Chapter 267

2013 -- H 6076

Enacted 07/15/13

 

A N A C T

RELATING TO EDUCATION -- TEACHERS' TENURE

          

     Introduced By: Representatives Serpa, Fellela, Lima, Silva, and O'Brien

     Date Introduced: May 02, 2013

 

It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

 

     SECTION 1. Section 16-13-3 of the General Laws in Chapter 16-13 entitled "Teachers'

Tenure" is hereby amended to read as follows:

 

     16-13-3. Probationary period -- Tenure after probation. -- (a) Three (3) annual

contracts within five (5) successive school years shall be considered evidence of satisfactory

teaching and shall constitute a probationary period. Teachers who complete the probationary

period shall be considered in continuous service and shall not be subject to annual renewal or

nonrenewal of their contracts. No tenured teacher in continuous service shall be dismissed except

for good and just cause. Whenever a tenured teacher in continuous service is to be dismissed, the

notice of the dismissal shall be given to the teacher, in writing, on or before March 1st of the

school year immediately preceding the school year in which the dismissal is to become effective.

The teacher shall be furnished with a complete statement of the cause(s) for the dismissal by the

governing body of the school and shall be entitled to a hearing and appeal pursuant to the

procedure set forth in section 16-13-4.

      (b) Nothing contained in this section shall be construed to prohibit or at any time to have

prohibited a school committee from agreeing, in a collective bargaining agreement, to the

arbitration of disputes arising out of the dismissal of a tenured teacher pursuant to subsection (a)

of this section.

      (c) Any teacher appointed to a position of principal, assistant principal, or vice principal

within the school system in which the teacher has attained tenure shall, upon termination or

resignation of the administrative position, be allowed to return to his or her former status as a

tenured teacher within the system. Any teacher employed by a local or regional school committee

who has attained tenure in a Rhode Island public school system, who is appointed to an

administrative position of principal, assistant principal, vice principal, superintendent, assistant

superintendent, director, or other central office personnel in any Rhode Island public school

system, including the original school district of employment, or who is hired for an administrative

position as a fellow, education specialist, or director by the Rhode Island department of

education, shall be granted an unpaid leave of absence, not to exceed three (3) years, in order to

be employed in an administrative position of principal, assistant principal, vice principal,

superintendent, assistant superintendent, director, or other central office personnel in any Rhode

Island school system or the Rhode Island department of education. Said teachers shall, upon

completion of their administrative position employment contract, or termination or resignation of

the administrative position, be allowed to return to his or her former status as a tenured teacher

within the system from which the leave of absence was taken. Such leaves of absence shall not be

deemed to be an interruption of service for the purposes of seniority and teacher retirement.

 

     SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.

     

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LC02445

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