Resignation of Professional Staff Members

FILE: GCPB

Critical

RESIGNATION OF PROFESSIONAL STAFF MEMBERS

The district encourages employees to notify the superintendent or designee in writing as soon as they decide not to return or not to accept another contract with the district. Resignations becomeeffective at the end of the school year in which they are submitted unless the district is notified otherwise. Resignations will be submitted to the Board for notification or approval at the nextregular Board meeting, and the superintendent will make recommendations to the Board in situations where an employee is seeking release from a contract.

Employees without Contracts

Employees without employment contracts are considered at-will employees and may resign at any time by submitting a written resignation to the superintendent or designee. The resignationis considered accepted once it is received by the superintendent or designee. The district requests that employees give notice at least ten business days prior to departure so that are placement can befound or alternative arrangements can be made. The fact that an employee resigned without adequate notice may be shared with potential employers seeking information about the employee.

Employees with Contracts

In general, professional staff members including, but not limited to, teachers and principals, have a binding contract with the district once the employee and the Board have executed a contractin accordance with law. A tenured teacher has a binding contract with the district for the next school year if the teacher does not notify the district of his or her resignation in writing by June 1.

Employees may notify the district that they will not accept a future employment contract or an extension of an existing contract by submitting a written resignation notice to the superintendentor designee at any time. The resignation is considered accepted once it is approved by the Board.

Employees who seek to resign during the course of a contract or after a contract has been executed, even if performance has not begun, must notify the superintendent or designee in writing ofthe request to resign. Only the Board has the authority to release an employee from a contract. The Board considers serious illness, transfer of a spouse and military service legitimatereasons for resignation of professional staff, but the Board will consider each resignation on an individual basis. An employee will not be released from a contract unless a suitable replacement isfound.

The Board reserves the right to pursue all available legal remedies when a:n employee breaks a contract with the district including, but not limited to, filing charges to have a teaching certificateor professional license revoked or seeking a monetary judgment. In addition, the district may share with potential employers seeking information about the employee the fact that the employee broke a contract with the district.

Allegations of Sexual Misconduct with a Student

If a former district employee whose job involved contact with children was terminated, nonrenewed or allowed to resign in lieu of termination as a result of an allegation of sexual misconduct witha student, or as a result of such allegations being substantiated by the Children's Division (CD) of the Department of Social Services' child abuse and neglect review board, the district is required bylaw to release information regarding the sexual misconduct to a potential public school or charter school employer who contacts the district regarding the former employee. In addition, ifthe CD substantiates a complaint of sexual misconduct with a student against a former employee of the district, the law requires the district to release the results of the CD investigation to anypotential public school or charter school employer who contacts the district.

When employment ends as a result of an allegation of sexual misconduct with a student, the district will provide appropriate due process prior to the release of information regarding thesexual misconduct to a potential public school or charter school employer, if feasible. The superintendent or designee is authorized to consult with the district's attorney to determine the appropriatelevel of due process to provide.

For the purposes of this policy, employees are considered "former employees" if they have resigned, been terminated, had their contracts nonrenewed, or been notified that their contracts with thedistrict will not be renewed or that the district is pursuing termination, even if the process has not been completed.

Adopted: 9/13/2003

Revised : 5/ 16/2012 5/20/2015

Legal Refs: ' ' 162.068, 168.101 - .133, RSMo.

U.S. Const. amend. XIV

New Franklin R-I School District, New Franklin, Missouri