Retaining Effective Teachers Policy
Factors to Consider: Alaska requires districts to determine which teachers are
laid off during a reduction in force; decisions must consider a teacher's tenure status. School districts may only lay
off tenured teachers after notice of dismissal has been given to
nontenured teachers. In addition, "a school district may retain a
nontenured teacher and place on layoff status a tenured teacher if there
is no tenured teacher in the district who is qualified to replace the
nontenured teacher."
Require that districts consider teacher effectiveness as the most important factor in determining which teachers are laid off during reductions in force.
Alaska may continue to provide districts flexibility in determining layoff policies, but it should do so within a framework that ensures that teacher effectiveness is the determinative factor. Further, although it is not unreasonable for Alaska to lay off probationary teachers before those with tenure, the state should also consider performance so that it does not sacrifice effective teachers while maintaining low performers.
Alaska recognized the factual accuracy of this analysis.
9E: Layoffs
"Last In, First Out (LIFO)" policies put adult interests before student needs, yet most districts across the country still use these policies in the event of teacher layoffs. While most states leave these decisions to district discretion, other states require layoffs to be based on seniority. Such policies fail to give due weight to a teacher's classroom performance and risk sacrificing effective teachers while maintaining low performers.[1]
Policies that prioritize seniority in layoff decisions can also cause significant upheaval in schools and school districts. As teachers who are newer to the classroom traditionally draw lower salaries, a seniority-based layoff policy is likely to require that districts lay off a larger number of probationary teachers rather than a smaller group of ineffective teachers to achieve the same budget reduction.
States can leave districts flexibility in determining layoff policies, but they should do so while also ensuring that classroom performance is considered. Further, if performance is prioritized, states need not prohibit the use of seniority as an additional criterion in determining who is laid off.