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| Date: | May 14, 2011 | | Contact Name: | Susan Closmore | | Contact Phone: | 651-296-5712 | | Contact Email: | susan.closmore@senate.mn | | For Immediate Release | |
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| SENATE PASSES SENATOR THOMPSON’S TEACHER TENURE REFORM BILL |
St. Paul- The Minnesota State Senate passed a teacher tenure reform bill Saturday by a vote of 36 to 25. Senate File 768, authored by Senator Dave Thompson (R-Lakeville), clarifies and slightly tightens the statutes that govern probationary staff in school districts.
“I’m thrilled that my colleagues in the Senate stood with me today in favor of these critical reforms for Minnesota’s schools and our children’s future. This bill gives schools the tools and the time to adequately review teachers and principals that are new to the district or new to the position before investing in their job security through tenure,” said Senator Thompson. “We are blessed to have so many tremendous teachers in our great state. This bill gives school districts the opportunity to keep only the best teachers in our classrooms, teaching our children.”
Provisions in Senate File 768 include:
• Already-tenured teachers who transfer to a new school district must participate for three years in probationary status (current law is only 1 year).
• To count as a year of teaching, a probationary teacher must complete at least 120 days (current law is only 60 days) of teaching in a school year.
• A teacher promoted to the position of principal or assistant principal within the district is required to be on probation for two years before being protected from demotion by the tenure law.
• School district superintendents will be able to make exceptions for specialized teachers in Montessori or language immersion programs, advanced placement programs, or music programs, when considering layoffs (current law handles layoffs by "last hired, first fired" rule).
• Clarifies that a school district is allowed to move a principal into another job classification (such as assistant principal) without it being considered a demotion and in violation of the tenure law as long as the employee’s compensation remains the same.
