Spring Checklist: Legal Resources for the Final Stretch of the School Year
As the spring semester gets busier, this checklist created by the ATPE Member Legal Services Department can help you navigate common legal concerns.
Spring is a hectic time for Texas educators as they work hard to prepare their students for state assessments, finalize curriculum plans, and prepare for end-of-year activities. Along with these responsibilities, they may also face anxious parents and growing student restlessness due to the approaching summer break.
To assist educators during this busy season, the ATPE Member Legal Services Department has prepared a spring checklist to connect you with resources related to common legal concerns. We hope this guide will help educators navigate this crucial period as they head toward summer.
- Evaluations/Summatives
Educator evaluations and walkthroughs can take place throughout the year, including during the spring semester. End-of-year summatives are nearly always conducted during the final months of the school year. On our website, we provide helpful tips for a successful appraisal and general information regarding evaluations and responses.
- Grading
In the high-stakes world of class-rankings and college admissions, student grades can be scrutinized, putting a teacher’s grades or grading policy at risk of being challenged by a student or parent. As the year ends and final grades are due, here is what you need to know about teacher’s rights when it comes to grading.
- Student discipline
As any experienced teacher will attest, “spring fever” is real. As students feel stressed and burnt out and sense summer approaching, you may find managing student discipline challenging. However, educators do have key rights when it comes to student discipline.
- Contract decisions
Spring is generally when decisions are made about staffing for the following school year. An administrator may decide to terminate an at-will employee or nonrenew an employee with a contract. Likewise, an employee may decide that it’s time to retire or leave the district and search for employment elsewhere. You can find information about contract nonrenewals and resignations on our website.
- Transfers
Employees may also decide to look for employment opportunities elsewhere in the same district. If you’re in this position, it is important to review your district’s transfer policies, which often contain a transfer window or set time when transfer requests must be made. In order to transfer, employees generally have to be in good standing—meaning their evaluations are proficient and they are not on a growth plan. It is also quite common that both principals must agree to the transfer.
Additionally, whether it’s the employee’s choice or not, there are important considerations when leaving one district and starting in another:
- Probationary contracts
Certified employees who are entitled to a contract will almost certainly receive a probationary contract in their new district. For experienced teachers, this may reduce their job protection and give the district a much easier path to nonrenewal at the end of the year.
- No FMLA
An employee in their first year with a new district will be unlikely to meet eligibility qualifications for the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). This will limit the employee’s options when taking protected leave for their own medical condition or to care for a close family member.
- TIA money
Teachers who have qualified for Teacher Incentive Allotment (TIA) funds in one district may lose money if they leave that district. This will depend on the original district’s TIA spending plan as districts are allowed to use TIA funds as a retention tool.
- District of Innovation (DOI)
The Texas Education Code is not as reliable as it once was. A District of Innovation (DOI) plan allows a district to opt out of nearly any law in the Texas Education Code, including important rights, such as class size, planning time, and duty-free lunch. Reviewing a prospective district’s DOI plan can give a teacher an idea of what laws may not apply.
- Loss of local leave
Unlike state paid leave, local leave earned by an employee will not carry over to a new district. Employees should review their current district policies for relevant leave buy-back programs, and know that if no policy exists, they risk losing any unused local days upon leaving the district.
- The grass is always greener?
For good or bad, a new district means new administrators, colleagues, parents, students, policies, and procedures. For those who welcome change and thrive in new environments, it can be a fresh start. But it can also require substantial effort as the employee adjusts to new expectations and professional relationships.
Lance Cain
Managing Attorney
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