Fundamental Friday - When your contract may be non-renewed

Oh my gosh, I almost forgot it was Friday!  I can't believe I could do such a thing.

The last few Fridays have been about contract renewals.  This week, let's consider the possibility of non-renewal.

There are several different ways you can find out about non-renewal.  Your options depend on how and when you find out.

If you have a probationary contract, and are told early that you are being considered for non-renewal, that means you may have a shot at avoiding it.  Ask for very frank information about what it would take for the principal to change his/her mind, and then try to do it.

If you have a probationary contract and are not given an advance warning but are simply notified that the board has voted to non-renew your contract, you have no realistic recourse UNLESS there is evidence that the non-renewal was for an illegal reason, like the fact that you were pregnant.

If you have a non-probationary contract and are told that you may be recommended for non-renewal, ask the principal what might change his/her mind, and then do it.

If you have a non-probationary contract and are told there is nothing that will change the principal's mind, or if you the board has already proposed your non-renewal, you have three options:

1. Do nothing, let the non-renewal become final, and go look for another job.
2. Submit a resignation before the board acts, and then go look for another job.
3. File a request for a hearing on the non-renewal, where the district will have to show proof of the reason they are citing for the non-renewal, and you will have the opportunity to defend yourself. The hearing examiner(essentially, the judge) will write an opinion on who made their case and on whether the board shoul non-renew the contract or not, and then the board will consider that opinion before taking a vote on your contract renewal.

If you go the hearing route, the final vote on your contract will usually not come before the end of May at the earliest, and may not happen until close to the end of summer, so you will need to be looking for another job at the same time you are contesting the non-renewal.

Comments

[Brian]

It seems obvious to me that somebody in this situation should request a review hearing AND look for another job.

When you request the hearing, that is an opportunity for the school to change their mind; maybe the hearing is just too much work for them. Or, maybe they miss some deadline or something. It happens.

If you are offered a contract somewhere else before the review, then take it, and cancel the hearing.

Otherwise, make your case in the hearing.

If you lose, don't resign. If you resign then you disqualify yourself from getting unemployment benefits. I don't know if you can get unemployment benefits if your contract expires but it's got to be easier than trying to ge them after resigning.

(I would like to see some postings on H1-B visa issues. Who should be paying the legal fees? How can you convince the district to make progress on a green card? What do you do when the school tells you to "If you want a green card, just get married to an American"?)

[Pamela Parker]

The cost of an H1-B visa must be paid by the employer, since the visa is a tool for an employer to bring in an employee that they are not able to find among legal workers. As the employee, you don't have any way to leverage the district into moving faster, other than to say that you'll have to leave the country if they don't hurry up. If the district really wants the person, they will move on it. But if the district changes it's mind, potential employee is out of luck.

[np]

Question - I am an AP and have a contract for the upcoming year. I have been told that I can only be released 45 days before my first day back to work for the new year.

I have been offered a promotion in another city. Am I forced to turn it down?

[Pamela Parker]

Dear AP - you have a right to be released up until the 45th day prior to the first day of school. After that, the district has the discretion to release you or hold you to your contract (with a few exceptions that don't appear to apply here). Ask to be released, and see what the district says - make sure you are clear that you are not resigning unless you get permission to do so.

[Missy]

What rights do you still have (as a teacher) legally speaking if you resign instead of accepting the nonrenewal? I am not concerned about unemployment benefits, but rather due process rights. Can you still request a hearing and for the district to show cause if you resign prior to, but upon the "threat" of nonrenewal?