SERIES 4000: DISTRICT EMPLOYMENT
4400 Professional Staff
4405-R Reduction in Force and Recall (Effective July 1, 2024)
This Policy must be implemented consistent with Policy 1101.
A. Reduction in Force and Recall for Classroom Teachers
When making program and staffing decisions resulting in the elimination of a teaching position or the recall of a teacher to a vacant teaching position, the Board will retain the most effective classroom teachers who are certified and qualified to instruct courses within the applicable curriculum, academic levels, and departments. The Board has the exclusive right to determine the size of the teaching staff based on curricular, fiscal, and other operating conditions. To the extent that the determinations involve Revised School Code Section 1248 requirements, the clear and transparent procedures of this Policy guides the implementation of that statute.
1. General Provisions
a. The Superintendent is responsible, acting within the approved budget, for establishing the number and nature of teaching assignments to implement the approved curriculum. If the Superintendent determines that insufficient funds are budgeted for the existing teaching staff or that a reduction in teaching staff is necessary due to program, curricular, or other operational considerations, the Superintendent will recommend to the Board the teaching positions to be reduced.
b. Reduction in force and recall decisions must be made based on teacher effectiveness criteria established in Revised School Code Section 1249 and Policy 4403.
c. Decisions about the reduction and recall of teachers will be guided by the following criteria:
i. Retaining the most effective teachers who are certified (or otherwise approved or authorized) and qualified to instruct the courses within the curriculum, academic level(s), department(s), and school schedule(s). A probationary teacher rated as effective or highly effective on the teacher’s most recent annual year-end performance evaluation is not subject to displacement by a tenured teacher solely because the other teacher is tenured under the Teachers’ Tenure Act.
ii. Teachers must be properly certified, approved, or authorized for all aspects of their assignments. The teacher’s certification, authorization, or approval status will be:
A) Determined by the Revised School Code, MDE’s Teacher Certification Code, MDE’s Rules for Special Education Programs and Services, and other applicable statutes and regulations; and
B) Based on documentation on file with the Superintendent’s office.
1) A teacher must maintain valid certification, approval, or authorization, as applicable, and is responsible for filing a copy of the certificate, approval, or authorization with the Superintendent’s office in compliance with Revised School Code Section 1532.
2) If a teacher petitions for nullification of the teaching certificate or any endorsement, the teacher must promptly provide written notice of that petition to the Superintendent’s office.
iii. In addition, teachers must be fully qualified for all aspects of their assignments, as determined by the Board, based on documentation on file with the Superintendent’s office, including:
A) Compliance with applicable state or federal regulatory standards, including standards established as a condition to receipt of foundation, grant, or categorical funding;
B) Credentials needed for District, school, or program accreditation;
C) District-provided professional development, training, and academic preparation for an instructional assignment that is anticipated to contribute to the teacher’s effectiveness in that assignment and is integrated into instruction;
D) Relevant special training, other than professional development or continuing education as required by state or federal law, and integration of that training into instruction in a meaningful way;
E) Disciplinary record, if any;
F) Length of service in a grade level(s) or subject area(s);
G) Recency of relevant and comparable teaching assignments;
H) Previous effectiveness ratings;
I) Attendance and punctuality;
J) Rapport with colleagues, parents, and students;
K) Ability to withstand the strain of teaching;
L) Compliance with state and federal law; and
M) Other relevant factors as determined by the Superintendent or designee.
iv. Teachers must provide the District with current information and documentation supporting the teacher’s certification and qualifications.
A) Reduction and recall decisions will be based on the teacher’s certification and qualifications in the District’s records at the time of the decision.
B) A laid off teacher must maintain current contact information (address, phone, and email address) with the Superintendent’s office.
C) Failure to maintain current contact information may negatively impact the teacher’s recall.
v. Teacher reductions and recalls are by formal Board action.
vi. Before the Board authorizes a teacher reduction, the Superintendent or designee will notify, in writing, the affected teacher of an opportunity to respond, either in person or in writing, to the proposed reduction.
vii. The Superintendent or designee will provide written notice of Board reduction in force or recall decisions to each affected teacher.
viii. A teacher’s length of service with the District or tenure under the Teachers’ Tenure Act will not be the sole factor in reduction in force and recall decisions.
d. Teacher reduction in force decisions will be implemented by the following:
i. If 1 or more teaching positions are to be reduced, the Superintendent will first identify the academic level(s) or department(s) affected by the reduction. Among those teachers who are certified, approved, or authorized and qualified to instruct the remaining curriculum within the affected academic level(s) or department(s), selection of a teacher(s) for reduction in force will be based on the factors set forth in this Policy.
ii. Teachers within the affected academic level(s) or department(s) who are certified and qualified for the remaining positions will be retained consistent with the factors set forth in this Policy.
iii. When a teaching position is identified for reduction and there exists a concurrently vacant teaching position for which the teacher in the position to be reduced is both certified and qualified, and the teacher has received an overall rating of at least effective on that teacher’s most recent year-end performance evaluation, that teacher may be assigned to the vacant position consistent with Policy 4402 unless the Superintendent or designee determines that the District’s educational interests would not be furthered by that assignment.
iv. If more than 1 teacher whose position has been identified for reduction is certified and qualified for a concurrently vacant teaching assignment, the Superintendent or designee will fill the vacancy consistent with Policy 4402, unless the Superintendent determines that the District’s educational interests would not be furthered by that assignment.
v. If the reduction or recall decision involves more than 1 teacher and all other factors distinguishing those teachers from each other are equal, seniority (as established by the most recent seniority list for the bargaining unit to which the teachers belong or, if none exists, the District’s records) will determine preference for reduction or recall.
At least 30 calendar days’ notice of reduction in force will be provided, absent extenuating circumstances.
2. Teacher Recall Process
a. A teacher is eligible for recall under this Policy for 12 months from the date the District implemented the reduction in force.
b. The Superintendent will first identify the academic level(s) or department(s) where a teaching vacancy exists.
c. Before or in lieu of initiating the recall of a laid-off teacher, the Superintendent may reassign teachers to fill vacancies in accordance with Policy 4402.
d. After or in lieu of any reassignment of existing teaching staff, the Superintendent may take either of the following actions to fill a vacancy:
i. Recall the laid-off teacher who is certified and qualified for the vacancy, provided the teacher was rated at least effective. If more than 1 laid-off teacher is certified and qualified for recall to a vacant teaching assignment, the Superintendent or designee will fill the vacancy consistent with Policy 4402; or
ii. Post the vacancy and consider all applicants if the Superintendent determines that:
A) the District’s educational interests would not be furthered by recalling an otherwise eligible laid-off teacher who meets the certification and qualification standards for the position, considering the factors in Policy 4402; or
B) no teacher on layoff meets the certification and qualification requirements for the position as otherwise stated herein.
e. The Superintendent or designee will provide written notice of the Board’s recall decision to any recalled teachers and will establish the time within which a teacher must accept recall to preserve the teacher’s employment rights.
f. A laid-off teacher who is offered an interview for a vacancy and who fails to appear at that interview forfeits all rights to recall and continued employment.
g. A laid-off teacher who is recalled and fails to accept recall by the time designated in the recall notice, or who does not report for work by the deadline specified in the recall notice after filing a written acceptance of recall with the Superintendent, will forfeit all rights to recall and continued employment unless the Superintendent, in the Superintendent’s sole discretion, has extended the time limit in writing.
If a collective bargaining agreement or individual employment contract governs reduction in force or recall, the Superintendent or designee will adhere to the applicable language.
B. Reduction in Force and Recall of Non-Teaching Professionals Not Subject to Revised School Code Section 1249
For Non-Teaching Professionals governed by a collective bargaining agreement, the Superintendent will implement the collective bargaining agreement’s standards and procedures that pertain to reduction in force or recall when recommending a reduction in force or recall to the Board.
If no collective bargaining agreement exists, or if an existing agreement does not address reduction in force or recall of Non-Teaching Professionals, the Superintendent will recommend a reduction in force or recall among Non-Teaching Professionals using the same standards and procedures as set forth in this Policy for teachers.
C. Unemployment Compensation
A teacher or Non-Teaching Professional who is laid off and who is paid unemployment compensation chargeable to the District during the summer immediately following a reduction in force and who is recalled on or before the beginning of the next school year will be paid according to an annual adjusted salary rate such that the employee’s unemployment compensation received plus the adjusted annual salary rate will be equal to the annual rate of salary the employee would have earned for the school year had the employee not been laid off.
Legal authority: MCL 38.71 et seq.; MCL 380.11a, 380.601a, 380.1248, 380.1249, 380.1532; MCL 423.215
Date adopted: 12/19/23
Date revised:
