BRADENTON, FL - A new state law allows some teachers to be fired without cause. That law is part of the Teacher Merit-Pay Bill, which also eliminated tenure and extended teacher's probationary period from 97 days to one full year. And according to the Manatee Education Association, a year's probation is too much for any teacher and gives the district an easy way out.
Officials with the Manatee Education Association say they can't think of one single profession that is required by law to have a full year probationary period, and they say there aren't any other states where teachers are required to do so either. Now, they say it's up to the Manatee County School District to decide how the new law is implemented.
The first day at a new job is usually stressful, but what if those first day jitters lasted all year long? That's what Pat Barber, President of the Manatee Education Association, says Senate Bill 736 does to teachers. “You're waiting everyday for the other shoe to fall. Sometimes, you haven't been given any feedback at all, or been observed or anything, but the principal decides they can do better than what you're providing to students.”
The law went into effect this school year, and all school districts across the state must take on the new policy.
“Now it provides for essentially a probationary contract for a full year, during which at any point during that year the teacher can be terminated with or without cause,” says Scott Martin, Assistant Superintendent with Manatee County Schools. He says having the probationary period helps the district hone its workforce, making sure the new teachers are a good fit. “Teachers are our most valuable resource and we don't make light decisions about letting teachers go during the probation period.”
But Barber says learning a new school's policies and curriculum takes time, and she's afraid some new teachers may not ever get that chance. “Pretty much gives management an easy out if they don't like what somebody's doing, rather than working with them and helping them to develop into a better teacher, it's easier to just let them go because they don't have to give a reason.”
District officials say they have not let anymore teachers go this year than in years past before the law was enacted, but Barber says she anticipates more will be laid off towards the end of this year, and she says it's the students who will ultimately suffer if they lose a teacher they've had so much time to bond with.
