School Law Bulletin #2000/01

This article describes the procedures by which local school boards may dismiss teachers and by which the board’s decisions may be reviewed under the due process provisions of the Teacher Tenure Act. The article begins with a brief discussion of the significant differences between dismissal and nonrenewal. This is followed by an extensive, step by step discussion of the entire dismissal process, beginning with the superintendent’s recommendation and ending with the appeal process. The article concludes with a discussion of the few exceptions whereby a dismissal decision is reached not by the local board but by the State Board of Education.