Running Head: Teacher Dismissal

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Teacher Dismissal
Candice Billups
California State University, Long Beach
Dr. Slater
Fall 2016

Running Head: Teacher Dismissal

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Position Statement

The history of teacher dismissal dates back to the 19th century, when there were little to
no policies in place to protect teachers from being fired. Without job protection, teachers could
be fired for literally any reason, race, creed, gender, being pregnant and favoritism to mention a
few. The start of the tenure movement paralleled similar labor struggles during the late 19th
century (Stephey, 2008). Just as steel and auto workers fought against unsafe working
conditions and unlivable wages, teachers too demanded protection from parents and
administrators who would try to dictate lesson plans or exclude controversial materials
(Stephey, 2008).
During this time tenure had become a hot-button issue that some politicians preferred to
avoid (Stephey, 2008). In 1885, the National Education Association issued a report calling for
political action to protect teachers, and in 1886 Massachusetts became the first state to pass a
pre-college tenure law (Vandewater, 2012). New Jersey followed suit in 1909 with the first
comprehensive tenure law that protected all K-12 teachers (Vandewater, 2012). In the wake of
the Great Depression, the prominent teachers unions were formed to fight for job protection and
benefits, and by the mid-1950s, 80 percent of all K-12 teachers were tenured (Vandewater,
2012).
The tenured policy was developed to prevent teachers from being fired without just
cause. It is a contract that ensures a teachers employment. In most cases, a tenured teacher
cannot be fired for reasons other than severe misconduct or incompetence. Today, even in the 21
century ineffective teachers who demonstrate blatant irresponsibility, misbehavior or lack of
performance, it is very difficult to dismiss a tenured teacher, and the process can be expensive

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and time consuming (Vandewater, 2012). My position is I believe principals should be able to
reserve the right to dismiss ineffective teachers at- will.
Arguments
The problem with tenure, is that it inadvertently protects incompetent teachers from being
fired. Though tenure doesn't guarantee lifetime employment, it does make firing teachers a
difficult and costly process, one that involves the union, the school board, the principal, the
judicial system and thousands of dollars in legal fees (Stephey, 2008). In most states, a tenured
teacher can't be dismissed until charges are filed and months of evaluations, hearings and appeals
have occurred (Stephey, 2008). Meanwhile, school districts must shell out thousands of dollars
for paid leave and substitute instructors. The system is deliberately slow and cumbersome, in
order to dissuade school boards and parents from ousting a teacher for personal or political
motives thus, making it extremely difficult to dismiss an ineffective teacher (Stephey, 2008).
Every student has the Constitutional right to learn from effective teachers and have an equal
opportunity to succeed in school. Keeping an ineffective teacher or placing a substitute in the
room, because a teacher is ineffective should be considered unconstitutional. This is not fair to
the students we teach or to the communities we serve.
Some school districts have resorted to separation agreements, buyouts that effectively
pay a teacher to leave his or her job (Stephey, 2008). The practice has evolved as a way to
avoid the extensive hearings and appeals required by union contracts and state-labor laws in
firing a tenured teacher. This can be dangerous, teachers accused of everything from laziness to
inappropriate sexual relationships with students have been paid high amounts of money by
districts to simply resign, from their positions without lengthy, expensive, and potentially

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embarrassing legal proceedings (Mathis, n.d.). Often the public has no real idea as to why this
teacher resigned, the agreements often include agreements not to discuss the actual reason(s)
behind the districts paying the teacher to retire. This angers tax-payers who believe that they
have the right to know how their taxes are being used. While this practice is not encouraged or
common it happens a lot more frequently than a tenured teacher being fired.
Other districts simply transfer inadequate teachers to other schools in what Calif. Gov.
Arnold Schwarzenegger has called "the dance of the lemons (Stephey, 2008)." Former Mass.
Gov. William Weld tried to pass legislation requiring teachers to take competency tests every five
years, a move that triggered a number of complaints from local teachers' unions who called the
bill adversarial and intrusive (Stephey, 2008). Weld defended himself by explaining his stance
as "anti-slob teacher," not "anti-teacher (Stephey, 2008).
Another disadvantage of tenure is almost every k-12 teacher receives tenure whether
theyve earned it or not. From 2002 to 2009, New York City Public Schools denied tenure to
only 3% of the teachers who had been teaching for three years (Mathis, n.d.). And this was
after reforms had been put in place to make earning tenure more difficult. Considering that we
know teachers are most ineffective during their first years as educators, many people in the
public believe that it strains credulity to state that 97% of new teachers deserved and had earned
a life-time of job protections after only three years or less on the job (Mathis, n.d.).
Lastly, tenure can lead to complacency, why would teachers continue to work diligently to
create thorough, interesting, evolving lessons if the teacher feels that their job is just as secure
with them doing the same old thing over and over again? (Mathis, n.d.) By offering someone
what could basically amounts to a job for life, have you taken away the concern most people

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have in their jobs - that if they perform poorly, they might be let go?(Mathis, n.d.) By getting
rid of tenure could this motivate educators to continue to grow and seek the best methods for
educating our young people by letting them know that their job is not assured just by doing the
bare minimum of their job requirement? (Mathis, n.d.) Tenure protects ineffective teachers and
keeps schools from being able to prune out all of the dead wood on their staffs.
However, those in favor of teacher tenure fear that abolishing such laws will make
teachers vulnerable to being fired without just cause. As a result, efforts to reform tenure
policies are met with resistance (Vandewater, 2012). In 2002, Georgia Governor Roy Barnes
lost the election because teachers refused to support him after a 2000 law to eliminate teacher
tenure. Arnold Schwarzenegger, while Governor of California, failed to ratify Proposition 74,
which would extend the probationary period for tenure (Vandewater, 2012).
Some states want to get rid of the tenure system completely. They want only one-year
employment contracts for teachers (School Law, 2016). Salary will largely be based on the
improvement of student test scores (School Law, 2016). Under this system, bad teachers will be
discovered and can be easily eliminated by school districts. However, good teachers will never
be awarded the job security that they justly deserve. But if they are good teachers why should
they be worried about job security?

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Summary and Application

A recent study by The New Teacher Project reports that 81 percent of schools admit to
having a low-performing tenured teacher, but over half of those schools will not act because of
tenure laws (Vandewater, 2012). Tenured does nothing to promote education for children.
Mathis states, "Tenure is the holy grail of teacher unions, but it has no educational value for kids;
it only benefits adults (n.d.).Every student has the Constitutional right to learn from effective
teachers and have an equal opportunity to succeed in school.
Here at Aspire Public Schools we value the education of our scholars, we have an
obligation to give students the best education possible in order for them to be successful in life. It
is our charge to make sure every student gets accepted to a four year college prior to graduation.
The only way to get there is by hiring effective teachers. At Aspire Pacific Academy my
principal has the will to dismiss teachers at his liberty. However, it is not done haphazardly, he
must abide by the proper protocol through human resource guidelines. The proper guidelines
include proper documentation, evaluations, and statements however, the timeline on these
documents can very ranging from 6 weeks- 2 months depending on the severity of the ineffective
teacher.
According to Stephey, Oregon abolished tenure and replaced it with 2-year renewable
contracts and a rehabilitation program for underachieving instructors. Other states such as
Connecticut, New York and Michigan have eliminated the word "tenure" from the books while
retaining the due-process rights. Mentoring programs have been developed in Toledo, Ohio, to
improve teacher performance in hopes to train ineffective teachers. Since this many surrounding
communities have copied this idea.

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As a future leader I would consider looking into mentoring programs to support teachers
who are ineffective. I not only value the education of my students but also, the growth of
teachers. I believe as a leader I have a responsibility to support teachers with the tools they need
to be successful. I believe after all supports have been exhausted that is when a leader should
have the liberty to dismiss a teacher at-will.
I understand the purpose of tenure is to protect teachers from being dismissed due to
discriminatory purpose. However, we have rights as citizens of the United States to be protected
against discrimination. Currently, I am working with an organization that does not provide tenure
and have the ability to terminate at-will. This process also allows a teacher to have the right to
leave at his/her will. Teachers and staff are not tied into binding legal contracts that forces them
to stay until the end of the school year. By having a free will policy in process it protects
students and it gives them the proper education they need and deserve. I have experienced too
many times in my career as a teacher, students being left by the wayside because principals had
to hold on to ineffective teachers until the end of the school year. The tenure system can result in
serious damage to the education students who have to suffer through a year of instruction from a
teacher who is incompetent, but who cannot be fired due to tenure.
In conclusion, the educational preparedness of our children is at stake and should not be
taken lightly. Research shows that not all teachers who currently enjoy the protections of tenure
support it. In fact, many hard-working teachers resent tenure because they believe the system
gives their profession a bad name (Chen, 2016). These teachers fear, perhaps rightly, that the
tenure system makes the public view teachers as lazy and entitled, and that this results in
decreased respect for the teaching profession (Chen, 2016).

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References

Chen, G (2016, June 22 ). Teachers and Tenure: Both Sides of the Heated Debate retrieved from
http://www.publicschoolreview.com/blog/teachers-and-tenure-both-sides-of-the-heateddebate

Mathis, M. (n.d.) Teacher Tenure Debate: Pros & Cons retrieved from
http://www.teachhub.com/teacher-tenure-pros-cons
School law (2016) .

Pros and Cons of tenure for teachers. Retrieved from

http://education-law.lawyers.com/school-law/the-pros-and-cons-of-tenure-forteachers.html
Stephey, M. J. (2008, November 17). A Brief History of Tenure Retrieved from
http://content.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1859505,00.html
Students Matter: Vergara v. California Retrieved from
http://studentsmatter.org/case/vergara/
Vandewater, C. (2012, February 23). The History of Teacher Tenure Retrieved from
https://certificationmap.com/teacher-tenure-debate/

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