Memo from Sherwood to Haywood

    T,lEUORANDU!'1

JuIy 2, 1984

TO : PETER SHERI{OOD

FRO!.I : ARTHUR HAYWOOD

RE : Reinstatement of Tenured pubric school Teacher

FACTg:

A tenured teacher in public employment in Alabama

was discharged on the grounds of conviction on a felony charge.

However, the felony conviction was later reversed.

QUESTIONI:

Does a tenured teacher in public employment in Alabania

have the right to reinstatement upon reversal of a felony convic-
tion for which they were discharged?

SHORT ANSWER:

In order to gain the right to reinstaternent a tenured

teacher must establish that their discharge either violated
procedural due process or was 'arbitrarily unjust, . rn this case

the wrongful discharge occurred because the teacher was terminated

before the final determination of her innocence by the courts.
such a prernature terrnination is arguably 'arbitrari Iy un just t .
However, the standard for determining what is arbitrarily unjust
under Alabama law is relatively undeveloped. Facts suggesting a

violation of procedural due process were not available. once a

wrongfut discharge is established then reinstatement of the

teacher is an appropriate remeoy under Alabama 1aw.



Di scuss ion

A public school teacher with continuing service status

or tenure in Alabama should receive the utmost consideration when

assessing their rights to continudemployment'

After a teacher attains tenure, he or
she has an exPectancy of future employment
similar to that of a public employee under
a system of civil service, se€ €.$.r 9i!Vof MobiIe v. Mitchell, 294 AIa. 474, 318
So.2d 708 (1975), and may be discharged
only for just cause as specified under
Coae tgZS, S-J-e--24:8, pursuanl to-the
pg-ocedures establ-ished in S-16-,?4--9 BpQ
s I6-?4-10.-

Barqer v. Jefferson Ctv. Bd. of Ed., 372 So.2d, 307, 309 (AIa.

f979). Indeed, the purPose of the teacher tenure laws is to

"insure to the teachers some measure of security." Id. citing

Bd. of Ed. of Ivlarshall Ctv v. Bauqh, 199 So. 822 (ala. 1941).

Courts should therefore seek to preserve the continuing

employment of a

pardy as in the

stated:

teacher{enureil when such employment is in jeo-

present case. The Alabama Supreme Court further

Moreover, this Court has observed that
the teacher tenure statutes should be Iib-
erally construed in favor of the teachers
who constitute the class designated as the
primary beneficiaries of these statutes.
State Tenure Com'n v. l4adison County Board
of Ed., 282 Ala. 558, 2I3 So.2d 823 (I958);
Board of Educ. v. Baugh, 240 AIa. 391, 199
So. 822 ( 1941 ).

Id. at 309.

A tenured teacher may be discharged tor the following

reasons under the Alabama statutory frarnework: "incompetency,

insubordination, neglect of duty, immorality, justifiable de-

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crease in the number of teaching positions or other good and 3ust
cause . " A1a. Code S 15-24-8 (1977 ) . The felony convic-

tion of a tenured teacher would suffice as a good and Just cause

for a discharge.

Once a tenured teacher has been discharged a state circuit
court upon a writ of mandamus may review and reverse the dis-
missal by the State Tenure Commission. In re Sumter Cty. Bd.

of Ed. v. Alabama State Tenure, 352 So.2d 1137 (AIa. 1977). only

two grounds for reversal of the State Tenure Commission exists
for the court: 1) failure of dismissal proceedings to conform

with statutory procedural due process reguirements, and 2) dis-
missal of a teacher on grounds which are 'arbitrarily unjust.'
Id. at II38.

The facts given to this researcher do not indicate any

procedural due process issues. However, the cancellation of the

teacherrs contract before the lcompletion of the Iitigatior/ may be

considered premature and arbitrarily unjust. In order to sustain

a clairn for wrongful discharge, the plaintiff teacher must show

that the dismissal was unjust by f'trre preponderance of the evi-
dence and the overwhelming weight of the evidence." f rn re surnter

Ctv. Bd. of Eld. v. Alabanra State Tenure, supra at 1139. However,

the standard for deterrnining an arbitrarily unjust discharge

is relatively undeveloped in Alabarna.

In State Tenure Com'n v. Ir{adison Cty. Bd. of Ed., 213

So.2d 823 (Ala. 1958) a public school teacher with tenure was

disr,issed on grounds of incompetency, n€91ect of duty, insubordi-
nation and in',n,ora1ity. These charges were essential ly based upon

the co::r;r,unity's conf Iict with the teacher over ways and means of
preparing for 4H, FFA and FHA livestock exhibits and shows. The

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court determined that the behavior of the teacher was not irn-

proper, but within his discretion and that therefore his dis-

missal was arbitrarily unjust.

Arguably, the cancetlation of the teacherrs con_

tract in our case is unjust because the ultimate outcome of her
litigation had not been determined at the time of contract ,, )l' .'1,,*,,"1

,f,t' "
cancellation. Instead of issuing a premature contract 

".nA,i, ,:,,,,1,.1..
cerlation, a suspension would have been appropriate. A sus- L t

pension takes into account the possibitity of acguittal or re-'l-)-
versal of conviction and the danger of later conviction. Fur-
there, by sustaining the contract cancellation a court prepetuates

the stigma and taint associated with criminals. such a stigma
would be entirely inappropriate since the teacherrs conviction
was reversed. Sustaining the contract cancellation would be

clearly unfair to the teacher.

If the arbitrarily unjust grounds for the teacher dis-
charge are established, then reinstaternent is an appropriate
remedy. fn Madison Ctv. Brd. of Ed. v. Wrglev, 259 So.2d 233

(ala. 1972) the Alabama supreme court affirmed the circuit
court's award of reinstatement for a tenured teacher who was

wrongfully discharged. The Court ciearly sLated:

9Jhen the County Board refused to
reinstate the teacher after this
court's decision that its action
was arbitrarily unjust, one of the
teacher's remedies was to seek

,.('

Id. at 236.

School Bd. ,

improperlv

part of her

6 So . 2d 696 ( l,a . 79 42 ) ( where tenured teacher wa s

discharged and consequently awarded reinstatenrent as

remedies ).

specific performance of the contract

See also State ex rel. Brovles v. Tan ahoa Parish

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Reinstaternent for an improperly discharged tenured

teacher has only been denied in Barq'er v. Jef ferson ctv. Bd'

of Ed., et dI., 372 So.2d 307 (AIa. 1979) where a tenured

teacher's teaching certificate expired. WhiIe the teacher was

wrongfully discharged on other grounds, reinstatement was not

awarded because the teacher lacked a valid teaching certificate'

This case is clearly distinguishable from the present one since

the only obstacle to reinstatement here is an improper discharge

due to the reversal of the'teacher's conviction' As a result'

the general rule for providing reinstatement to a tenured teacher

applies in this case.

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