Dismissal for Poor Performance: Maine
Exiting Ineffective Teachers Policy
Analysis of Maine's policies
Maine ensures that teacher ineffectiveness is grounds for dismissal. Receiving two consecutive ratings of ineffective "constitutes just cause for nonrenewal of a teacher's contract." However, the state does not distinguish the due process rights of teachers dismissed for ineffective performance from those facing other charges commonly associated with license revocation, such as a felony and/or morality violations. In fact, the state makes "just cause for dismissal or non-renewal" a negotiable item under state labor law.
Tenured teachers who are terminated have at least one
opportunity to appeal. After the board notifies the teacher of
dismissal, the teacher has up to 15 days to request a hearing with the
school board. The state does not specify a time frame for the hearing.
Recommendations for Maine
Ensure that teachers terminated for poor performance have the opportunity to appeal within a reasonable time frame.
Nonprobationary teachers who are dismissed for any grounds, including ineffectiveness, are entitled to due process. However, cases that drag on for years drain resources from school districts and create a disincentive for districts to attempt to terminate poor performers. Therefore, the state must ensure that the opportunity to appeal occurs only once and only at the district level. It is in the best interest of both the teacher and the district that a conclusion is reached within a reasonable time frame.
Distinguish between the process and accompanying due process rights for dismissal for classroom ineffectiveness and dismissal for morality violations, felonies or dereliction of duty.
While nonprobationary teachers should have due process for any termination, it is important to differentiate between loss of employment and issues with far-reaching consequences that could permanently affect a teacher's right to practice. Maine should ensure that appeals related to classroom effectiveness are decided only by those with educational expertise.
State response to our analysis
Maine recognized the factual accuracy of this analysis. The state added that its current statutes and regulations are under review, and the recommendations in this report will be considered.
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Maine
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Delivering Well Prepared Teachers
- Admission into Teacher Preparation
- Elementary Teacher Preparation
- Elementary Teacher Preparation in Reading Instruction
- Elementary Teacher Preparation in Mathematics
- Early Childhood
- Middle School Teacher Preparation
- Secondary Teacher Preparation
- Secondary Teacher Preparation in Science and Social Studies
- Special Education Teacher Preparation
- Special Education Preparation in Reading
- Assessing Professional Knowledge
- Student Teaching
- Teacher Preparation Program Accountability
Expanding the Pool of Teachers
Identifying Effective Teachers
- State Data Systems
- Evaluation of Effectiveness
- Frequency of Evaluations
- Tenure
- Licensure Advancement
- Equitable Distribution
Retaining Effective Teachers
Exiting Ineffective Teachers
Pensions
Research rationale
States need to be
explicit that teacher ineffectiveness is grounds for dismissal.
Most states have laws on their books that address teacher
dismissal; however, until recently these laws were much more likely to consider criminal and
moral violations than performance. While many states have amended their dismissal policy to be more explict about classroom ineffectiveness, some still retain euphemistic terms such as "incompetency,"
"inefficiency" or "incapacity." These terms are ambiguous
at best and may be interpreted as concerning dereliction of duty rather than
ineffectiveness. Without laws that clearly state that teacher ineffectiveness
is grounds for dismissal, districts may feel they lack the legal basis for
terminating consistently poor performers.
Due process must be
efficient and expedited.
Nonprobationary teachers who are dismissed for any grounds,
including ineffectiveness, are entitled to due process. However, due process
rights that allow for multiple levels of appeal are not fair to teachers,
districts and especially students. All parties have a right to have disputes
settled quickly. Cases that drag on for years drain resources from school
districts and create a disincentive for districts to attempt to terminate poor
performances. Teachers are not well served by such processes either, as they are
entitled to final resolution quickly.
Decisions about
teachers should be made by those with educational expertise.
Multiple levels of appeal almost invariably involve courts
or arbitrators who lack educational expertise. It is not in students' best interest
to have the evidence of teachers' effectiveness evaluated by those who are not
educators. A teacher's opportunity to appeal should occur at the district level
and involve only those with educational expertise. This can be done in a manner
that is fair to all parties by including retired teachers or other
knowledgeable individuals who are not current district employees.
Dismissal for Poor Performance: Supporting Research
One
of the greatest shortcomings of teacher performance appraisals has been school
systems' unwillingness and inability
to differentiate instructional competency. The New Teacher Project, 2009, "The
Widget Effect: Our National Failure to Acknowledge and Act on Differences in
Teacher Effectiveness" at http://widgeteffect.org.
See
NCTQ, State of the States: Trends and Early Lessons on Teacher Evaluation and Effectiveness Policies (2011) as
well as studies by The New Teacher Project of human resource and dismissal
policies in various districts at: http://tntp.org/ideas-and-innovations.
For
information on the high cost of teacher dismissals, see Steven Brill, "The
Rubber Room," The New Yorker, August 31, 2009 at: http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/08/31/090831fa_fact_brill.
Also,
see S. Reeder, "The Hidden Costs of Tenure: Why are Failing Teachers
Getting a Passing Grade?" Small Newspaper Group, 2005 at: http://thehiddencostsoftenure.com.