing, with copies of the terms in the hands of both the teacher and the employing agent.

• The tenure of a teacher may be subject to a probationary period of not more than two school years. During the probationary period:

• Adequate supervisory help should  be provided by the employing agency to assist the teacher in adjusting himself to the position.

• Notice of dismissal stating reasons should be given in writing not less than sixty days before the time the dismissal is to become effective. Dismissal under this clause should coincide with the end of the teaching year.

• A probationary teacher should have adequate opportunity to correct or to remove defects that may lead to dismissal.

• In all other respects, the tenure of a probationary teacher is the same as after the probationary period.

• Academic freedom in the teacher's field of instruction should be guaranteed.

• No civil rights guaranteed other citizens shall in any way be impaired for a teacher.

• After the probationary period, dismissal should be for statutory causes only, after reasonable notice in writing and an opportunity to be heard. The notice of dismissal should contain a specific statement of the charges and should inform the teacher of the right to either a public or a private hearing, at the discretion of the teacher. The teacher shall have the right to be represented by counsel, to require the production of witnesses and documentary evidence, and to have a full opportunity to answer the charges. A decision adverse to the teacher shall be reviewable in the courts, where both parties should have the right to introduce additional evidence.

• A tenure law should specify the causes for which a teacher may be dismissed. Statutory causes should include only such causes as impair the ability or qualifications to teach. Marriage of a woman teacher should not be a cause of dismissal. An employing agency should be limited to the causes of dismissal expressed in the law.

• Dismissal because of reduction in staff or discontinuance of a department or position must be demonstrably bona fide and should be effective only at the close of a school year. There should be detailed provisions regarding seniority in the position, in the department, and in the system. In the event that after dismissal of a teacher a position becomes available for which the teacher is qualified, such teacher shall have first claim upon that position in order of seniority. The teacher should have a reasonable opportunity to qualify for other positions.

• Without his consent, a teacher shall not be transferred from his teaching field to another teaching field (1948).

The 1951 convention emphasized especially that a good tenure law should include a de novo court clause.  AFT Counsel John Ligtenberg explains the meaning of a "trial de novo" as follows:

"This means that the court to which the adverse decision of the school board is appealed may hold a new trial of the entire case and may hear additional evidence and make its own independent findings."

"In the absence of a provision for a trial de novo the court is usually limited to review of the evidence before the board to see if the board proceeded in the manner required by law and if there was any substantial evidence to support its decision."