LAE reacts to Third Circuit Court of Appeal's ruling of fired Vermilion Parish teacher

BATON ROUGE — The Louisiana Association of Educators (LAE) applauds the Louisiana Third Circuit Court of Appeals for upholding the rule of law in a Vermilion Parish teacher due process rights case.
The Third Circuit, based out of Lake Charles, determined that the procedure outlined in Governor Jindal’s controversial public school policy law, Act 1 of 2012, denies all tenured teachers the due process rights to which they are entitled. LAE President Debbie Meaux says the ruling proves how important it is for the law to spell out unambiguous rules surrounding teacher dismissal procedures.
“Our school administrators are deserving of a clear dismissal process that is constitutionally valid, in order to avoid mistaken actions that end up overturned in court,” Meaux said. “All tenured teachers are constitutionally entitled to due process; without it, highly qualified, effective teachers can fall victim to disciplinary and dismissal practices that violate their constitutional rights. We are happy that the Third Circuit Court of Appeals recognized the inherent problems with Act 1 and issued a ruling for our member that is consistent with the Louisiana and U.S. Constitutions.”
The Vermilion Parish teacher approached her local LAE affiliate, the Vermilion Association of Educators, with the grounds for a legal challenge after questioning the legality of her termination, which followed protocols set forth in the flawed portions of Act 1’s teacher dismissal policies.
In explaining the LAE’s position surrounding the teacher due process debate, Meaux said association members understand that Louisiana school districts need and want an efficient procedure in place to release individuals when necessary; however, it’s equally important to make sure any system for dismissal follows what’s spelled out in the law and the constitution.
“Our students stand to lose talented, dedicated classroom teachers if we don’t have an established process that allows for fair challenges to take place before career-altering decisions are made,” said Meaux. “It’s imperative that we protect the rights of those individuals who truly deserve to be in the classroom.”
After several constitutional challenges and defeats in court, officials from Governor Jindal’s office worked with LAE leaders and other education stakeholder groups in the 2014 Legislative Session to amend several flawed portions of Act 1 of 2012. Changes include replacing a three-member disciplinary ruling panel with a professional, third-party hearing officer to determine the outcome of teacher appeals to disciplinary actions and dismissals. Other amendments provide tenured teachers facing termination the opportunity for a pre-termination hearing - the 2012 law only gave teachers the right to a hearing after termination. The law became effective as Act 570 in 2014.