Another revised rule is Certified Employee Contract Rights. This concerns a second probationary year for teachers hired under the five of eight rule and these teachers, if found to have violated the Educator Code of Conduct, will be suspended without pay.
The district has decided to implement this rule for a few reasons, such as: The Keller schools will have the freedom to hire a probationary teacher for a second year to provide the teacher with more training and give them an opportunity to develop their skill. The district has also eliminated the amount of time that a teacher may be on probation. The contract now has the ability to be renewed for another two years. This will hit a maximum of three school years. However, under the 5 of 8 rule, anyone who has worked as a teacher for the five of eight years cannot be on a probationary contract for more than two years.
Keller ISD will also have the opportunity to suspend teachers without pay who have deliberately broken the Educator Code of Conduct. If the teacher is still in the middle of their contract, the Board of Trustees has the ability to suspend the teacher without paying that said person. The administration will also hold the right to postpone any hearings that deal with firing the teacher. Any teacher may go through the grievance process in the policy DGBA.
Before this rule had come together, any teacher who was on probation was suspended with pay.
“That poses a problem for us because let’s say there’s an investigation going, but the evidence is pretty clear that the teacher did have a wrong doing and is going to be terminated- we have to continue to pay that teacher, even though they aren’t working. So we are seeking relief from that,” said teacher Taylor Romero, who worked with the committee that dealt with attendance and disciplinary issues.
Now that this new rule will be implemented, there are some pros and cons that go along with it. A pro is that the district will no longer have to pay that teacher during the time of probation.
Romero explains the cons of this rule. Anyone who is not guilty of the accusations will be without a job for a period of time. This new rule can hurt and help according to Romero.
“But it’s also a little bit concerning for us as educators because it makes it much easier for us to be terminated without complete process.”
Amanda Bigbee, the Keller ISD General Council and facilitator of the DOI process, refutes this point. “Chapter 21 of the Texas Education Code sets out really specific parameters around what kind of hearings a teacher gets, deadlines for those. It’s a really robust process to ensure that teachers have the ability to tell their side of the story and have an independent hearing officer hear it and make a determination. None of those previsions were changed.”
Johjania Najera, the executive director of human resources and subcommittee facilitator for DOI, explains what would happen if a teacher was not found guilty.
“Due process is given to any employee, and if they were to be found not in any way guilty, then we would definitely go back and pay their salary that they did not get paid while they were put on a non-paid leave.”