Tenure Hearings are a Safeguard

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(\ Q.'<"UCI~ • K

mEWSCLIP BRIEFS
From the Office of Public Relations

T~nure Hearings Are a Safeguard

By Tho.... Y. Robart Jr.
In response to the article, "Why It's So Hard to Fire Bad Teachers," in the May 8 issue of the News•day Magazine:
First, it should be understood that the New York State United Teachers (NYSUT) does not want schools to hire, grant tenure to or retain '1lad" teachers. That would serve no one well: Not the students, their parents, the schools, the administrators, the teaching profession, the union, and certainly not the community. The ques•tion, then, is not whether bad teachers should be re•tained, but how to determine whether a teacher is bad.
The Unit!!d Stata grants its citizens the right to due process; an American is innocent of whatever he or she is accused of until guilt is proved. The burden of proof is on the accuser, and there is a specific.process by which innocence or guilt is determined.
In the case of a teacher in New York State, that right, that protection, is embodied in the tenure law; and the process governing teacher disciplinary hear•ings is referred to as 3020 (A). Tenure is much misun•derstood. It does not guarantee lifelong employment. It does not mean a teacher never can be fired.
Tenure assures that a teacher cannot be dismissed
without just cause, which must be established through
due process. Cause for dismissal (or lesser penalties)
can be incompetence, immorality, neglect of duty or
several other specific failings. But the cause must be
proved. Thus, a teacher is protected from dismissal for
other reasons, such as a personal conflict with his or
her principal, or complaints from a disgruntled parent
with unproved allegations who has gotten the ear of a
school board member.
The system of due process sometimes works slowly,
as do other American justice systems. When a 3020 (A)
case drags on for weeks or months, it is fruStrating to
all concerned, especially the teacher under the cloud of
unproved allegations; NYSUT supports efforts to im•
prove the process and reduce costs caused by unneces•
sary delays. But"we never will seek such reforms at the
expense of either due process or justice. Given a choice
between expensive, drawn-out justice and a quicker,
cheaper system which may deny an individual that
right, we'll choose the former-and so will other fair•
minded Americans.
The fact that due process sometimes is lengthy
doesn't diminish the value of the law. The process stabi•
lizes faculties, improves morale and -contrary to the
implications of the article -contributa to New York's
position ofleadership and excellence in education. Even
those who would like to modify the process support it.
Education Commissioner Gordon Ambach has been out•spoken in: his support of the concept of tenure.
Our files have numerous examples of a teacher's reputation and career being saved when a 3020 (A) hearing resulted in dismissal of charges and affirma•tion of innocence. I cannot offer specific names and places because 3020 (A) rightly provides for removal of such charges from a teacher's record when those charges have not been proved. For every instance cited in the article of the difficulty in getting rid of the ac•cused "bad" teacher, there are several instances of the same process exonerating a teacher of charges stem•ming from unfair and untrue accusations. ..
There is another point to consider regarding the length oftime that disciplinary hearings often require. The school district has as long as it wishes to prepare its case against a teacher before it files charges. The accused teacher, then, should not be forced to respond in a short time to what often are very complicated charges covering an extended period. '.
To return to my original statement, NYSUT does not want "bad" teachers in our schools. What can be done to lessen the possibility of ill-prepared or unquali•fied teachers reaching the classroom? We believe the process of prevention should begin earlier -before any situation reaches the point of having to get rid of an incompetent teacher. .'
Much greater care should be taken in preparing,
hiring, and evaluating teachers. Teachers want that
kind of quality control. The schools and the administra•
tors want it. The public should demand it.
NYSUT strongly supports higher standards in
teacher education at the college and university level;
we support higher standards for admission to the teach•
ing profession; we support more comprehensive evalua•
tions that are constructive and promote professional
development. .
Then, after a teacher has been adequately trained,
hired for a probationary periOd, thoroughly evaluated
and granted tenure, the burden ofproof rightly belongs
on the employer to demonstrate why that individual
subsequently should be fired. Higher standards all
along the line would result in far fewer "bad" teachers
ever reaching the classroom.
NYSUT is not in the business of protecting ''bad''
teachers. We are, however, in the business of guaran•
teeing that all tenured teachers receive due process
and justice. We are in the busineSti of making sure
that no one is railroaded out of a career. We are in
the business of protecting the assumption of inno•
cence unless guilt is proved through a sometimes
lengthy, but necessary, process.
And we make ~oapologies for beinginthat business.
Thomas Y. Hobart Jr. is president of the 'New
York State United reachers.


Telephone (516) 459-6400
159 WoltRd.. P.O. Box 15-00s•.A1ba/V. NY 12212-6008

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