FILE:  GBN

Cf:  GBA, GBJ

Cf:  GBK, GBRA

DISMISSAL OF EMPLOYEES

With the exception of dismissals caused by programmatic changes, budget cuts, staff reorganizations, and/or other personnel actions reducing numbers of employees, employees of the Bossier Parish School Board shall not be dismissed except as in accordance with the provisions of State law and this policy.  To the extent allowed by State law and School Board policy, the responsibility for dismissal of employees shall be delegated to and shall rest with the Superintendent.  No employee shall be entitled to a hearing before the School Board unless such hearing is required by State law or School Board policy.

CERTAIN OFFENSES

In accordance with the statutory procedures for dismissal applicable to the employee in question, the Superintendent shall dismiss:

1. An administrator, teacher, or substitute teacher upon final conviction of or submission of plea of nolo contendere to any felony offense even if adjudication was withheld or a pardon or expungement was granted.
   
   

2. An administrator, teacher, or substitute teacher who is found to have submitted fraudulent documentation to the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) or the Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE) as part of an application for a Louisiana teaching certificate or other teaching authorization.
   
   

3. An administrator, teacher, or substitute teacher who is found to have facilitated cheating on any state assessment as determined by BESE.
   
   

4. Any school employee if such employee is convicted of or pleads nolo contendere to a crime listed in La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §15:587.1, except La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §14:74.

The Superintendent shall notify the State Superintendent of Education of any employee’s dismissal for the offenses listed above no later than thirty (30) days after such dismissal.

ARRESTS

This policy shall not prohibit the Superintendent from dismissing or otherwise taking disciplinary action against any employee arrested for, but not convicted of, any misdemeanor or felony offense.

In addition, employees shall be subject to removal for failure to properly report certain arrests as required by State law and/or School Board Policy. See policy GBRA, Employee Conduct.

ABANDONMENT OF POSITION

If an employee is absent for ten (10) or more days of work without explanation or approved leave, the School Board may consider the job as abandoned and the Superintendent may notify the employee of termination, unless the employee can provide acceptable and verifiable evidence of extenuating circumstances for such absence.  The Superintendent or his/her designee shall be responsible for determining the acceptability of evidence of extenuating circumstances provided by the employee.

CERTIFICATED EMPLOYEES

1. Dismissal of Non-tenured Teachers
   
   The dismissal of a non-tenured teacher shall be handled in accordance with the procedures set forth in policy GBK, Employee Discipline, for discipline of non-tenured teachers.

2. Dismissal of Tenured Teachers
   
   The dismissal of a tenured teacher shall be handled in accordance with the procedures set forth in policy GBK, Employee Discipline, for discipline of tenured teachers.

3. Dismissal of Contract Appointees
   
   Personnel who have entered into promotional employment contracts with the School Board, pursuant to La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §17:444, may be removed or dismissed from their positions by non-renewal of their contracts or by termination of their contracts.
   
   A promotional employment contract may be non-renewed by the School Board for any of the following reasons:

1. The Superintendent has recommended against renewal of the contract based on an evaluation of the employee’s performance;
   
   

2. The failure to offer a new contract is based on a cause sufficient to support a mid-contract termination;
   
   

3. The position in question has been discontinued; or
   
   

4. The position in question has been eliminated as a result of district reorganization.

In a non-renewal situation, the employee shall not be entitled to a hearing before the School Board or a disciplinary hearing officer.  The employee shall be returned to his/her former position as a teacher or to a position paying the same salary as his/her former position as a teacher if the employee had previously acquired tenure as a teacher in the system and if the charges against the employee did not simultaneously seek his/her dismissal as a tenured teacher in the system.

A promotional employment contract may be terminated if the employee is found incompetent or inefficient or is found to have failed to fulfill the terms and performance objectives of his/her contract.

In a mid-contract termination situation, the dismissal of a contract appointee shall be governed by the same procedures as those set forth in policy GBK, Employee Discipline, for discipline and dismissal of tenured teachers.

NON-CERTIFICATED EMPLOYEES

Dismissal of Bus Operators

Any school bus operator may be removed from his/her position for the following:

• The abolition, discontinuance, or consolidation of routes, based upon a determination by the Superintendent that it is in the best interests of the school system to abolish, discontinue, or consolidate said route or routes.  If abolition, discontinuance, or consolidation of bus routes is approved, the principle of seniority shall apply, so that the last school bus operator hired to serve within the school system to be affected shall be the first to be removed.
  
  

• Conviction of or a plea of nolo contendere to a violation of a parish or municipal ordinance that prohibits operating a vehicle while intoxicated or any of following offenses relative to operating a vehicle while intoxicated, regardless of whether the violation occurred while the bus operator was performing an official duty or responsibility as a school bus operator at the time of the offense.
  
  

• In accordance with La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §17:493(C)(2), the Superintendent shall immediately remove and terminate any bus operator who has been convicted of or pled nolo contendere to a violation of La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§14:42 through 43.5, §§14:80 through 14:81.5, any other sexual offense affecting minors, any of the crimes provided in La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §15:587.1, or any justified complaint of child abuse or neglect on file in the central registry pursuant to Children’s Code Article 615.  The termination of a bus operator under this provision is final and is not subject to review by a disciplinary hearing officer or the School Board.

1. Dismissal of Non-Tenured Bus Operators
   
   Each school bus operator shall serve a probationary term of three (3) years reckoned from the date of his/her first employment with the School Board.  During such probationary term, any bus operator may be dismissed by the School Board upon the written recommendation of the Superintendent.  After the probationary term ends, a non-tenured bus operator may be dismissed by the Superintendent in accordance with the procedures set forth in policy GBK, Employee Discipline, for discipline and dismissal of non-tenured teachers.  The Superintendent’s decision shall be final, and the bus operator shall not be entitled to a hearing before a disciplinary hearing officer or the School Board.

2. Dismissal of Tenured Bus Operators
   
   No bus operator hired after July 1, 2012 shall earn tenure.
   
   A tenured bus operator shall not be removed from his/her position except upon written and signed charges of willful neglect of duty, or incompetence, or immorality, or drunkenness while on duty, or failure to comply with the requirements of La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §17:491.3 relative to being arrested for one or more of the specified offenses, or physical disability to perform his/her duties, or failure to keep his/her transfer equipment in a safe, comfortable, and practical operating condition, or of being a member of or contributing to any group, organization, movement, or corporation that is prohibited by law or injunction from operating in the state, and then only if furnished with a copy of such written charges and given the opportunity to respond, in person or in writing, within ten (10) calendar days from written notice of the charges.
   
   The Superintendent shall have ten (10) calendar days to review the tenured bus operator’s response and to provide written notice to the bus operator of the interim disciplinary action against the bus operator.  The bus operator may be placed on paid administrative leave.  If the bus operator has been arrested for a violation of La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§14:42 through 14:43.5, §§14:80 through 14:81.5, any other sexual offense affecting minors, any of the crimes provided in La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §15:587.1, or any justified complaint of child abuse or neglect on file in the central registry pursuant to Children’s Code Article 615, the administrative leave shall be without pay.  In no event shall paid administrative leave exceed fifty (50) days from notice of the Superintendent’s interim decision.
   
   Within twenty (20) calendar days receipt of the Superintendent’s interim disciplinary action, if any, the tenured bus operator may request a hearing before a disciplinary hearing officer.  If the bus operator fails to timely request a hearing, the Superintendent’s interim disciplinary decision shall become final.  If the tenured bus operator timely requests a hearing, the hearing procedures for the tenured bus operator shall be the same as the hearing procedures for tenured teachers found in policy GBK, Employee Discipline.

Dismissal of Other School Employees

All employees of the school system whose dismissal is not governed by the provisions of La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§17:441-446, or by the provisions of La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§17:491-494, shall be subject to dismissal by the Superintendent after providing the employee with the written reason(s) therefor and ten (10) days to respond.  The employee’s response shall be included in his/her personnel file. The Superintendent’s decision shall be final, and such employees shall not be entitled to a hearing before a disciplinary hearing officer or the School Board.

Ref:    La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§13:3204, 15:587.1, 17:15, 17:16, 17:81.5, 17:442, 17:443, 17:444, 17:491.3, 17:492, 17:493, 17:493.1, 32:414.2

La. Code of Civil Procedure, Art. 2592

Rousselle v. Plaquemines Parish School Board, 633 So.2d 1235 (La. 2/28/94)

Board minutes, 8-2-12, 10-3-13, 3-20-14, 9-4-14, 5-16-19, 11-10-22

Bossier Parish School Board