Recent Statutory Changes to the Teacher Termination Process
By Lisa Tanselle, ISBA General Counsel
November 2023
November 2023
P.L. 200-2023 (SEA 486) made several changes to the laws affecting the teacher termination process.
Since 2011, the definition of a probationary teacher referenced only evaluation ratings. A teacher was considered probationary if the teacher had a contract with a school corporation and received an ineffective rating or had not received at least three ratings of effective or highly effective within five years.
Now, the statute defines a probationary teacher as one who serves under contract in a school corporation and either receives two consecutive ratings of ineffective, as determined by the school corporation, OR is in the teacher’s first or second year of full-time teaching in a classroom. A teacher who receives ratings other than ineffective becomes a professional teacher once the teacher signs a third teaching contract with the school corporation.
The change appears to be subtle in that, under the previous definition, a teacher who was in his/her first or second year of employment with a school corporation was considered to be probationary. Yet the teacher did not become a professional teacher until the teacher received at least three ratings of effective or highly effective. It appears the teacher will become professional once he/she signs a third contract with the school corporation as long as the teacher has not received two consecutive ratings of ineffective. The significance of whether a teacher is probationary, professional, or established becomes apparent in cases where school officials may be considering terminating a teacher. Under the teacher cancellation statutes, school administrators have broad discretion to cancel a probationary teacher’s contract “for any reason relevant to the school corporation’s interest.”
P.L. 200-2023 modified the statutory grounds for teacher termination by eliminating “incompetence” and adding “repeated ineffective performance, as determined by the school corporation.” Previously, IC 20-28-7.5-1 defined “incompetence” as (1) for a probationary teacher, receiving one ineffective rating or two consecutive ratings of improvement necessary; or (2) for any other teacher, receiving two consecutive ineffective ratings or receiving an ineffective or improvement necessary rating in three out of five years.
The new phrase “repeated ineffective performance” — note that lawmakers did not write “repeated ineffective ratings” — would seem to give school administrators flexibility to define ineffective in the context of termination based on performance criteria outside of the formal evaluation rubric.
A teacher with two consecutive ratings of ineffective is now a probationary teacher, and therefore may be terminated for any reason relevant to the school corporation’s interest. The statute still allows any teacher to be terminated for “other good or just cause,” and this ground could and should also be cited whenever terminating a teacher.
Since 2011, the definition of a probationary teacher referenced only evaluation ratings. A teacher was considered probationary if the teacher had a contract with a school corporation and received an ineffective rating or had not received at least three ratings of effective or highly effective within five years.
Now, the statute defines a probationary teacher as one who serves under contract in a school corporation and either receives two consecutive ratings of ineffective, as determined by the school corporation, OR is in the teacher’s first or second year of full-time teaching in a classroom. A teacher who receives ratings other than ineffective becomes a professional teacher once the teacher signs a third teaching contract with the school corporation.
The change appears to be subtle in that, under the previous definition, a teacher who was in his/her first or second year of employment with a school corporation was considered to be probationary. Yet the teacher did not become a professional teacher until the teacher received at least three ratings of effective or highly effective. It appears the teacher will become professional once he/she signs a third contract with the school corporation as long as the teacher has not received two consecutive ratings of ineffective. The significance of whether a teacher is probationary, professional, or established becomes apparent in cases where school officials may be considering terminating a teacher. Under the teacher cancellation statutes, school administrators have broad discretion to cancel a probationary teacher’s contract “for any reason relevant to the school corporation’s interest.”
P.L. 200-2023 modified the statutory grounds for teacher termination by eliminating “incompetence” and adding “repeated ineffective performance, as determined by the school corporation.” Previously, IC 20-28-7.5-1 defined “incompetence” as (1) for a probationary teacher, receiving one ineffective rating or two consecutive ratings of improvement necessary; or (2) for any other teacher, receiving two consecutive ineffective ratings or receiving an ineffective or improvement necessary rating in three out of five years.
The new phrase “repeated ineffective performance” — note that lawmakers did not write “repeated ineffective ratings” — would seem to give school administrators flexibility to define ineffective in the context of termination based on performance criteria outside of the formal evaluation rubric.
A teacher with two consecutive ratings of ineffective is now a probationary teacher, and therefore may be terminated for any reason relevant to the school corporation’s interest. The statute still allows any teacher to be terminated for “other good or just cause,” and this ground could and should also be cited whenever terminating a teacher.
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