Bill Text: NJ A4489 | 2024-2025 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Revises requirements for proceedings concerning nonrenewal of nontenured staff members of district boards of education.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-06-06 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Education Committee [A4489 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2024-A4489-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman ALIXON COLLAZOS-GILL
District 27 (Essex and Passaic)
SYNOPSIS
Revises requirements for proceedings concerning nonrenewal of nontenured staff members of district boards of education.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning the nonrenewal of nontenured officers and employees of school districts and amending P.L.1995, c.125.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. The Legislature finds and declares that:
a. In Donaldson v. North Wildwood Bd. of Ed., 65 N.J. 236 (1974), the New Jersey Supreme Court recognized that a nontenured staff member whose employment contract is not renewed has the right to an informal appearance before the board of education.
b. The informal appearance permits the nontenured staff member with an opportunity to convince the members of the board to offer reemployment. These informal appearances are not adversarial and are not subject to the rules of evidence.
c. The current informal appearance provides an insufficient opportunity for nontenured staff members who face the prospect of nonrenewal to present their case for reemployment as the appearances lack the procedural due process safeguards of a formal hearing.
d. In the interest of fairness and impartiality, nontenured staff members should be accorded the right to a formal hearing concerning the nonrenewal of an employment contract and to require a board of education to present its findings and decision in writing.
e. Providing a formal hearing process and requiring a substantial written record of the findings and conclusions will minimize arbitrary decision making.
f. Implementing a formal hearing will facilitate a substantial record in the event of an appeal.
g. Given the substantial benefits associated with a formal hearing process for nontenured staff members who face the prospect of nonrenewal, it is altogether fitting and proper for the Legislature to establish requirements and procedures for a formal hearing.
2. Section 1 of P.L.1995, c.125 (C.18A:27-4.1) is amended to read as follows:
1. Notwithstanding the provisions of any law, rule or regulation to the contrary,
a. A board of education shall appoint, transfer or remove a certificated or non-certificated officer or employee only upon the recommendation of the chief school administrator and by a recorded roll call majority vote of the full membership of the board. The board shall not withhold its approval for arbitrary and capricious reasons.
b. A board of education shall renew the employment contract of a certificated or non-certificated officer or employee only upon the recommendation of the chief school administrator and by a recorded roll call majority vote of the full membership of the board. The board shall not withhold its approval for arbitrary and capricious reasons. A nontenured officer or employee who is not recommended for renewal by the chief school administrator shall be deemed nonrenewed. Prior to notifying the officer or employee of the nonrenewal, the chief school administrator shall notify the board of the recommendation not to renew the officer's or employee's contract and the reasons for the recommendation. [An] A nontenured officer or employee whose employment contract is not renewed shall have the right to a written statement of reasons for nonrenewal pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1975, c.132 (C.18A:27-3.2) and to [an informal appearance] a formal hearing before the board. The purpose of the [appearance] hearing shall be to permit the staff member to convince the members of the board to offer reemployment. The chief school administrator shall notify the officer or employee of the nonrenewal pursuant, where applicable, to the provisions of section 1 of P.L.1971, c.436 (C.18A:27-10).
The attorney for the board of education shall be present at all hearings for the nonrenewal of the contract of a nontenured officer or employee. No later than three days before the scheduled date of the hearing, the nontenured officer or employee shall file with the board attorney, for review by the board, copies of any relevant materials and a list of witnesses which the nontenured officer or employee intends to present in support of the renewal of employment. The materials may be filed electronically or by hard copy. These materials, the testimony taken at the hearing, and the statement of reasons provided pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1975, c.132 (C.18A:27-3.2) shall form the basis for the board's decision to either affirm or reject the recommendation for nonrenewal. The presentation and examination of witnesses by the nontenured officer or employee or by the nontenured officer or employee's representative shall not be counted against the time allotted for the nontenured officer or employee to present or argue their case directly to the board. During any hearing conducted by means of teleconference or videoconferencing programs, software, or applications, each video camera that is in use to permit the participation of each individual board member shall remain active for the duration of the proceeding. Board members shall not be permitted to deactivate video conferencing or participate solely by audio means except during any stated recess.
The decision of the board
on whether to affirm or reject the
recommendation for nonrenewal shall be in writing. The decision shall include:
(1) a written summary of the facts and evidence presented;
(2) a written analysis explaining the board's rationale in reaching its decision which shall be drafted by the board, a designated member of the board, or the board's attorney; and
(3) points of agreement or disagreement reached by the board with respect to the statement of reasons provided pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1975, c.132 (C.18A:27-3.2).
c. The provisions of this section shall not apply to the appointment, transfer, removal, renewal or nonrenewal of a person who is a treasurer of school moneys, election officer, board auditor, board attorney or board secretary, except a board secretary who performs business administration functions.
(cf: P.L.1995, c.125, s.1)
3. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill amends the requirements for proceedings concerning the nonrenewal of nontenured officers and employees of school district boards of education. Under current law, these proceedings, often called "Donaldson hearings," are informal appearances that provide an opportunity for nontenured staff members for whom the chief school administrator has recommended nonrenewal to convince members of the board of education to offer reemployment.
The bill provides nontenured staff members, whose employment contracts are not renewed, a right to a formal hearing before the applicable board of education to convince the board members to offer reemployment. The bill requires the presence of the school board attorney at all of these hearings, requires the nontenured staff member to provide copies of all written material in support of the case to the board attorney at least three days in advance of the hearing, and requires the decision of the board of education on whether to renew the contract of a nontenured staff member to be in writing. The written decision of the board is required to include the factual background of the case, as well as the reasons for the board's decision. In the case of hearings conducted remotely, the bill prohibits deactivation of video functionality by board members except during formal break periods.
The purpose of this bill is to
afford greater due process than provided under current law for nontenured staff
who face the prospect of nonrenewal from positions of school district
employment. Specifically, under this bill, boards of education
would assume a more formalized process when conducting hearings concerning the
nonrenewal of an employment contract for a nontenured staff member, including
the requirement that the board memorialize its findings and conclusions at the
conclusion of each hearing. It is the sponsor's belief that this requirement
will minimize arbitrary decision making and will provide a more substantial
record in the event of appeal.
