Tenure and Termination
Tenure is a position aspired to by all beginning teachers. Tenure is a form of job security that teachers can earn after they reach a certain level of professionalism (Scott, 1986). Once a teacher has earned tenure they are able to maintain an ongoing employment contract within an educational system, as long as they abide by the rules and regulations outlined in their contract.
Many states have created tenure policies to protect competent teachers from malicious accusations, and these policies can vary state to state. In this report there will be an exploration on the tenure and termination policy as it applies to the state of New York, an examination on an allegation against a school teacher based on facts and details provided, a review of the investigative process as it pertains to state law, and an outline on the various steps taken by an administrator in addressing this situation.
Overview of Statutes and Case Law in New York
Tenure is a policy that has been designed to protect teachers from false accusations and various injustices that may take place throughout ones career. For example, one of the rights afforded a tenured teacher is they cannot be discriminated against based on their personal views or belief systems outside of the educational arena. Also, they cannot be terminated without full due process. Tenure will not, however, protect educators who are incapable, ineffective, or are in violation of school board rules (Essex, 2012).
Based on the tenure in New York, Code-Section 3012, it stipulates that teachers will have a probationary period of three years, with the exception of a teacher who has demonstrated satisfactory service as a regular substitute for a period of two years (FindLaw, 2014...
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...ol Employment Law, 435-468.
Justia U.S. Law. (2009). Maier v. Canon McMillan School District. Justia U.S. Law. Retrieved from http://law.justia.com/cases/federal/districtcourts/pennsylvania/pawdce/2:2008cv00154/84670/105.
Leagle (1974). Stoddard v. School District. Leagle. Retrieved from http://www.leagle.com/decision/19791419590F2d829_11235.
McCarty, K. (2007). ORL RESEARCH REPORT. Penalties for Consensual Sex between a Teacher and Student. Retrieved from http://www.cga.ct.gov/2007/rpt/2007-R-0710.htm
The Huffington Post. (2012). 16 New York teachers accused of sexual misconduct still teaching, city struggles to fire them. The Huffington Post. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/06/16-new-york-teacher-accus_n_1409184.html.
Yuma School District ONE Discipline Policies and Procedures 2013-2014 School Year. Retrieved from http://www.yuma.org/
Board of Regents (1967). The teacher’s interest as a citizen in making public comment must be balanced against the State’s interest in promoting the efficiency of its employees’ public services. The court found the statements of the appellant were substantially correct, regarded matters of public concern, and presented no questions of faculty discipline or harmony. The statements offered no proper basis for the school board’s action in dismissing the appellant (Oyez, n.d.).
This decision makes it clear the most important thing for a school to do is to protect the students. It also states that the board of education, whose role is to oversee the schools, must make sure that the staff of the schools is protecting those children. This case highlights that long-term abuse can happen in schools if there are not clear policies or, if there are, that there is no one ensuring that those policies are
“Marvin L.Pickering, a high school science teacher in Illinois wrote a letter published in a newspaper denouncing the board of education's choice of allocating of funding between athletics and academics, he also criticized the superintendent who did not inform the local taxpayers why they were actually paying more for the school. After posting the letter, the high school teacher was fired because the board claimed that he delivered false information that could affect the efficiency of the school administration, it damage the reputation of the board of education and of its superintendent and that it could possibly encourage “controversy, conflict, and dissension” between the school staff "Detrimental to the best interests of the schools"(Findlaw.com, I) . Pickering decided to sue the school for violating his First and Fourteenth Amendment rights to free speech and of equal protection because he claimed that he has the right to free speech and is allowed the same rights as everybody else.“
Bennett, A., & Brower, A. (2001). ’THAT’S NOT WHAT FERPA SAYS!’: THE TENTH CIRCUIT COURT GIVES DANGEROUS BREADTH TO FERPA IN ITS CONFUSING AND CONTRADICTORY FALVO V. OWASSO INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT DECISION. Brigham Young University Education & Law Journal, 2, 327.
Of course having sexual relationships with students is not only unprofessional and immoral, but also against the law. There have been many instances where teachers are having sexual affairs with their students. It used to be just male teachers having relations with the female students, now it is also female teachers having sex with the male students. This occurs not only on the collegiate levels but it has also happened with students as young as middle school. This behavior is totally
The defendant of this case is the Board of Education of Tecumseh public school who claims that...
The first article that I chose to work with is “The Rubber Room” by Steven Brill. This article is published by The New Yorker on August 31, 2009. Brill is an American Lawyer and a journalist-entrepreneur. “The Rubber Room” is about how it is wasting the city’s money as teachers are placed in this room where all they do is just sit around and play games. They are placed in these as they are waiting for their case to be heard by an arbitrator which could take up to many years. While they are sitting in these rooms, these teachers are still getting paid which is a waste of the city’s tax money. Brill also talks about tenure and how once teachers have tenure they seem to slack off at their job because they know that they have job security as mentioned in the article “she was given tenure after her third year of teaching, and then, like ninety-nine per cent of all teachers before 2002, she received a satisfactory rating each year.” (Brill 2)
Tenure is a type of job security that professors earn once they reach an exact level of expertise. Once a college professor has earned tenure, they need to be able to follow the teaching contract as long as they abide by the rules set forth in their contracts. It's believed that students are able to gain help from the expertise and skill of an untenured teacher. A number of the protections are extended to an irremovable teacher so that they can't be discriminated against their personal views, temperament conflicts, or any space that's not instructional. The statutes for academic tenure in higher education and dismissal vary from state to state, however altogether all are smart in standing and should be offered employment. This therefore will make sure professors won’t be fired for unnecessary issues. Tenure won't shield professors, but will help with those whom are ineffective or incapable.
Professors with tenure, contend Hacker and Dreifus, are not motivated to perform well and therefore will engage the students in the way Hacker and Dreifus believe they should. To correct this, Hacker and Dreifus advocate for tenures to be replaced with multiyear contracts to ensure professors work hard for their own benefit and for the benefit of the students’. Keep the teachers in the classrooms inspiring young minds rather than taking unnecessary paid vacations, assert Hacker and Dreifus, who believe sabbaticals should be limited. Hacker and Dreifus also agree that adjunct teachers, professors who teach at a college but do not receive the same benefits as their peers who are, in fact, faculty members, should receive similar benefits. Capitalizing on adjunct teachers should be discouraged, demand the authors. Presidents of colleges, on the other hand, should receive less, more reasonable compensation for their
Today schools are changing to integrate the 21st century. Therefore, it is imperative that educational administrators are aware of the legal framework facing the issues in schools. There are many issues the administrators will face and they must know the constitutional rights of individuals and the school. The Constitution contains the laws of the United States.
Tenure is vital to the value of a student’s education, high levels of commitment and performance of faculty, and academic freedom. Tenure protects the learning and research that is produced through colleges and universities.
Fischer, L., Schimmel, D., & Stellman, L. (2007). Teachers and the law (7th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.
Judith Berman Brandenburg. "Confronting Sexual Harassment: What schools and colleges can do". Teachers College Press, 1997
The Felix and Gonzales cases demonstrate that if schools are not held accountable they may not even make an attempt to meet the special needs of students. The Felix probe discovered that the state was not providing funding near or even close to an adequate amoun...
Future teachers will all have to reach a certain level of education and certification. Educational requirements can vary greatly depending on the state, but all states require completion of an approved teacher training program and a bachelor’s degree. Many states may require a minimal GPA and additional technology training including, a set number of education and subject credits. A small number of sates necessitate a master’s degree taking up to two years more of schooling than a bachelor’s degree. Other requirements could be student teaching which a lot of colleges offer. Usually for a semester student teachers will work beside an experienced teacher by observing and helping children in ...