Before 1980, academic-freedom litigation favored teachers over school boards. As a 1998 case involving termination of a popular creative-writing teacher shows, today's judges rely on decision makers' judgement. Courts view academic freedom as the province of school boards and administrators, who determine how it is exercised. (MLH)

In this article, the author chronicles the summary firing of Joseph Greer, a veteran sociology professor, over allegations of racism that evoke comparison to a Philip Roth novel about political correctness run amuck. Unlike the fictional story, the faculty at St. Bonaventure University did not seem to have much of an appetite for censuring…

The 2009 edition of the "State Teacher Policy Yearbook" is the National Council on Teacher Quality's (NCTQ's) third annual review of state laws, rules and regulations that govern the teaching profession. This year's report is a comprehensive analysis of the full range of each state's teacher policies, measured against a realistic…

The Idaho edition of the National Council on Teacher Quality's (NCTQ's) 2009 "State Teacher Policy Yearbook" is the third annual look at state policies impacting the teaching profession. It is hoped that this report will help focus attention on areas where state policymakers can make changes that will have a positive impact on teacher…

Many states have begun to use independent or outside hearing officers in public educator termination efforts, curtailing the exclusive role of local school boards as fact finders and judges. This paper reports the findings of a two-part study that: (1) investigated the statutory codes of all 50 states to determine the current procedural methods…

This book provides the school administrator with a comprehensive, practical approach to the teacher-dismissal process. The procedures are organized in a month-by-month and step-by-step format. The three-part process involves: (1) establishing and implementing a consistent, schoolwide teacher-evaluation process; (2) establishing consistent…

This paper, one in a series about the priorities of the professoriate, discusses issues of financial exigency and how they have an impact upon decisions regarding layoffs of tenured college faculty. The intent of the discussion is to encourage higher education institutions to clearly define the operational guidelines used when layoffs of tenured…

An altruistic rather than positivist view of the law as it applies to educational management is proposed in this paper. The altruistic interpretation views the law as a mediator that promotes moral and ethical principles, as opposed to the traditional positivist view of law as an instrument of power. The value of an altruistic conception of the…

The structural aspects of ritual in a modern university and the way that ritual operates through the use of tenure at Stanford University is assessed, based on an ethnohistorical analysis of the firing of a tenured professor, H. Bruce Franklin. Mr. Franklin actively opposed the Vietnam War and Stanford University's alleged involvement with the…

Recent court definitions of immoral conduct require that employers establish a nexus between the objectionable conduct and the individual's fitness to teach, while teacher plaintiffs have argued that dismissals for alleged immoral conduct violated various constitutional rights. This paper reviews a cross-section of recent court cases involving…

The complexities and realities of concession bargaining are discussed, and a case study for Monmouth College is presented. Concession bargaining is contract modification bargaining: certain benefits that resulted from the collective bargaining agreement are relinquished. Generally, management obtains concessions from the union. The employer…

School districts faced with declining enrollments can utilize several strategies for dealing with reductions in force while saving money, minimizing terminations, and creating new opportunities. Schools should be staffed on the basis of midyear projections to avoid too great a degree of overstaffing by year's end. An early retirement plan should…

This checklist is designed to reduce the prospect that a termination decision will be reversed in a grievance procedure, arbitration, state agency hearing, or court proceeding. The checklist is arranged under the following headings: (1) What is the real reason for considering firing this individual? (distinction between reduction-in-force and…

The effect collective bargaining has had on institutional quality as reflected by control over faculty appointments is examined. Focus is on term, temporary, and probationary appointments. The main concerns are found to be reducible to statements about the timing of notifications of reappointment, non-reappointment, or dismissal; statements about…

The most litigated issues involving teachers are the control of conduct of teachers and other employees. The disciplinary measures available are typically expressed or implied in state statutes. These normally include suspension, transfer, nonrenewal of contract, and discharge. The superintendent or board may be empowered to recommend the…