Sec. 5-242. Appointment and tenure of teachers in state institution schools.

(a) Any board of trustees of a state institution and any state agency other than the State Board of Education or the Board of Governors of Higher Education or its constituent units, hereinafter referred to as the “employer”, may authorize the superintendent or supervising agent to employ personnel for unclassified positions requiring a certificate under section 10-145 below the rank of superintendent. Any superintendent or supervising agent not authorized to employ such persons shall submit to such employer nominations for such positions under his jurisdiction and, from the persons so nominated, such employer may employ persons to fill such positions. Such employer shall accept or reject such nominations within one month from their submission. If such nominations are rejected, the superintendent or supervising agent shall submit to such employer other nominations, and such employer may employ persons from among those nominated to fill such positions and shall accept or reject such nominations within one month from their submission. The contract of employment of such unclassified personnel below the rank of superintendent shall be in writing and may be terminated at any time for any of the reasons enumerated in subdivisions (1) to (6), inclusive, of subsection (b) of this section, but otherwise it shall be renewed for a second, third or fourth year unless such employee has been notified in writing prior to March first in one school year that such contract will not be renewed for the following year, provided, upon the employee's written request, such notice shall be supplemented within five days after receipt of such request by a statement of the reason or reasons for such failure to renew. Such employee may, upon written request filed with the employer within ten days after the receipt of such notice, be entitled to a hearing before the board to be held within fifteen days of such request. The employee shall have the right to appear with counsel of his choice at such hearing.

(b) Beginning with and subsequent to the fourth year of continuous employment of such an employee by such employer, the contract of employment of such employee shall be renewed from year to year, except that it may be terminated at any time for one or more of the following reasons: (1) Inefficiency or incompetence; (2) insubordination against reasonable rules of the employer; (3) moral misconduct; (4) disability, as shown by competent medical evidence; (5) elimination of the position to which the employee was appointed, if no other position exists to which he may be appointed if qualified; or (6) other due and sufficient cause; provided, prior to terminating a contract, an employer shall give the employee concerned a written notice that termination of his contract is under consideration and, upon written request filed by such employee with such employer within five days after receipt of such notice, shall within the next succeeding five days give such employee a statement in writing of its reasons therefor. Within twenty days after receipt from an employer of written notice that contract termination is under consideration, the employee concerned may file with such employer a written request for a hearing, which such employer shall hold within fifteen days after receipt of such request. Such hearing shall be public if the employee so requests or the employer so designates. The employee concerned shall have the right to appear with counsel of his choice at such hearing, whether public or private. An employer shall give the employee concerned its written decision within fifteen days after such hearing, together with a copy of a transcript of the proceedings, which shall be furnished without cost. Nothing herein contained shall deprive an employer of the power to suspend an employee from duty immediately when serious misconduct is charged without prejudice to the rights of the employee as otherwise provided in this section.

(c) The provisions of any special act regarding the dismissal or employment of employees covered by this section shall prevail over the provisions of this section when in conflict.

(d) After having had a contract of employment made in accordance with this section renewed for a fourth year in any one institution or agency, any such employee who is subsequently employed in any other institution or agency covered by this section or any school district subject to the provisions of section 10-151 shall become subject to the provisions of subsection (b) of this section or subsection (b) of section 10-151, as the case may be, after eighteen months of continuous employment, unless, prior to completion of the eighteenth month following commencement of the employment in such institution, agency or school district, such employee has been notified in writing prior to March first in accordance with the provisions of subsection (a) of this section that such contract will not be renewed for the following year irrespective of the duration of employment under the then existing contract beyond the date of said notification or unless, for a period of five or more years immediately prior to such subsequent employment, such employee has not been employed in any public school within this state.

(e) Any employee aggrieved by the decision of an employer after a hearing as provided in subsection (b) of this section may appeal therefrom in accordance with the provisions of section 4-183, except such appeal shall be in the judicial district in which such employer is located and costs may be allowed against such board if it appears to the court that such board acted with gross negligence or in bad faith or with malice in making the decision appealed from. Any such appeal shall be a privileged case with respect to assignment thereof.

(1967, P.A. 838; P.A. 76-436, S. 253, 681; P.A. 77-573, S. 24, 30; 77-603, S. 7, 125; P.A. 78-280, S. 1, 127; P.A. 82-218, S. 37, 46; P.A. 84-241, S. 2, 5.)

History: P.A. 76-436 replaced court of common pleas with superior court in Subsec. (e), effective July 1, 1978; P.A. 77-573 replaced commission for higher education with board of higher education; P.A. 77-603 replaced former appeal provisions with requirements that appeals be in accordance with Sec. 4-183 except with respect to county or judicial district in which heard and that they be privileged in assignment; P.A. 78-280 deleted words “county or” from phrase “county or judicial district”; P.A. 82-218 replaced board of higher education with board of governors in Subsec. (a) pursuant to reorganization of higher education system, effective March 1, 1983; P.A. 84-241 added “of higher education” to board of governors' title.

Notation

Cited. 168 C. 435; 171 C. 691; 173 C. 462.

Cited. 39 CS 462.