The dismissal of tenured faculty member Willie Mae Gillis due to problematic relationships with students and colleagues is detailed by AAUP's Committee A. Issues discussed include validity of grounds for dismissal, dismissal procedures, governing standards, and discrimination on the basis of sex. Despite extensive procedural violations, dismissal…

Presents a comparative examination of state statutory codes related to public educator termination, and an analysis of recent court cases involving hearing officers in public education termination actions. (68 footnotes) (MLF)

In the context of recent Supreme Court litigation (Jeffries versus Harleston) concerning academic freedom at City College of New York, the nature and parameters of academic freedom are examined, and harms to an institution that might justify legal action against a professor are discussed. It is concluded that the professor's dismissal was neither…

Presents suggestions for ways early childhood administrators can respond to situations leading to termination of a staff member. Includes discussion of staff evaluation methods, the erosion of trust between the employee and employer, the importance of personally informing staff of a dismissal, directing staff to work together efficiently to repair…

Would-be reformers often overlook the importance of collegial working relationships. Site administrators have little training in the human dynamics required to relate well to teachers while providing constructive feedback on their performance. Fear of repercussion thwarts the evaluation and improvement process. Constructive communication practices…

According to the Supreme Court of Canada, when a teacher's conduct out of the classroom impairs the integrity of the education system, the values it instills, and the public's confidence in the education system and its teachers, the employer school board is obliged to take disciplinary action, even if the conduct is not criminal. Five examples are…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the ways in which elementary school principals in Israel deal with teachers who are "challenging" in their behaviour, that is those who are perceived as under-performing. This is an important and under-researched area of educational management. Design/methodology/approach: Interviews…

The New York 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…

This information brief explains the State of Minnesota statutory provisions that affect the employment rights of K-12 public school teachers in Minnesota. It describes the required probationary period, the conditions of continuing employment for those teachers who successfully complete the probationary period, and the procedures that must be…

This paper addresses the legal issues surrounding a university or college's action of dismissing tenured faculty members because of the school's troubled financial condition or program discontinuance. It explores various legal principles through an examination of specific questions. These questions are: (1) How do the courts define financial…

Teachers have a special trust with students that includes not taking advantage of or abusing them. To ensure that sexual abuse is handled correctly in the school system, a policy must be adopted that requires employees to report incidences of abuse and make sure that the reporting requirement is balanced against the accused individual's rights.…

Starting from a survey of research literature and court cases, researchers conducted a study of South Carolina school districts' policies and procedures concerning reductions in force (RIFs). The literature review indicated some of the conditions necessitating RIFs (such as state financial problems), methods of avoiding RIFs, and criteria for RIF…

The process of recruiting and selecting college faculty at a new college, the University of Texas of the Permian Basin, is discussed. The university was established in September 1973 to serve students who would complete 2 years at community/junior colleges in the Permian Basin area. The school's mission and the two towns near the college are…

Political repression of faculty members and the use of an archive of records to help remedy this phenomenon are discussed. The focus is the use of coercion to compel the behavior of politically dissident faculty members, particularly by the use of dismissal. The archive of records would indicate faculty members fired, not hired, or harassed for…

Although the main purpose of a school district's evaluation system is to improve employees' performance, the evaluation procedures and the supporting documentation must also serve as evidence in the termination hearings of an unsatisfactory employee. Accordingly, this chapter provides practical advice to school administrators concerning…