Category Archives: teacher tenure

WHAT ARE MY RIGHTS IN A TEACHER TERMINATION PROCEEDING UNDER ILLINOIS LAW?

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Under Illinois law, you may only be terminated as a teacher for cause once your probationary period has expired. To do so, however, the school district must follow certain procedures. See: 105 ILCS 5/34-85.

If the alleged “cause” is remediable, you must receive a reasonable written warning specifically stating that such cause may result in charges unless you take steps to remove the problem. There are a couple exceptions to this rule, such as if you have failed a remediation plan or if the district and your union have agreed on an alternative system of remediation.

No written warning is required for irremediable conduct that is cruel, immoral, negligent or criminal or in any way causes psychological or physical harm a student. The language of the statute leaves a lot of room for interpretation.

Before starting dismissal proceedings, the general superintendent must approve written charges and then serve notice upon you. Charges may be served by certified mail, return receipt requested, at your last known address. The notice must inform you of your rights regarding a hearing officer. If you wish to have a say in selecting a hearing officer from the school board’s list, you will have to pay half the hearing officer’s fees and costs. Otherwise, the district will pay any hearing officer selected solely by the board.

The hearing officer shall set a schedule which includes a deadline for you to answer the charges and state any affirmative defenses. Both you and the board must make certain disclosures at least ten calendar days before hearing including names of witnesses who will testify and other documentation. Failure to disclose such evidence on time may prevent you from using it at hearing. Procedures involving witnesses differ somewhat where the charges involve sexual or severe physical abuse of a student or someone under age 18.

You may attend the hearing with an attorney, testify on your own behalf, present and cross-examine witnesses. The hearing officer must begin the hearing within 75 calendar days and conclude within 120 calendar days after their selection although this schedule can be modified for cause or by mutual agreement. Each side has up to three days to present their case.

After the hearing, you have 21 days from receipt of a hearing transcript to submit a post-hearing brief. You must pay for your copy of the transcript, which may cost several hundred dollars. The hearing officer has 30 calendar days after the hearing to report their recommendation and factual findings on whether you should be dismissed. The board then has 45 days from receipt of that recommendation to make a decision.

If the board retains you, you may be entitled to back pay at that time. If the board dismisses you, an appeal to the Illinois Appellate Court for the First District may be advised.

If you are a teacher facing termination, contact your union immediately for help. If you do not wish to proceed with the union’s attorney, you may retain a private attorney. Either way, an attorney can help present the facts of your case to the hearing officer in their best possible light. Because the Court of Appeals only reviews evidence from the hearing, it is critical that you submit every fact and argument in your favor at that time.

If you have questions about this or another related Illinois education matter, please contact Matt Keenan at 847-568-0160 or email matt@mattkeenanlaw.com.

(Besides Skokie, Matt Keenan also serves the communities of Arlington Heights, Chicago, Deerfield, Des Plaines, Evanston, Glenview, Morton Grove, Mount Prospect, Niles, Northbrook, Park Ridge, Rolling Meadows, Wilmette and Winnetka.)

WHEN CAN A TENURED TEACHER BE FIRED WITHOUT REMEDIATION?

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Under the law, public schoolteachers cannot be fired except for cause. In many cases, a teacher may go through a remediation process in order to keep their job. But some types of conduct are not eligible for that process.

What kind of charges allow a Board of Education to bypass the remediation process and go straight for termination? The answer is less clear than you might think.

Generally, a board must first issue a written warning for conduct that is remediable, unless a teacher displays conduct that is “cruel, immoral, negligent, or criminal or that in any way causes psychological or physical harm or injury to a student.” According to Illinois case law, this encompasses behavior that is “immoral at best, and criminal or quasi-criminal at worst.” That definition leaves a lot of wiggle room. For that reason, the answer can vary quite a bit from case to case, and the decision reached may depend a great deal on your particular hearing officer or judge.

For example, in Younge v. Board of Education, the court held that a teacher who reported to work under the influence of marijuana had engaged in criminal conduct was not entitled to remediation. However in Jackson v. Board of Education, a teacher who allegedly falsified his employment application and failed to report cheating on a test had not engaged in irremediable conduct. In part, the court found that the Board had not sustained its burden of proof and had not shown that the teacher’s omission of past work history was intentional.

More recently, the appellate court in Crawley v. Board of Education held that a teacher who had “misused” a total of eight sick days, two of them to take vacations, was guilty of irremediable behavior. The court noted that her students had been damaged ‘because their lesson plans and pedagogical continuity” were disrupted.

The definition of what or is not irremediable is anything but clear. Therefore, if you are faced with termination, it is important to contact an attorney (privately or through your union) as quickly as possible. An attorney can help present your situation in its most favorable light. School districts sometimes seem to play a game of “gotcha.” An attorney can highlight such loopholes in the Board’s case.

If you have questions about this or another related school matter, please contact Matt Keenan at 847-568-0160 or email matt@mattkeenanlaw.com.

(Besides Skokie, Matt Keenan also serves the communities of Arlington Heights, Chicago, Deerfield, Des Plaines, Evanston, Glenview, Morton Grove, Mount Prospect, Niles, Northbrook, Park Ridge, Rolling Meadows, Wilmette and Winnetka.)