Commissioner says school district improperly terminated teacher's contract

A teacher was employed with a school district under a term contract. The district's board of trustees voted to propose the termination of the teacher's contract before the end of the school year.

The teacher requested a hearing before an independent hearing examiner regarding the proposed termination. However, before the hearing could take place, the board of trustees voted to terminate the teacher's contract.

The district then notified the teacher that it would quit paying him as of March 29, the date that the board of trustees voted to terminate his contract. The district also failed to pay the teacher his accrued summer pay. The teacher filed an appeal to the commissioner of education, alleging that the district improperly terminated him.

The commissioner held that the district failed to follow the law when it terminated the teacher's contract.

According to the Texas Education Code, when a school district board of trustees votes to propose the termination of a teacher's contract, the teacher has the right to request a hearing before an independent hearing examiner. If the teacher requests a hearing, they must be given the opportunity to present their case before the hearing examiner and the hearing examiner must issue a recommendation for the board to consider. A school district may not terminate that contract before meeting those requirements.

In this case, the board of trustees terminated the teacher's contract before the teacher had an opportunity to present his case and before the hearing examiner had an opportunity to issue a recommendation and therefore violated the law.

The commissioner granted the teacher's appeal and held that the district failed to pay the teacher in accordance with his contract when it stopped paying him on March 29 and failed to pay accrued summer pay.