News: Rights Watch
NEA Examines the Rights of Nontenured Teachers

Are probationary teachers who are let go before they gain tenure entitled to 'due process'? The answer might surprise you.

Almost every state has enacted a "tenure" law granting teachers, after a probationary period the right not to be disciplined or discharged except for "just cause"--that is, some legitimate reason related to serious misconduct or job performance.

The name for this job protection varies from state to state: tenure, continuing contract status, career status, nonprobationary status, and permanent status. The required probationary period also varies greatly, from two to five years.

In addition to "just cause" protection, tenured teachers also have the right to "due process." This means a formal hearing before an unbiased person or panel, where the school administration has the burden to prove the charges. The teacher has the right to testify and to call and cross-examine witnesses and to have the assistance of a lawyer.

But what about nontenured teachers? What are their rights after they're nonrenewed? Delegates to last summer's NEA Representative Assembly directed NEA staff to investigate nontenured teacher rights. The results of this study are summarized in the accompanying chart. A more detailed report and action plan will be sent to NEA state affiliates later this year.

In researching this issue, NEA staff considered three different ways in which nontenured teachers might enjoy some sort of job protection and minimal due process.

First, staff determined whether the law of each state gives probationary teachers the right to know the reasons for a nonrenewal decision and the right to meet with the school board or superintendent to argue to keep their job. A total of 19 states afford nontenured teachers these rights.

Second, NEA staff examined whether school districts are required to evaluate beginning teachers and to provide a plan of improvement to assist those whose teaching is deemed deficient. A total of 20 states provide new teachers with these protections.

Significantly, in 14 of these states, if a school district fails to comply with the requirements for an evaluation and plan of improvement, then the district cannot refuse to renew the teacher because of alleged teaching deficiencies.

Finally, staff also reviewed state bargaining laws. In some 21 states, collective bargaining representatives have the authority to negotiate "just cause" protections for beginning teachers that can include more formal due process procedures. In ten states, that issue is a prohibited subject of bargaining, and in seven states the question is unclear. Thirteen states have no bargaining law for public school employees.

The results of this survey reveal that a number of states have substantial job protections for beginning teachers that minimize the risk that they will suffer arbitrary nonrenewals. These states include: Alaska, Arkansas, Delaware, Indiana, Kentucky, Nebraska, New Jersey, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Vermont, and West Virginia.

At the other end of the spectrum are several states where nontenured teachers enjoy few or no rights in connection with nonrenewal decisions. These include: Alabama, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, North Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming.

Finally, beginning teachers should be warned that three states--Georgia, Mississippi, and Texas--have no state tenure law, even for veteran teachers.

--Michael D. Simpson
NEA Office of General Counsel