Ending the Employment Relationship

Leandra Ortiz, Associate Attorney

It’s that time of year! Time to review and consider renewing and possibly ending the employment relationship. The process for terminating an employee relationship depends on the type of contract that an employee possesses. School District employees are generally employed under two main types of contracts: Probationary or Chapter 21 Term Contracts. Each of these offer its own set of protections to an employee and place different restrictions on the School District employer. When considering termination or non-renewal, employers should first look to the type of contract.

When considering termination or nonrenewal, employers should first look to the type of contract.

PROBATIONARY CONTRACT

The Board may terminate a probationary contract at the end of the contract period if in the Board’s judgment such termination will serve the best interests of the District. The process for terminating an employee who is on a probationary contract at the end of the year is generally initiated by the campus principal. The Superintendent then recommends the termination of an employee’s probationary contract to the school board at a properly posted and recognized board meeting. The Board must then take action on the recommendation the Board and should consider stating the reason for termination as the “best interests of the district”. This board action needs to take place with enough time to properly act on the recommendation and to give notice of its action to the employee by the statutory deadline; which requires that an employee be given written notice

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“Faceptati omnim volupti ullorumeni rem. Ut ventur, consequam iumquam, si dolorer itatur res etur ut omnietur.” Harit, sent. Ihillupta sequam quid quo ex ex eate etum quisquid ellacerum estibus nonsequassit utatur, ute dit harunt es aut undandi volorum quunte ped. “Volupti ullorumeni rem. Ut ventur, consequam iumquam, si dolorer itatur.” Harit, sent. Ihillupta sequam quid quo ex ex eate etum quisquid ellacerum estibus nonsequassit utatur, ute dit harunt es aut undandi volorum quunte ped quo doluptiat id ea volore earumqui. faceptati omnim volupti ullorumeni rem. Ut ventur, consequam iumquam, si dolorer itatur res etur, ut omnietur. Sequam quid quo ex ex eate etum quisquid ellacerum estibus nonsequassit utatur, ute dit harunt es aut undandi volorum quunte ped quo doluptiat id ea volore earumqui. CHAPTER 21 – TERM CONTRACTS There are two distinct steps that must occur prior to the termination or non-renewal of a Chapter 21 – Term Contract at the end of the contract term. First, there must be a proposal to non-renew the contract followed by the subsequent act of terminating or non-renewing the contract. Proposing to non-renew a one-year contract involves the Superintendent making a recommendation to the Board at a recognized meeting where the applicable grounds for nonrenewal from district policy DFBB (Local) are identified. The interactive process involves a series of steps requiring The Superintendent may also have to provide supporting documentation when recommending the non-renewal. The Texas Education Code also requires that before making a decision not to renew a term contract, the Board shall consider the most recent evaluations if the evaluations are relevant to the reason for the Board’s action. The Board should take action to propose non-renewal and allow enough time to give the legally required employee notice of the Board’s action before the statutory deadline. The grounds for non-renewal, a copy of the local policy DFBB (Local), as well notice of the opportunity to request a hearing should all be included in the Notice of Proposed Non-renewal. The statutory deadline for both terminating an employee on a probationary contract at the end of the term and proposing to non-renew a one-year contract, is the same. No later than the tenth day before the last day of instruction, the employee must receive notice of the board action taken and this notice must be hand delivered to them. If the employee is not present when delivery is attempted, the notice may be mailed to their address by certified or express mail and must be postmarked on or before the tenth day before the last day of instruction. If the employee desires a hearing after receiving notice of the proposed nonrenewal, the employee shall notify the Board in writing not later than the 15th day after 1) the date the employee receives hand delivery of the notice of proposed nonrenewal; or 2) the date the notice is delivered to the employee’s address of record with the District, if the notice is mailed by prepaid certified mail or delivered by express delivery service. The Board shall then provide for a hearing to be held not later than the 15th day after receiving written notice from the employee requesting a hearing unless the parties agree in writing to a different date. If the employee fails to request a hearing, the Board shall take the appropriate action and notify the employee in writing of that action not later than the 30th day after the date the notice of proposed nonrenewal was sent. them and provides a point of reference if performance of duties later becomes an issue. 2. 2. Document – It is important to document performance deficiencies and instances of bad behavior. There are many ways to document the performance of an employee such as directives, notes in the file, observations, memos, and plans for improvement and expectations. In particular it is important to give honest evaluations that accurately lay out any deficiencies in performance and to give details in the comments. These evaluations may provide documentation that will be needed in the future and give valuable feedback to employees for how they may make improvements. 3. Make Smart Decisions - Make smart decisions about extending multi-year contracts or renewing probationary and term contracts, especially when there are doubts about employing the educator in the future. This issue is especially important to consider because inaction at the end of a contract term can automatically renew a contract under a different type of contract that can be harder to non-renew later. 4. Reporting Requirements - Make sure to report inappropriate relationships or behaviors with students. This is a stringent reporting requirement which may indicate after an investigation that the employee may no longer be eligible for hire with the district. 5. Train – It is imperative to train campus and other administrators on proper nonrenewal and termination procedures and the basics of employment contract relationships. As you consider the appropriate steps to take during your review of employment contracts, it is important to be frank with the employee; the employee may be willing to resign. If reassignment is an attractive solution, it may be permitted by the terms of the contract or district policy. It is important to be aware that an employee who is reassigned can only go to another position that is within the same professional capacity as designated in the contract. Look to the duties of the positions as well as their salaries and skills required to determine professional capacity. These considerations make it vital to have good communication between campus administration and district HR personnel and of course, to have good documentation in support of any decision that is ultimately made.

Leandra Ortiz is an Associate Attorney with Walsh Gallegos Treviño & Kyle , P.C. She can be reached at lortiz@wabsa.com.

There are five issues that can be addressed to help end problematic employment relationships: