2014 – H 7026
Enacted 07/01/14
A N A C T
RELATING TO EDUCATION -- TEACHERS' TENURE
Introduced By: Representatives Ruggiero, McNamara, Hearn, Abney, and Finn
Date Introduced: January 08, 2014
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
SECTION 1. Sections 16-13-2, 16-13-3, 16-13-4, 16-13-6 and 16-13-8 of the General Laws in Chapter 16-13 entitled "Teachers' Tenure" are hereby amended to read as follows:
16-13-2. Annual contract basis -- Automatic continuation. --
(a) Teaching service shall be on the basis of an annual contract, except as
hereinafter provided, and the contract shall be deemed to be continuous unless
the governing body of the schools shall notify the teacher, in writing,
on or before March 1, that the contract
for the ensuing year will not be renewed.; provided If the
dismissal or nonrenewal is based on fiscal exigency or program reorganization,
the governing body shall notify the teacher on or before June 1 of the school
year immediately preceding the school year in which the dismissal or nonrenewal
is to become effective. Provided, however, that a teacher, upon
request, shall be furnished a statement of cause for dismissal or nonrenewal of
his or her contract by the school committee; provided further, that whenever
any contract is not renewed, or the
teacher is dismissed, the teacher shall be entitled to a hearing and appeal
pursuant to the procedure set forth in section
§16-13-4.
(b) Nothing contained in this section shall be construed to prohibit, or at any time to have prohibited, a school committee from agreeing, in a collective bargaining agreement, to the arbitration of disputes arising out of a dismissal or nonrenewal of a nontenured teacher pursuant to subsection (a) of this section.
16-13-3. Probationary period -- Tenure after probation. --
(a) Three (3) annual contracts within five (5) successive school years shall be
considered evidence of satisfactory teaching and shall constitute a
probationary period. Teachers who complete the probationary period shall be
considered in continuous service and shall not be subject to annual renewal or
nonrenewal of their contracts. No tenured teacher in continuous service shall
be dismissed except for good and just cause. Whenever a tenured teacher in
continuous service is to be dismissed, the notice of the dismissal shall be
given to the teacher, in writing, on or before March 1st of the school year
immediately preceding the school year in which the dismissal is to become
effective. If the dismissal is based on fiscal
exigency or program reorganization, the notice of dismissal shall be given to
the teacher, in writing, on or before June 1 of the school year immediately
preceding the school year in which the dismissal is to become effective.
The teacher shall be furnished with a complete statement of the cause(s) for
the dismissal by the governing body of the school and shall be entitled to a
hearing and appeal pursuant to the procedure set forth in section §16-13-4.
(b) Nothing contained in this section shall be construed to prohibit, or at any time to have prohibited, a school committee from agreeing, in a collective bargaining agreement, to the arbitration of disputes arising out of the dismissal of a tenured teacher pursuant to subsection (a) of this section.
(c) Any teacher employed by a local or
regional school committee who has attained tenure in a Rhode Island public
school system,;
who is appointed to an administrative position of principal, assistant
principal, vice principal, superintendent, assistant superintendent, director,
or other central office personnel in any Rhode Island public school system,
including the original school district of employment,; or who is hired for an administrative position
as a fellow, education specialist, or director by the Rhode Island department
of education, shall be granted an unpaid leave of absence, not to exceed three
(3) years, in order to be employed in an administrative position of principal,
assistant principal, vice principal, superintendent, assistant superintendent,
director, or other central office personnel in any Rhode Island school system
or the Rhode Island department of education. Said teachers shall, upon
completion of their administrative position employment contract, or termination
or resignation of the administrative position, be allowed to return to his or
her former status as a tenured teacher within the system from which the leave
of absence was taken. Such leaves of absence shall not be deemed to be an
interruption of service for the purposes of seniority and teacher retirement.
16-13-4. Statement of cause for dismissal -- Hearing -- Appeals
-- Arbitration. -- (a) The statement of cause for dismissal shall
be given to the teacher, in writing, by the governing body of the schools. at least one month
prior to the close of the school year. The teacher may, within
fifteen (15) days of the notification, request, in writing, a hearing before
the full board. The hearing shall be public or private, in the discretion of
the teacher. Both teacher and school board shall be entitled to be represented
by counsel and to present witnesses. The board shall keep a complete record of
the hearing and shall furnish the teacher with a copy. Any teacher aggrieved by
the decision of the school board shall have the right of appeal to the
department of elementary and secondary education and shall have the right of
further appeal to the superior court.
(b) Nothing contained in this section
shall be construed to prohibit, or at
any time to have prohibited, a school
committee in a municipality or regional school district with an elected school
committee, or the chief executive officer in a municipality with an appointed
school committee from agreeing, in a collective bargaining agreement, to the
arbitration of disputes arising out of the nonrenewal, dismissal, and/or
suspension of a teacher pursuant to sections
§§16-13-2, 16-13-3, and/or 16-13-5.
16-13-6. Suspension because of decrease in school population --
Seniority -- Reinstatement. -- (a) A school board may, by reason
of a substantial decrease of pupil population within its school system, suspend
teachers in numbers necessitated by the decrease in pupil population; provided,
however, that suspension of teachers shall be in the inverse order of their
employment unless it is necessary to retain certain teachers of technical
subjects whose places cannot be filled by teachers of earlier appointment; and,
provided, further, that teachers that who are
suspended shall be reinstated in the inverse order of their suspension. No new
appointments shall be made while there are available teachers so suspended.
(b) Notice of suspension under this
section and section §16-13-5 shall be given, in writing, by the
governing body of schools on or before March 1
June 1 notifying the teacher that his or
her employment for the ensuing year shall be suspended, provided however,
notice by that date need not be provided in the instance of an emergency
performance related cause.
16-13-8. Continuity of tenure upon transfer. -- Any teacher in continuing service who voluntarily resigns and transfers to another community in Rhode Island without interrupting his or her professional career, shall be considered to remain under tenure unless the teacher is notified to the contrary, in writing, prior to March 1 of the second school year in which the teacher transfers. If the dismissal or nonrenewal is based on fiscal exigency or program reorganization, the teacher shall be notified, in writing, prior to June 1 of the second school year in which the teacher transfers.
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.
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LC003253
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