Due Process Protecting Teachers Rights
Faculity is given an equal opportunity to face any displinary actions. This is done by a set of procedures that must be follwed proceding any misconduct. This is all due to the law of Due Process.
To understand the laws and procedures we must first look at the Constitution. The Constitution and its Amendments make sure that all aspects of life and laws remain equal. This also makes sure that there is a particual amount of fairness that goes along with the laws. In a book titled: Due Process and Fair Procedures: A Study of Administrative Procedures, it speaks of how laws conform to help the people. Due Process being one of the major factors within this “Procedural fairness in American law is based around the doctrine of due process of law. Amongst the amendments to the draft Constitution adopted in 1791, two of them, the fifth and the fourteenth, stipulate that a person shall not be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law. The fifth amendment applies to the laws and actions of federal government, while the fourteenth amendment extends due process to the states.” (Galligan)
Teachers are one occupation taken care of under due process. This could be the reason for the small amount of teachers fired. The guidelines are strict and must be followed by the faculity. “There are two general categories of offenses, insubordination and incompetence, that may merit a firing” (Patterson)
Each teacher has a file upon entering the school district. This file is protected by the law also. This file which contains the history of this teachers behavior must also go threw a series of actions.
According to the 2005 United Federation of Teachers “Official teacher files in a school shall be maintained under the following circumstances: No material derogatory to a teacher’s conduct, service, character or personality shall be placed in the files unless the teacher has had an opportunity to read the material. The teacher shall acknowledge that he/she has read such material by affixing his/her signature on the actual copy to be filed, with the understanding that such signature merely signifies that he/she has read the material to be filed, and does not necessarily indicate agreement with its content. However, an incident which has not been reduced to writing within three months of its occurrence, exclusive of the summer vacation period, may not later be added to the file. The teacher shall have the right to answer any material filed and his/her answer shall be attached to the file copy. Upon appropriate request by the teacher, he/she shall be permitted to examine his/her files. The teacher shall be permitted to reproduce any material in his/her files. Material will be removed from the files when a teacher’s claim that it is inaccurate or unfair is sustained.”
There are a series of procedures a principle must do to fire or discipline a member of their faculty. For instance if a teacher is suspected of disobeying a rule or committing some act against their school district, the first thing done is a written warning. According to the Article When You Have to Fire a Teacher “The written warning is given and the teacher in question is given time to improve. Next, if satisfactory improvement is not shown, a second written warning is given. This includes the specific consequences that will result if the problem is not rectified by a certain date. As the process moves toward termination, coordination and organization become paramount for the school. Finally, after the series of warnings, the teacher can be dismissed, usually by an act of the school board.” (Patterson) These proceedings in each district may vary but are overall the same for all.
All teaches will be looked over and seen for their performance. With the help of due process some schools are improving its buildings and districts. Other schools are having a hard time trying to find a way to discipline their bad teachers due to these laws.
According to Barriers to Evaluation: Beliefs of Elementary and Middle School Principals, “Elementary and middle school principals in Oregon and Arizona are identifing barriers to evaluating teachers and improving their school and its programs. One of the major barriers identified was in evaluating low-performing teachers. Note that the barrier was not evaluating all teachers, but specifically the low-performing ones. The principals in the study cited teacher tenure laws, time constraints, teacher unions and collective bargaining as the major impediments to doing the job.”( Painter) The laws sometimes do the opposite of help in some situations. Trying to find ways to help ones school and still obey the law.
Despite the fact their our a few bad points to this law. The faculty, principle and school board must follow the rules and obey the law. The law of due process.
“Due process of law is a legal concept that ensures the government will respect all of a person’s legal rights instead of just some or most of those legal rights, when the government deprives a person of life, liberty, or property. Due process has also been interpreted as placing limitations on laws and legal proceedings in order to guarantee fundamental fairness, justice, and liberty.” (Wales)
In conclusion, due process has made it easier for a teacher to be allowed the fairness of any other company in the United States. Teachers will know that they are allowed their rights and must follow certain rules.
Galligan, D. J., Due Process and Fair Procedures: A Study of Administrative Procedures. Clarendon Press. Oxford Painter, Suzanne R. (2001). “Barriers to Evaluation: Beliefs of Elementary and Middle School Principals.” Planning Change, Vol. 32, Nos. 1-2. Patterson C Jennifer,When You Have to Fire a Teacher. Contributors, Volume 36. Issue: 10. Publication Date: November 2000. 2005 United Federation of Teachers Article 8: Due Process And Review Procedures www.uft.org
