1997 Minnesota Statutes

   125.12 Employment; contracts, termination. 

    Subdivision 1.    Teacher defined.  A principal, 
 supervisor, and classroom teacher and any other professional 
 employee required to hold a license from the state department 
 shall be deemed to be a "teacher" within the meaning of this 
 section.  A superintendent is a "teacher" only for purposes of 
 subdivisions 2 and 14. 

    Subd. 1a.    Nonprovisional license defined.  For 
 purposes of this section, "nonprovisional license" shall mean an 
 entrance, continuing, or life license.  

    Subd. 2.    Hiring, dismissing.  School boards shall 
 hire or dismiss teachers at duly called meetings.  Where a 
 husband and wife, brother and sister, or two brothers or 
 sisters, constitute a quorum, no contract employing a teacher 
 shall be made or authorized except upon the unanimous vote of 
 the full board.  No teacher related by blood or marriage, within 
 the fourth degree, computed by the civil law, to a board member 
 shall be employed except by a unanimous vote of the full board.  
 The initial employment of the teacher in the district shall be 
 by written contract, signed by the teacher and by the chair and 
 clerk.  All subsequent employment of the teacher in the district 
 shall be by written contract, signed by the teacher and by the 
 chair and clerk, except where there is a master agreement 
 covering the employment of the teacher.  Contracts for teaching 
 or supervision of teaching can be made only with qualified 
 teachers.  No teacher shall be required to reside within the 
 employing school district as a condition to teaching employment 
 or continued teaching employment. 

    Subd. 2a.    Employment in supervisory positions.  
 Notwithstanding other law, a teacher, as defined in section 
 179A.03, does not have a right to employment in a district as an 
 assistant superintendent, as a principal defined in section 
 179A.03, as a confidential or supervisory employee defined in 
 section 179A.03, or in a position that is a promotion from the 
 position currently held, based on seniority, seniority date, or 
 order of employment by the district; provided that this 
 provision shall not alter the reinstatement rights of an 
 individual who is placed on leave from an assistant 
 superintendent, principal or assistant principal, or supervisory 
 or confidential employee position pursuant to this chapter.  

    Subd. 3.    Probationary period.  The first three 
 consecutive years of a teacher's first teaching experience in 
 Minnesota in a single school district shall be deemed to be a 
 probationary period of employment, and after completion thereof, 
 the probationary period in each school district in which the 
 teacher is thereafter employed shall be one year.  The school 
 board shall adopt a plan for written evaluation of teachers 
 during the probationary period.  Evaluation shall occur at least 
 three times each year for a teacher performing services on 120 
 or more school days, at least two times each year for a teacher 
 performing services on 60 to 119 school days, and at least one 
 time each year for a teacher performing services on fewer than 
 60 school days.  Days devoted to parent-teacher conferences, 
 teachers' workshops, and other staff development opportunities 
 and days on which a teacher is absent from school shall not be 
 included in determining the number of school days on which a 
 teacher performs services.  During the probationary period any 
 annual contract with any teacher may or may not be renewed as 
 the school board shall see fit; provided, however, that the 
 school board shall give any such teacher whose contract it 
 declines to renew for the following school year written notice 
 to that effect before June 1.  If the teacher requests reasons 
 for any nonrenewal of a teaching contract, the school board 
 shall give the teacher its reason in writing, including a 
 statement that appropriate supervision was furnished describing 
 the nature and the extent of such supervision furnished the 
 teacher during the employment by the board, within ten days 
 after receiving such request.  The school board may, after a 
 hearing held upon due notice, discharge a teacher during the 
 probationary period for cause, effective immediately, under 
 section 123.35, subdivision 5. 

    Subd. 3a. Repealed, 1993 c 224 art 12 s 32; 1993 c 374 s 
 22 

    Subd. 3b.    Peer review for probationary teachers.  A 
 school board and an exclusive representative of the teachers in 
 the district shall develop a probationary teacher peer review 
 process through joint agreement. 

    Subd. 4.    Termination of contract after probationary 
 period.  A teacher who has completed a probationary period in 
 any school district, and who has not been discharged or advised 
 of a refusal to renew the teacher's contract pursuant to 
 subdivision 3, shall have a continuing contract with such 
 district.  Thereafter, the teacher's contract shall remain in 
 full force and effect, except as modified by mutual consent of 
 the board and the teacher, until terminated by a majority roll 
 call vote of the full membership of the board prior to April 1 
 upon one of the grounds specified in subdivision 6 or prior to 
 June 1 upon one of the grounds specified in subdivision 6a or 
 6b, or until the teacher is discharged pursuant to subdivision 
 8, or by the written resignation of the teacher submitted prior 
 to April 1; provided, however, that if an agreement as to the 
 terms and conditions of employment for the succeeding school 
 year has not been adopted pursuant to the provisions of sections 
 179A.01 to 179A.25 prior to March 1, the teacher's right of 
 resignation shall be extended to the 30th calendar day following 
 the adoption of said contract in compliance with section 
 179A.20, subdivision 5.  Such written resignation by the teacher 
 shall be effective as of June 30 if submitted prior to that date 
 and the teachers' right of resignation for the school year then 
 beginning shall cease on July 15.  Before a teacher's contract 
 is terminated by the board, the board shall notify the teacher 
 in writing and state its ground for the proposed termination in 
 reasonable detail together with a statement that the teacher may 
 make a written request for a hearing before the board within 14 
 days after receipt of such notification.  If the grounds are 
 those specified in subdivision 6 or 8, the notice must also 
 state a teacher may request arbitration under subdivision 9a.  
 Within 14 days after receipt of this notification the teacher 
 may make a written request for a hearing before the board or an 
 arbitrator and it shall be granted upon reasonable notice to the 
 teacher of the date set for hearing, before final action is 
 taken.  If no hearing is requested within such period, it shall 
 be deemed acquiescence by the teacher to the board's action.  
 Such termination shall take effect at the close of the school 
 year in which the contract is terminated in the manner 
 aforesaid.  Such contract may be terminated at any time by 
 mutual consent of the board and the teacher and this section 
 shall not affect the powers of a board to suspend, discharge, or 
 demote a teacher under and pursuant to other provisions of law. 

    Subd. 4a. Repealed, 1993 c 224 art 12 s 32; 1993 c 374 s 
 22 

    Subd. 4b.    Peer review for continuing contract teachers. 
  A school board and an exclusive representative of the 
 teachers in the district shall develop a peer review process for 
 continuing contract teachers through joint agreement. 

    Subd. 5. Repealed, 1987 c 284 art 2 s 9 

    Subd. 6.    Grounds for termination.  A continuing 
 contract may be terminated, effective at the close of the school 
 year, upon any of the following grounds: 

    (a) Inefficiency; 

    (b) Neglect of duty, or persistent violation of school 
 laws, rules, regulations, or directives; 

    (c) Conduct unbecoming a teacher which materially impairs 
 the teacher's educational effectiveness; 

    (d) Other good and sufficient grounds rendering the teacher 
 unfit to perform the teacher's duties. 

    A contract shall not be terminated upon one of the grounds 
 specified in clause (a), (b), (c), or (d), unless the teacher 
 shall have failed to correct the deficiency after being given 
 written notice of the specific items of complaint and reasonable 
 time within which to remedy them. 

    Subd. 6a.    Negotiated unrequested leave of absence.  
 The school board and the exclusive bargaining representative of 
 the teachers may negotiate a plan providing for unrequested 
 leave of absence without pay or fringe benefits for as many 
 teachers as may be necessary because of discontinuance of 
 position, lack of pupils, financial limitations, or merger of 
 classes caused by consolidation of districts.  Failing to 
 successfully negotiate such a plan, the provisions of 
 subdivision 6b shall apply.  The negotiated plan shall not 
 include provisions which would result in the exercise of 
 seniority by a teacher holding a provisional license, other than 
 a vocational education license, contrary to the provisions of 
 subdivision 6b, clause (c), or the reinstatement of a teacher 
 holding a provisional license, other than a vocational education 
 license, contrary to the provisions of subdivision 6b, clause 
 (e).  The provisions of section 179A.16 shall not apply for the 
 purposes of this subdivision. 

    Subd. 6b.    Unrequested leave of absence.  The school 
 board may place on unrequested leave of absence, without pay or 
 fringe benefits, as many teachers as may be necessary because of 
 discontinuance of position, lack of pupils, financial 
 limitations, or merger of classes caused by consolidation of 
 districts.  The unrequested leave shall be effective at the 
 close of the school year.  In placing teachers on unrequested 
 leave, the board shall be governed by the following provisions: 

    (a) The board may place probationary teachers on 
 unrequested leave first in the inverse order of their 
 employment.  No teacher who has acquired continuing contract 
 rights shall be placed on unrequested leave of absence while 
 probationary teachers are retained in positions for which the 
 teacher who has acquired continuing contract rights is licensed; 

    (b) Teachers who have acquired continuing contract rights 
 shall be placed on unrequested leave of absence in fields in 
 which they are licensed in the inverse order in which they were 
 employed by the school district.  In the case of equal 
 seniority, the order in which teachers who have acquired 
 continuing contract rights shall be placed on unrequested leave 
 of absence in fields in which they are licensed shall be 
 negotiable; 

    (c) Notwithstanding the provisions of clause (b), no 
 teacher shall be entitled to exercise any seniority when that 
 exercise results in that teacher being retained by the district 
 in a field for which the teacher holds only a provisional 
 license, as defined by the board of teaching, unless that 
 exercise of seniority results in the placement on unrequested 
 leave of absence of another teacher who also holds a provisional 
 license in the same field.  The provisions of this clause shall 
 not apply to vocational education licenses; 

    (d) Notwithstanding clauses (a), (b) and (c), if the 
 placing of a probationary teacher on unrequested leave before a 
 teacher who has acquired continuing rights, the placing of a 
 teacher who has acquired continuing contract rights on 
 unrequested leave before another teacher who has acquired 
 continuing contract rights but who has greater seniority, or the 
 restriction imposed by the provisions of clause (c) would place 
 the district in violation of its affirmative action program, the 
 district may retain the probationary teacher, the teacher with 
 less seniority, or the provisionally licensed teacher; 

    (e) Teachers placed on unrequested leave of absence shall 
 be reinstated to the positions from which they have been given 
 leaves of absence or, if not available, to other available 
 positions in the school district in fields in which they are 
 licensed.  Reinstatement shall be in the inverse order of 
 placement on leave of absence.  No teacher shall be reinstated 
 to a position in a field in which the teacher holds only a 
 provisional license, other than a vocational education license, 
 while another teacher who holds a nonprovisional license in the 
 same field remains on unrequested leave.  The order of 
 reinstatement of teachers who have equal seniority and who are 
 placed on unrequested leave in the same school year shall be 
 negotiable; 

    (f) No appointment of a new teacher shall be made while 
 there is available, on unrequested leave, a teacher who is 
 properly licensed to fill such vacancy, unless the teacher fails 
 to advise the school board within 30 days of the date of 
 notification that a position is available to that teacher who 
 may return to employment and assume the duties of the position 
 to which appointed on a future date determined by the board; 

    (g) A teacher placed on unrequested leave of absence may 
 engage in teaching or any other occupation during the period of 
 this leave; 

    (h) The unrequested leave of absence shall not impair the 
 continuing contract rights of a teacher or result in a loss of 
 credit for previous years of service; 

    (i) The unrequested leave of absence of a teacher who is 
 placed on unrequested leave of absence and who is not reinstated 
 shall continue for a period of five years, after which the right 
 to reinstatement shall terminate; provided the teacher's right 
 to reinstatement shall also terminate if the teacher fails to 
 file with the board by April 1 of any year a written statement 
 requesting reinstatement; 

    (j) The same provisions applicable to terminations of 
 probationary or continuing contracts in subdivisions 3 and 4 
 shall apply to placement on unrequested leave of absence; 

    (k) Nothing in this subdivision shall be construed to 
 impair the rights of teachers placed on unrequested leave of 
 absence to receive reemployment insurance if otherwise eligible. 

    Subd. 7.    Suspension and leave of absence for health 
 reasons.  Affliction with active tuberculosis or other 
 communicable disease, mental illness, drug or alcoholic 
 addiction, or other serious incapacity shall be grounds for 
 temporary suspension and leave of absence while the teacher is 
 suffering from such disability.  Unless the teacher consents, 
 such action shall be taken only upon evidence that suspension is 
 required from a physician who has examined the teacher.  The 
 physician shall be competent in the field involved and shall be 
 selected by the teacher from a list of three provided by the 
 school board, and the examination shall be at the expense of the 
 school district.  A copy of the report of the physician shall be 
 furnished the teacher upon request.  If the teacher fails to 
 submit to the examination within the prescribed time, the board 
 may discharge the teacher, effective immediately.  In the event 
 of mental illness, if the teacher submits to such an examination 
 and the examining physician's or psychiatrist's statement is 
 unacceptable to the teacher or the board, a panel of three 
 physicians or psychiatrists shall be selected to examine the 
 teacher at the board's expense.  The board and the teacher shall 
 each select a member of this panel, and these two members shall 
 select a third member.  The panel shall examine the teacher and 
 submit a statement of its findings and conclusions to the 
 board.  Upon receipt and consideration of the statement from the 
 panel the board may suspend the teacher.  The board shall notify 
 the teacher in writing of such suspension and the reasons 
 therefor.  During the leave of absence the teacher shall be paid 
 sick leave benefits by the district up to the amount of unused 
 accumulated sick leave, and after it is exhausted, the district 
 may in its discretion pay additional benefits.  The teacher 
 shall be reinstated to the teacher's position upon evidence from 
 such a physician of sufficient recovery to be capable of 
 resuming performance of duties in a proper manner.  In the event 
 that the teacher does not qualify for reinstatement within 12 
 months after the date of suspension, the continuing disability 
 may be a ground for discharge under subdivision 8. 

    Subd. 8.    Immediate discharge.  A school board may 
 discharge a continuing-contract teacher, effective immediately, 
 upon any of the following grounds: 

    (a) Immoral conduct, insubordination, or conviction of a 
 felony; 

    (b) Conduct unbecoming a teacher which requires the 
 immediate removal of the teacher from classroom or other duties; 

    (c) Failure without justifiable cause to teach without 
 first securing the written release of the school board; 

    (d) Gross inefficiency which the teacher has failed to 
 correct after reasonable written notice; 

    (e) Willful neglect of duty; or 

    (f) Continuing physical or mental disability subsequent to 
 a 12 months leave of absence and inability to qualify for 
 reinstatement in accordance with subdivision 7. 

    For purposes of this subdivision, conduct unbecoming a 
 teacher includes an unfair discriminatory practice described in 
 section 363.03, subdivision 5. 

    Prior to discharging a teacher the board shall notify the 
 teacher in writing and state its ground for the proposed 
 discharge in reasonable detail.  Within ten days after receipt 
 of this notification the teacher may make a written request for 
 a hearing before the board and it shall be granted before final 
 action is taken.  The board may, however, suspend a teacher with 
 pay pending the conclusion of such hearing and determination of 
 the issues raised therein after charges have been filed which 
 constitute ground for discharge. 

    Subd. 9.    Hearing procedures.  Any hearing held 
 pursuant to this section shall be held upon appropriate and 
 timely notice to the teacher, and any hearing held pursuant to 
 subdivision 6 or 8 shall be private or public at the discretion 
 of the teacher.  A hearing held pursuant to subdivision 6b shall 
 be public and may be consolidated by the school board.  At the 
 hearing, the board and the teacher may each be represented by 
 counsel at each party's own expense, and such counsel may 
 examine and cross-examine witnesses and present arguments.  The 
 board shall first present evidence to sustain the grounds for 
 termination or discharge and then receive evidence presented by 
 the teacher.  Each party may then present rebuttal evidence.  
 Dismissal of the teacher shall be based upon substantial and 
 competent evidence in the record.  All witnesses shall be sworn 
 upon oath administered by the presiding officer of the board.  
 The clerk of the board shall issue subpoenas for witnesses or 
 the production of records pertinent to the grounds upon the 
 request of either the board or the teacher.  The board shall 
 employ a court reporter to record the proceedings at the 
 hearing, and either party may obtain a transcript thereof at its 
 own expense. 

    Subd. 9a.    Hearing and determination by arbitrator.  A 
 teacher whose termination is proposed under subdivision 4 on 
 grounds specified in subdivision 6, or whose discharge is 
 proposed under subdivision 8, may elect a hearing before an 
 arbitrator instead of the school board.  The hearing is governed 
 by this subdivision.  

    (a) The teacher must make a written request for a hearing 
 before an arbitrator within 14 days after receiving notification 
 of proposed termination on grounds specified in subdivision 6 or 
 within ten days of receiving notification of proposed discharge 
 under subdivision 8.  If a request for a hearing does not 
 specify that the hearing be before an arbitrator, it shall be 
 considered to be a request for a hearing before the school board.

    (b) If the teacher and the school board are unable to 
 mutually agree on an arbitrator, the school board shall request 
 from the bureau of mediation services a list of five persons to 
 serve as an arbitrator.  If the matter to be heard is a proposed 
 termination on grounds specified in subdivision 6, arbitrators 
 on the list must be available to hear the matter and make a 
 decision within a time frame that will allow the school board to 
 comply with all statutory timelines relating to termination.  If 
 the teacher and the school board are unable to mutually agree on 
 an arbitrator from the list provided, the parties shall 
 alternately strike names from the list until the name of one 
 arbitrator remains.  The person remaining after the striking 
 procedure shall be the arbitrator.  If the parties are unable to 
 agree on who shall strike the first name, the question must be 
 decided by a flip of a coin.  The teacher and the school board 
 shall share equally the costs and fees of the arbitrator. 

    (c) The arbitrator shall determine, by a preponderance of 
 the evidence, whether the grounds for termination or discharge 
 specified in subdivision 6 or 8 exist to support the proposed 
 termination or discharge.  A lesser penalty than termination or 
 discharge may be imposed by the arbitrator only to the extent 
 that either party proposes such lesser penalty in the 
 proceeding.  In making the determination, the arbitration 
 proceeding is governed by sections 572.11 to 572.17 and by the 
 collective bargaining agreement applicable to the teacher.  

    (d) An arbitration hearing conducted under this subdivision 
 is a meeting for preliminary consideration of allegations or 
 charges within the meaning of section 471.705, subdivision 1d, 
 clause (c), and shall be closed, unless the teacher requests it 
 to be open. 

    (e) The arbitrator's award is final and binding on the 
 parties, subject to sections 572.18 to 572.26. 

    Subd. 10.    Decision.  After the hearing, the board 
 shall issue a written decision and order.  If the board orders 
 termination of a continuing contract or discharge of a teacher, 
 its decision shall include findings of fact based upon competent 
 evidence in the record and shall be served on the teacher, 
 accompanied by an order of termination or discharge, prior to 
 April 1 in the case of a contract termination for grounds 
 specified in subdivision 6, prior to June 1 for grounds 
 specified in subdivision 6a or 6b, or within ten days after 
 conclusion of the hearing in the case of a discharge.  If the 
 decision of the board or of a reviewing court is favorable to 
 the teacher, the proceedings shall be dismissed and the decision 
 entered in the board minutes, and all references to such 
 proceedings shall be excluded from the teacher's record file. 

    Subd. 11.    Judicial review.  The pendency of judicial 
 proceedings shall not be ground for postponement of the 
 effective date of the school board's order, but if judicial 
 review eventuates in reinstatement of the teacher, the board 
 shall pay the teacher all compensation withheld as a result of 
 the termination or dismissal order. 

    Subd. 13.    Exception.  This section shall not apply 
 to any district in a city of the first class. 

    Subd. 14.    Records relating to individual teacher; 
 access; expungement.  All evaluations and files generated 
 within a school district relating to each individual teacher 
 shall be available to each individual teacher upon written 
 request.  Effective January 1, 1976, all evaluations and files, 
 wherever generated, relating to each individual teacher shall be 
 available to each individual teacher upon written request.  The 
 teacher shall have the right to reproduce any of the contents of 
 the files at the teacher's expense and to submit for inclusion 
 in the file written information in response to any material 
 contained therein. 

    A school district may destroy the files as provided by law 
 and shall expunge from the teacher's file any material found to 
 be false or inaccurate through the grievance procedure required 
 pursuant to section 179A.20, subdivision 4; provided, the 
 grievance procedure promulgated by the director of the bureau of 
 mediation services, pursuant to section 179A.04, subdivision 3, 
 clause (h), shall apply to those principals and supervisory 
 employees not included in an appropriate unit as defined in 
 section 179A.03.  Expungement proceedings shall be commenced 
 within the time period provided in the collective bargaining 
 agreement for the commencement of a grievance.  If no time 
 period is provided in the bargaining agreement, the expungement 
 proceedings shall commence within 15 days after the teacher has 
 knowledge of the inclusion in the teacher's file of the material 
 the teacher seeks to have expunged.  

    HIST: Ex1959 c 71 art 6 s 12; 1963 c 450 s 1; 1967 c 890 s 1; 
 1969 c 781 s 1; 1971 c 253 s 1; 1971 c 743 s 1; 1973 c 128 s 1; 
 1974 c 458 s 1-4; 1975 c 151 s 1; 1975 c 177 s 1; 1975 c 432 s 
 70; 1976 c 222 s 17,208; 1977 c 447 art 7 s 21-23; 1978 c 632 s 
 1,2; 1978 c 706 s 38,39; 1978 c 764 s 75,76; 1979 c 40 s 2; 1979 
 c 139 s 1; 1980 c 509 s 35; 1980 c 609 art 6 s 24,25; 1982 c 424 
 s 33; 1983 c 314 art 7 s 29-31; 1984 c 462 s 27; 1984 c 463 art 
 7 s 13; 1984 c 525 s 1; 1Sp1985 c 12 art 7 s 22; 1986 c 444; 
 1988 c 718 art 7 s 35; 1989 c 152 s 1; 1990 c 562 art 8 s 29; 
 1991 c 130 s 26; 1991 c 196 s 1,2; 1991 c 265 art 9 s 45-48; 
 1992 c 499 art 8 s 13; 1993 c 224 art 12 s 22,23; 1994 c 488 s 
 8; 1Sp1995 c 3 art 8 s 6; 1Sp1997 c 4 art 7 s 8