Section 189:14-a Failure to be Renominated or Reelected.
I. (a) Any teacher who has a professional standards certificate from the state board of education and who has taught for one or more years in the same school district shall be notified in writing on or before April 15 or within 15 days of the adoption of the district budget by the legislative body, whichever is later, if that teacher is not to be renominated or reelected, provided that no notification shall occur later than the Friday following the second Tuesday in May.
(b) Any such teacher who has taught for 3 consecutive years or more in the same school district and who has been so notified may request in writing within 10 days of receipt of said notice a hearing before the school board and may in said request ask for reasons for failure to be renominated or reelected. For purposes of this section only, a leave of absence shall not interrupt the consecutive nature of a teacher's service, but neither shall such a leave be included in the computation of a teacher's service. Computation of a teacher's service for any other purposes shall not be affected by this section. The notice shall advise the teacher of all of the teacher's rights under this section. The school board, upon receipt of said request, shall provide for a hearing on the request to be held within 15 days. The school board shall issue its decision in writing within 15 days of the close of the hearing.
II. Any teacher who has a professional standards certificate from the state board of education and who has taught for 3 consecutive years or more in any school district in the state shall, after having taught for 2 consecutive years in any other school district in the state, be entitled to all of the rights for notification and hearing in paragraphs I(b), III, and IV of this section.
III. In cases of nonrenomination because of unsatisfactory performance, the superintendent of the local school district shall demonstrate, at the school board hearing, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the teacher had received written notice that the teacher's unsatisfactory performance may lead to nonrenomination, that the teacher had a reasonable opportunity to correct such unsatisfactory performance, and that the teacher had failed to correct such unsatisfactory performance. Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to require the superintendent or the school board to provide a teacher with remedial assistance to correct any deficiencies that form the basis for such teacher's nonrenomination.
IV. In all proceedings before the school board under this section, the burden of proof for nonrenewal of a teacher shall be on the superintendent of the local school district by a preponderance of the evidence.
Source. 1957, 285:1. 1981, 250:1. 1986, 39:1. 1995, 174:2. 2000, 16:8. 2003, 204:2, 3, eff. Aug. 29, 2003.