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Teachers cannot be fired because they bring unannounced representatives to a meeting with the principal where the teacher suspects that his employment is in question.1 One teacher was fired because she refused to meet with the principal unless her attorney was present even when the purpose of the meeting had nothing to do with her job security.
Modern cases hold that merely being arrested and charged with a crime is not a basis for discharge of a teacher. Even conviction of a crime is not necessarily a basis for discharge where the criminal conduct is unrelated to the teaching functions of the teacher and does not impair his abilities to perform his duties. UEA recently supported legislation which proscribes the Utah State Board of Education from taking action against an educator's certificate unless the conduct of the educator "evidenced unfitness for duty." While that may seem insignificant, it means that your private life cannot be considered by the state board in any decision it may take on a certificate or certification criteria. It also means that conduct unrelated to the job cannot be considered in licensure actions.
State and federal civil rights acts prohibit any school district from hiring, firing, or making any adverse employment decision on the basis of race, age, sex, color, handicap, religion or national origin. (Age 40+)
The United States Constitution guarantees the right of teachers to freely associate with each other, to speak freely on public issues, to have private lives outside the control of boards of education, and to not be deprived of their job for reasons related to protected activities, e.g., speech, religion, age, sex [see above].
Under Utah's Orderly Termination Act, teachers cannot be dismissed without due process -- in summary: To receive notice of the reasons their contract may not be renewed, of an opportunity to correct the problem and of a fair hearing at which the teacher is entitled to hear the evidence against him, to examine witnesses and the evidence, to be represented by legal counsel and to present his side of the case.
These rights, which we too often take for granted, were hardly fought and contested by school administrators. They fought us in the legislature and the courts. These rights, although limited and subject to reason, are still being contested -- too often school boards don't like to be told that teachers have rights. You should know that constitutional and statutory rights cannot be waived by the individual except on a case by case basis, and then only in limited circumstances. One district tried to have the teacher waive her rights to due process as a condition of continuing her employment. The agreement was void. Another district made some teachers sign a release and waiver wherein the teacher agreed to allow a police check of his/her criminal background and waived his/her right to examine his/her personnel file. Since the right to examine his/her personnel file is protected in the master agreement, the waiver was unenforceable. The right to examine your personnel file is also statutory and cannot be waived for that reason. Continue >>