Greater Clark County School Corporation
Bylaws & Policies
 

3139 - DISCIPLINE AND DISMISSAL OF CERTIFIED STAFF MEMBERS

Inappropriate conduct of employees will not be tolerated by the Board of School Trustees. However, the Board shall strive to assist certified staff employees to perform their duties satisfactorily. Reasonable effort shall be made to avoid the necessity of dismissing certified staff employees at any level.

The School Corporation believes that reasonable rules of conduct for employees are necessary. School Corporation rules are established by policy of the Board of School Trustees and are published online at Greater Clark’s website. The employee’s building supervisor will provide information on corporation rules. However, it is the responsibility of each employee to be familiar with school corporation rules. It is not a defense to avoid discipline that an employee was not informed of the rule by a supervisor.

The Board of School Trustees may cancel the contract of any certified employee upon receipt of a recommendation from the Superintendent of Schools when done in accordance with state laws and regulations.

A contract with a teacher may be cancelled in the manner set forth in sections 2 through 4 of IC 20-28-7.5 for any of the following reasons:

 A.Immorality
 B.Insubordination, which means a willful refusal to obey the state school laws or reasonable rules adopted for the governance of the school building or the school corporation
 C.Justifiable decrease in the number of teaching positions
 D.Incompetence, including receiving:
  1.an ineffective designation on two (2) consecutive performance evaluations under IC 20-28-11.5; or
  2.an ineffective designation or improvement necessary rating in three (3) years of any five (5) year period
 E.Neglect of duty
 F.A conviction for an offense listed in IC 20-28-5-8(c)
 G.Other good or just cause

In addition to the grounds set out in Indiana law that serve as a basis for cancellation of a teaching contract (see I.C. 20-28-7.5-1), the following list sets out examples of conduct that will subject any certified employee to disciplinary action, up to or including termination, pursuant to Indiana law. This is not an exhaustive list of conduct that will subject an employee to disciplinary action; but, is set out merely as examples of unacceptable conduct.

 A.Reporting to work or working after consuming or being under the influence of alcoholic beverages or drugs.

 B.Bringing alcoholic beverages or illicit drugs onto school premises or to school sponsored events.
 C.Being arrested or having charges filed, with or without a subsequent conviction, depending on the circumstances of the underlying action that resulted in legal action being initiated against the employee, whether during the work day, at a school- related event or during the employee’s personal time.

 D.Theft of school property.
 E.Falsification of employment application.
 F.Threats and/or acts of violence.
 G.Repeated violations of school corporation regulations.

Employees who have been arrested for an alleged violation of a drug or alcohol shall, within five (5) calendar days after arrest, notify the Superintendent/ designee of such arrest. An employee’s failure to provide such notification shall result in disciplinary action, up to and including suspension and/or termination of employment.

In keeping with the goal of the Board to assist employees in maintaining employment, the School Corporation has established a system of progressive discipline geared to correct conduct rather than penalize employees. At any time during the investigation of alleged misconduct, an employee may be placed on paid Administrative Leave in order to be able to fully investigate the situation or allegations. Discipline will be imposed after an investigation yields sufficient evidence of misconduct. Depending on the circumstances of the offense, discipline will include:

 A.Letter of Expectations*: A Letter of Expectations will be prepared by the employee’s supervisor that sets out the work/conduct-related expectations of the job being performed. A meeting will be held by the supervisor with the employee to review the expectations. The letter will be signed by the supervisor and the employee and the signed letter will be kept in the supervisor’s building-level employee file. The employee has the right to include union representation, as applicable, during this meeting. Note: An employee’s refusal to sign shall be documented on the letter that is issued. A Letter of Expectations will not be forwarded to the Human Resources Office for placement in the employee’s official personnel file unless additional disciplinary action occurs. *After the document has been in the building administrator’s file for 365 days or more, the employee may request that it be removed. The building administrator will remove the document, upon request, provided that no further disciplinary actions have been documented with respect to that issue.

 B.Written Reprimand: A written reprimand is a formal notice of a performance problem or inability to follow established policy. A written reprimand serves as a warning that continued infractions will not be tolerated and may result in recommendation for discharge.
 C.Suspension: For offenses warranting disciplinary consideration above the level of a written reprimand, the supervisor will bring the matter to the Employee Performance Review Committee for evaluation. Depending on the severity of the offense a suspension from employment may be invoked. The suspension can be with or without pay, providing that if the suspension is without pay, the provisions of IC 20-28-9-22 are followed or are waived by the employee, and the length of the suspension will be based on the circumstances of the misconduct.
 D.Contract Cancellation: For discipline resulting in a contract cancellation recommendation, a suspension will continue until such time as the Board of School Trustees votes on the Superintendent’s recommendation that the employee’s contract be cancelled. In the event that the Board does not uphold the Superintendent’s recommendation for contract cancellation, the employee will be reinstated to his/her position or a similar position and will be reimbursed for the time off (suspension) if it has been without pay.
  1.A recommendation for cancellation shall be made in accordance with the procedures set out in IC 20-28-7.5/Cancellation of Teacher Contracts.
  2.Due process procedures will be provided in accordance with I.C. 20-28-7.5.

I.C. 20-28-6 and 7
I.C. 20-28-9-21 through 23
29 C.F.R. 541.303