This was a purposeful, qualitative, historical and document-based research study that investigated the trends and outcomes of the legal issues relating to teacher dismissal for "immorality". The study included 114 cases over a 30-year period spanning from 1977-2007. Federal and state level law cases were researched to determine the ruling of…

The peer review system for evaluating schools (the "Toledo Plan") is gaining favor among teachers in other school systems. Schools are generally reluctant to dismiss incompetent teachers because of documentation complexities, but incompetent teachers should nevertheless be weeded out. (TE)

Reviews court decisions since Pickering v. Board of Education and Mt. Healthy v. Doyle, and suggests guidelines for balancing teachers' claims of first-amendment protection with need for orderly school administration. Ends by summarizing lawful restrictions on criticism of administrators and notes the elements of litigants' respective burdens of…

In Canada, a teacher is deemed to have tenure after serving a probationary period which varies from one province or territory to another. This chapter explains Canadian law as it relates to the termination of teacher contracts. The Canadian court structure and the means of challenging termination decisions are explained. Technical, procedural, and…

From a legal perspective, teacher evaluations can be a school's most valuable tool when administrators need to pursue or defend personnel actions. The first step in a practical evaluation process is to determine the evaluation's purpose, and the second is to determine what is to be evaluated. Evaluations should focus on factors that actually…

Tenured teaching staff member in New Jersey cannot be dismissed from their positions unless a board of education establishes just cause in a hearing before the Commissioner of Education. This pamphlet, designed to assist boards in filing dismissal proceedings for unsatisfactory tenured teachers, provides a comprehensive review of all recent tenure…

Defines and gives examples of remediation as a process prior to dismissal proceedings, in which a teacher is evaluated by administrators, who identify deficiencies and provide the teacher an opportunity to correct them. Identifies what constitutes remediable conduct, how requirements for remediation are imposed, and how courts review dismissal…

Explores whether using a review board to approve the use of a movie infringes on a teacher's right to academic freedom. Also examines, in the absence of such a policy, whether teachers can be disciplined for showing movies that some parents, board members, or administrators regard as inappropriate. (68 footnotes) (MLF)

In a case involving questionable canine search-and-seizure practices, a circuit court upheld a school board's decision to terminate a teacher's contract. While touting zero tolerance, the board fired an honored teacher 3 years from retirement who may not have known about the marijuana cigarette in her car. (MLH)

Dismissals for ineffective teaching, as distinguished from insubordination, immorality, or improper treatment of students, are rare because standards of teaching against which to juxtapose an individual teacher's behavior have not been available. However, abstract performance standards for teachers are beginning to emerge from research on teaching…

Discusses the differing legal issues involved when a teacher-coach wishes to retain a coaching assignment, in contrast to one who desires to relinquish it. Case law shows that the coaching position has no tenure and teacher-coaches can lose their teaching position when they request relief from coaching. (MLF)

This speech reviews the power of school boards with respect to dismissal, and identifies implications of due process for supervision and evaluation, particularly as it relates to incompetence as a basis for dismissal. The first section defines the state-sanctioned powers of a school board, including the difference between discretionary and…

In problems pertaining to faculty dismissal, public higher education institutions are subject to both constitutional and contractual constraints, whereas private schools are subject almost solely to self-imposed contractual limitations. In public institutions, teachers alleging termination for protected free speech bear the burden of establishing…

America's legal-educational history is filled with scores of cases of alleged radical teachers who have been legally excluded or removed from public school positions. Only a few of these cases have involved the First Amendment issue of inclass utterances by radicals. Such cases are significant because they highlight the established society's…

The dismissal of public school teachers in Oregon is governed by the Fair Dismissal Law. The statutory requirements of the law involve (1) a notice from the superintendent of intent to dismiss, (2) school board approval of dismissal, (3) the teacher's right to appeal to the Fair Dismissal Appeals Board (FDAB), and (4) the school board's and…