Education Law Module 3 Paper: California Education Code

Education Law
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Education Law
Step One
California statute and regulation: California Education Code. In particular, Education Code Section 44930-44988 was utilized extensively.
Case on teacher removal, termination and non contract renewal
Federal Court of Appeals Case: Takahashi v. Board of Education, F008684 (1988)
Step Two
The state law of California does not allow the school district to suspend or remove Ms. Anderson from the classroom basing upon the facts in problems 2 and 3. This is because Ms. Anderson’s conduct or behaviour does not merit her suspension or removal as per California law. According to Section 44932(b) of the Education Code, California law clearly stipulates that a school district’s governing body can suspend a permanent certificated worker for a certain time period only on grounds of unprofessional conduct. Even though the school cannot suspend or remove Ms. Anderson from the classroom basing upon the facts specified in problems 3 and 2, the school actually has some options to effectively address the concerns they have with regard to this teacher. The school board can give Ms. Anderson a written notification of her incompetency which specifies the nature of the incompetency including specific instances of the behaviour. The school board can also provide Ms. Anderson with an opportunity of correcting her faults so that her behaviour is no longer considered incompetent or worthy of her being suspended or dismissed. This is stipulated in the Education Code section 44938 of California state law.
The school board shall recommend the areas in which the teacher needs to improve in her performance and strive to help the employee in improving her performance. Section 44664 of the Education Code in California’s state statutes provide that if a teacher is not carrying out his or her duties satisfactorily in accordance with the standards specified by the governing board, then the teacher would be notified of such fact in writing by the employing authority. The written notice will explain the poor performance of the employee. Thereafter, the employing authority, which in this case is the school board, would discuss with the teacher and make recommendations regarding specific areas of improvement in the performance of the teacher and make an effort to assist the teacher in her performance improvement efforts.
Step Three
California state law allows the school district to terminate or dismiss Ms. Anderson basing upon the facts in problems 2 and 3 even though she is under contract. This is because her actions and behaviours clearly merit dismissal in accordance with the laws of California State. Education Code section 44932(a) explicitly enumerates the causes for teacher dismissal in the state of California. The main reasons for termination are as follows: unsatisfactory performance; immoral conduct such as egregious misconduct; mental or physical condition which unfits the teacher to associate with children or teach them; evident unfitness for service; dishonesty; drug abuse and alcoholism which makes the teacher not fit to teach; conviction or felony; or commissioning or supporting the commissioning of acts of criminal syndic...