FILE: GBN
DISMISSAL OF EMPLOYEES
Except as otherwise provided by law, Board of Elementary or Secondary Education policy, or School Board policy, the Superintendent shall have the responsibility to terminate all employees except those who are appointed directly by the School Board. With the exception of lay-offs caused by programmatic changes, budget cuts, staff reorganizations, and/or other personnel actions reducing numbers of employees, no Orleans Parish School Board employee shall be dismissed except as provided by state law and this policy.
CRIMINAL OFFENSES
The Superintendent, on behalf of the School Board, shall dismiss:
An administrator, teacher, or substitute teacher upon final conviction or submission of plea of nolo contendere to any felony offense, in accordance with statutory provisions for dismissal applicable to the employee.
An administrator, teacher, or substitute teacher who is found to have submitted fraudulent documentation to the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) or the Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE) as part of an application for a Louisiana teaching certificate or other teaching authorization.
An administrator, teacher, or substitute teacher who is found to have facilitated cheating on any state assessment as determined by BESE.
Any other school employee if such employee is convicted of or pleads nolo contendere to crimes enumerated in La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §15:587.1, except La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §14:74.
The Superintendent shall notify the State Superintendent of Education of any employee’s dismissal for the criminal offenses above no later than thirty (30) days after such dismissal.
In addition, employees shall be subject to removal for failure to properly report arrests for certain offenses enumerated in La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §17:16.
ABANDONMENT OF POSITION
If an employee is absent for ten (10) or more days without explanation or approved leave, the School Board may consider the job as abandoned and the employee may be terminated, unless the employee can provide acceptable and verifiable evidence of extenuating circumstances. The Superintendent or his/her designee shall be responsible for determining acceptability of evidence of extenuating circumstances.
CERTIFICATED EMPLOYEES
Non-Tenured Teachers
The Superintendent may terminate the employment of any non-tenured teacher after providing such teacher with the written reasons therefor and providing the teacher the opportunity to respond. The teacher shall have seven (7) days to respond, and such response shall be included in the teacher’s personnel file. The Superintendent shall notify the teacher in writing of his/her final decision. The teacher shall not be entitled to a hearing before the School Board.
Within sixty (60) days of such notice, the teacher may seek summary review in district court of whether or not the Superintendent’s action was arbitrary or capricious.
Tenured Teachers
A tenured teacher shall not be removed from office except upon written and signed charges by the Superintendent or his/her designee of poor performance, willful neglect of duty, incompetency, dishonesty, immorality, or of being a member of or contributing to any group, organization, movement, or corporation that is by law or injunction prohibited from operating in the state of Louisiana, and then only if furnished with a copy of such written charges and given the opportunity to respond. Dismissal of a teacher with tenure shall be governed by the provisions for discipline of tenured teachers as included in policy GBK, Employee Discipline.
Contract Appointees
Personnel who have entered into promotional employment contracts with the School Board, pursuant to La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §17:444, may be removed from their positions by non-renewal of their contracts or by termination of their contracts. Contracts may be non-renewed by the School Board for any of the following reasons:
The Superintendent has recommended against renewal of the contract based on an evaluation of the employee’s performance;
The failure to offer a new contract is based on a cause sufficient to support a mid- contract termination;
The position in question has been discontinued; or
The position in question has been eliminated as a result of district reorganization.
In a non-renewal situation, the employee shall not be entitled to a hearing before the School Board.
For mid-contract termination of promotional employment contracts, the employee shall have the right to written charges and a hearing before a disciplinary hearing officer in the manner provided in La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §17:443. A contract may be terminated if the employee is found guilty of being incompetent or inefficient or is found to have failed to fulfill the terms and performance objectives of his/her contract, or other reasons provided for by state law.
SCHOOL EMPLOYEES OTHER THAN TEACHERS
Non-Tenured School Employees
School employee shall mean any employee of the Orleans Parish School Board who is not a teacher or whose legal employment does not require the holding of a teacher’s certificate.
Dismissal of any non-tenured school employee shall be accomplished in accordance with the following procedure:
If a principal or supervisor believes that an employee has violated any laws, policies or procedures or has not properly performed the requirements of the employee’s position, the principal or supervisor shall conduct an investigation. Once completed, the principal or supervisor will hold a special conference with the employee after properly notifying the employee that he or she must attend. At the conference the allegations against the employee, and all proof in support thereof will be presented to the employee, who will be given an opportunity to respond. If, after the employee has provided his response, the principal or supervisor that discipline is warranted, he or she will make a recommendation to the Superintendent;
The Superintendent shall review the entire file and make a final determination regarding what discipline, if any, should be administered to the employee. The employee will not have a right to a hearing before the Superintendent or the School Board.
The decision of the Superintendent will be final. Notice of the Superintendent’s decision will be sent immediately to the employee, the principal or supervisor, and the Department of Human Resources.
Tenured School Employees
A school employee hired prior to July 1, 2007, who has obtained permanent status (tenure) pursuant to La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §17:522, shall not be terminated, except upon written and signed charges of willful neglect of duty, or of incompetency, dishonesty, immorality, or of insubordination, or of being a member of or of contributing to any group, organization, movement or corporation that is prohibited by law or injunction from operating in the state of Louisiana, and then only if found guilty after a hearing by the Orleans Parish School Board, which hearing at the option of said employee may be private or public. The School Board shall furnish the employee a copy of the written charges at least fifteen (15) days in advance of the date set for the hearing. The employee shall have the right to appear before the Orleans Parish School Board at said hearing with witnesses in his/her behalf, and with counsel of his/her selection, all of whom shall be heard by the School Board at the hearing.
Revised: July 19, 2018
Revised: December 19, 2019
Revised: April 22, 2021
Ref: La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§13:3204, 15:587.1, 17:15, 17:16, 17:81.5, 17:442, 17:443, 17:444, 17:491.3, 17:492 ,17:493, 17:493.1, 17:522, 17:523, 32:414.2
La. Code of Civil Procedure, Art. 2592
Rousselle v. Plaquemines Parish School Board, 633 So.2d 1235 (La. 2/28/94)
Board minutes, 7-19-18, 12-19-19, 4-22-21
Orleans Parish School Board