hyp teacher employment

 

Make up a case brief. This brief needs to be a scenario surrounding teachers employment.  Make sure to include thought provoking questions at the end of the brief. Be sure to make at least 3 in text citations and to reference your work. 

This should be at least 350 words.

Attached is a reading and an example of how the brief should read. Do not use it for your own work.

EXAMPLE

 

Virginia law allows any teacher to be fired for “…incompetency, immorality, non-conformance and other transgressions (Davidson, 2012).  In Connecticut a teacher was the best candidate for a promotion, until the requirements changed and a younger, lower paid individual was found through further advertising.  It seemed an issue of critique (Perpich, 2008).  Often, requirements are subjective.

         Consuela Bond graduated cum laude in secondary education from State Teachers’ College in nineteen seventy.  She immediately took a public school job in the foothills of Southwest Virginia.  Later, she earned her masters from Howard University and took the doctorate from Liberty University.  She maintained her certification in special education.  In Virginia, a tenured teacher is required to be assessed every 3 years (Howell, 1988).  Her assessments were excellent until she returned from a lengthy leave of absence to treat breast cancer.  Her students and parents gave a grand party in the local community to celebrate her cancer going into remission.  She returned to a new principal and a new superintendent.  Thirty-one tenured teachers were put on professional probation and offered the opportunity to quit without a fuss.  Dr. Doss, the principal assessed that Consuela lacked technical teaching skills and forced her to have a teaching monitor and a student teacher in training.

         

Consuela thought that when she regained her strength, her performance would improve and Dr. Doss would see that she was a top professional.  The last day before Christmas break, Dr. Billings (superintendent) stopped by and offered to keep Consuela on payroll for the next term.  Her role would be to mentor the student teacher for her replacement next Fall and resign.  The offer was abruptly rejected.  The student teacher confided that he had already been offered the job Fall term (Noddings, 2009).  Dr. Billings advised the board that Consuela had been rude, insulting, and non-compliant.  Armed with a blistering summary of Consuela’s probationary period from the principal, Billings asked the board for Consuela’s dismissal due to incompetence.  At the same meeting, the superintendent introduced the 4 first year teachers she had hired to replace the tenured teachers being canned (Geller v. Markham, 1981).

           The notice of dismissal was delivered by certified mail before New Year’s day and the required panel review was scheduled for Consuela and 3 other minority teachers who were fired.  Steve Staples (state superintendent) recused himself from the review panel because he had worked with Consuela early in his career in Tazwell County Public Schools (Staples, 2017).  Due process was served (Essex, 2009).  In every case, the panel refused to endorse the dismissals and the board overruled the review panel (Troy, 2008). 

          Consuela has asked for your help.  She thinks that she was fired due to her age.  The NAACP president charges that all 4 teachers were fired due to the color of their skin (Hurshouse, 1999).  The president of the Virginia Education Association told the Washington Post that she believes that Consuela’s fourteenth amendment rights were violated (Dooley, 2013).     Would you take her case?

         

            

            

 
 
 
 

[1]

 
 

References

Davidson, L. (2012, June 30). Fairfax Schools Fire Tenured Teacher. Washington Post, p. 04.

Dooley, N. (2013). Ethics of Justice, Care, Critique and Profession. San Francisco: CA : Wiley.

Essex, N. (2009). The 200 most frequently asked legal questions for educators. Thousand Oaks: CA: A Sage Company.

Geller v. Markham, 635 F.2d 1027, cert. denied, 451 U.S. 945 (1981) (U.S. Court of Appeals, 2nd Circuit June 30, 1981).

Howell, H. (1988, June 30). Delegates, Virginiasqqq. Education Regulations. Richmond, Virginia, U.S.A.: Virginia Legislature Archives.

Hurshouse, R. (1999). Virtue Ethics. Oxford, :U.K.: Oxford University Press.

Noddings, N. (2009). Caring: A Feminine Approach to Ethic and Moral Education (2nd. Ed.). Berkley: CA: University of California Press.

Perpich, D. (2008). The Ethics of Emmanuel Levinas. Stanford: CA: Stanford University Press.

Staples, S. (2017, May 30). Virginia State Superintendent of Public Schools. (T. Elder, Interviewer)

Troy. (2008, January 01). School and Principal’s Decision Makeup Analysi Theory: Four ethics formulas, justice, unity, critique and care. American Students Common. Miami, Forida, USA: Central Florida Presss.

Employment

Employment Types

The employment process in the public school system is different than in any other organization. Due process is a requirement of law but in the public school system it is especially important as the public school is a government entity. Due process for educators is limited to the due process for property rights. Judicial law has noted that schools do not typically deprive employees of life or liberty. The important focus in readings this week is how much due process is necessary and how much is recommended by the courts.

There are several different types of employment arrangements within the school system.

· At-Will Employment

· Non-Chapter 21 Contracts

· Probationary Contracts

· Term contracts

· Continuing contracts

· Third-Party Independent Contract

Each employment arrangement has a specific hiring and termination process. This is important to know when dealing with the various positions. When interviewing and selecting staff administrators must understand what employment is available, the requirements in offering positions and the requirements involved in offering positions.

If you work in a state that has unions, much of this information is required per the collective bargaining agreement. If you live in a right to work state, this is much more flexible and determined by the local governing body.

First, reassignment is a very complicated issue. Generally speaking, most teacher and administrator contracts contain a clause that states that you can be assigned or reassigned at the discretion of the superintendent. Courts have found that the only property right that employees have is the right to getting paid, not the right to a specific position. As long as your pay is not changed your position can be changed therefore, many state departments of education will only hear reassignment complaints if an employee has suffered financially.

However reassignment cannot be retaliatory. You can’t be reassigned after you have spoken out against the school district or after you’ve made someone angry. The grievance process does have to be followed. You must have access to due process if you feel that your reassignment was retaliatory but remember most cases are only heard if the employee has suffered financially. There is a different standard of reassignment for superintendents. Superintendents cannot be reassigned because their position is considered unique. Reassignment for the superintendent would constitute a material change. With the exception of the superintendent an employee can be reassigned to any position within the district as long as their compensation is not affected.

The next sections discuss employee benefits. Some of these benefits are typical of what you would find in any business situation; the Family Medical Leave Act, health insurance, things such as this. There are some things that are a bit unique to teaching. For example, the planning and preparation period are different than regular breaks in non-education positions, although the duty free lunch is pretty standard.

Districts must offer health insurance and, if there are 20 or more employees, they must offer COBRA insurance as well. Interestingly enough health insurance is one of the district’s largest expenses (second only to teacher salaries). Additionally the district has to provide assault leave, temporary disability leave, and FMLA.

The district may choose to participate in the Social Security System, but the state education code can set the standard for the state (i.e. using a Teacher Retirement System instead of Social Security). However once the district chooses whether or not to provide access to social security they cannot change.

Be familiar with the grievance and the role of the employee and the organization. Know the grievance process, the hearing process, and the participation of employee organizations in the grievance process. Each district has its own process and employees must know the process. Most cases involving employment are heard because due process wasn’t followed. The teacher and the school must both abide by the due process rules.