SEN. KUSHNER LEADS SENATE PASSAGE OF BILL TO MAKE TEACHER TERMINATION PROCESS MORE FAIR

HARTFORD – State Senator Julie Kushner (D-Danbury) today led the successful Senate passage of a bill designed to make Connecticut’s tenured teacher termination process more equitable by requiring that a decision to terminate a teacher be made by a neutral hearing officer – and be binding – and that the standard of “just cause” be used by a hearing officer in any termination.

Senate Bill 1371, “AN ACT ESTABLISHING A JUST CAUSE STANDARD FOR TEACHER CONTRACT TERMINATIONS AND REQUIRING CONTRACT TERMINATION HEARINGS FOR TEACHERS THAT HAVE ATTAINED TENURE BE BEFORE A NEUTRAL HEARING OFFICER,” passed the Senate on a bipartisan 27-8 vote and now heads to the House of Representatives for consideration. If it is approved there and signed into law by Governor Ned Lamont, the change in process would take effect on July 1.

“It’s only fair that teachers have protections against discriminatory or even retaliatory terminations by an administrator or a board of education. We afford these protections to all other state and municipal employees, including essential public servants like police officers, firefighters and nurses,” said Sen. Kushner. “This bill sets the stage for teachers to have true due process – discharges have to be backed-up with proof of wrongdoing.”

Current state law already allows for termination of a teacher for inefficiency, incompetence, insubordination, moral misconduct, elimination of a position to another teacher, or other due and sufficient reasons.

S.B. 1371 changes the current process of who makes the final decision about whether a teacher should be fired. Under current state law, a teacher can either ask for a subcommittee of school board members or an independent hearing officer to hear their case, though the hearing officer’s decision is non-binding. S.B. 1371 removes the school board subcommittee option and requires a mutually agreed upon neutral hearing officer to hear the case, whose decision is then binding.

S.B. 1371 also establishes  “just cause” as the sole test by which a neutral hearing officer will determine whether a teacher will be terminated. “Just cause” is a concept developed in case law that involves a termination for employee misconduct that is so serious that it (1) violates an essential condition of employment, (2) breaches the trust or faith inherent in the working relationship, or (3) is fundamentally or directly inconsistent with the employee’s obligations to the employer.

“This bill ensures the same level of job protection for teachers as those enjoyed by almost all other unionized workers. In order to attract and retain qualified teachers, we must afford a fair and reasonable level of job protection. This bill does that,” said Eric Chester, counsel to the American Federation of Teachers (AFT)-CT

Connecticut Education Association (CEA) President Kate Dias testified in support of S.B. 1371 at its public hearing, saying the changes are necessary because – under current state law– a politically motivated school board could serve as “judge, jury, and executioner” for a teacher.

“There is a growing number of teachers who have faced termination when their exercise of free speech online became ignited by social media. Their employer claimed that the incident in social media caused a ‘distraction.’ As a result, and because of the unfair and politicized process, these

teachers end up resigning and even leaving the profession,” Dias testified in February. “To the degree that any teacher should have faced discipline for any action, such discipline should be considered using the legal standard of ‘Just Cause.’ Any discipline, if warranted, should be appropriate and proportionate. Any resulting hearing should be adjudicated by a neutral arbitrator, whose decisions are binding.”