Supreme Court Denies Judicial Review in Former Teacher's Feud With School
by
Joseph C. Maya on Apr. 21, 2017
Other Education Employment Employment Wrongful Termination
Summary: Blog post about a teacher who challenged her firing by claiming she did not receive a proper hearing.
If you have a question or concern about special education law, school administration, federal standards, or the overall rights of a student, please feel free to call the expert education law attorneys at Maya Murphy, P.C. in Westport today at (203) 221-3100 .
In the case of Tomlinson v. Board of Education, a teacher, after receiving a lay off notice, requested a public hearing pursuant to Connecticut law to determine if grounds existed for her discharge. The hearing officer concluded the lay off was proper after which the school board discharged the teacher. The teacher appealed to the trial court, which affirmed the decision and dismissed the appeal. The teacher sought further review.
In considering the termination of the teacher's employment contract, the proper scope of review was that applicable to an administrative appeal since the school board acted like an administrative agency. In reviewing an administrative board, the trial court's function is to determine whether the board has acted illegally and not to substitute the court's judgment for that of the board. Further, a school board has discretion to accept or reject a recommendation from an impartial hearing panel, though it is bound by the panel's findings of fact unless unsupported by the evidence. Thus, the court had to determine if the school board acted illegally. The teacher alleged the school board improperly relied on agreements concerning Project Pride and Alternative Education, which protected her from such layoffs. The court found the teacher had standing to enforce the Project Pride agreement. The school board acted properly by failing to transfer the teacher to the English as a Second Language (ESL) program as the employees in that program were tutors not teachers.
If you have a child with a disability and have questions about special education law, please contact Joseph C. Maya, Esq., at 203-221-3100, or at JMaya@mayalaw.com, to schedule a free consultation.
Source: Tomlinson v. Board of Educ., 226 Conn. 704, 629 A.2d 333, 1993 Conn. LEXIS 248, 145 L.R.R.M. 2086 (Conn. 1993)