This is our starting text

SB-0609, As Passed Senate, June 30, 2005

SUBSTITUTE FOR

SENATE BILL NO. 609

A bill to amend 1937 (Ex Sess) PA 4, entitled

"An act relative to continuing tenure of office of certificated

teachers in public educational institutions; to provide for

probationary periods; to regulate discharges or demotions; to

provide for resignations and leaves of absence; to create a state

tenure commission and to prescribe the powers and duties thereof;

and to prescribe penalties for violation of the provisions of this

act,"

by amending sections 1 and 3 of article IV (MCL 38.101 and 38.103),

as amended by 1993 PA 60, and by adding section 1a to article IV.

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:

ARTICLE IV

Sec. 1. ~~Discharge~~ Except as otherwise provided in section 1a

of this article, discharge or demotion of a teacher on continuing

tenure may be made only for reasonable and just cause and only as

provided in this act. This act does not prevent any controlling

board from establishing a reasonable policy for retirement to apply

equally to all teachers who are eligible for retirement under the

public school employees retirement act of 1979, ~~Act No. 300 of the~~

~~Public Acts of 1980, being sections 38.1301 to 38.1408 of the~~

~~Michigan Compiled Laws~~ 1980 PA 300, MCL 38.1301 to 38.1408, or,

having established a reasonable retirement age policy, from

temporarily continuing on a year-to-year basis on criteria equally

applied to all teachers the contract of any teacher whom the

controlling board might wish to retain beyond the established

retirement age for the benefit of the school system.

Sec. 1a. The rights of a teacher on continuing tenure under

this article are subject to sections 1230d and 1535a of the revised

school code, 1976 PA 451, MCL 380.1230d and 380.1535a. To the

extent that any provision of this article is inconsistent with

those sections of law, this article does not apply to the teacher.

For the purposes of this article, a conviction of a violation of

section 1230d of the revised school code, 1976 PA 451, MCL

380.1230d, or a violation of 1 of the crimes listed in section

1535a(1) or (2) of the revised school code, 1976 PA 451, MCL

380.1535a, is considered to be reasonably and adversely related to

the ability of the person to serve in an elementary or secondary

school and is sufficient grounds to support the discharge or

demotion of a teacher on continuing tenure.

Sec. 3. (1) On the filing of charges in accordance with this

article, the controlling board may suspend the accused teacher from

active performance of duty until 1 of the following occurs:

(a) The teacher fails to contest the decision to proceed upon

the charges within the time period specified in section 4(1) of

this article.

(b) A preliminary decision and order discharging or demoting

the teacher is issued by the administrative law judge under section

4(5)(i) of this article.

teacher, a final decision and order is rendered by the tenure

commission under section 4(5)(m) of this article.

(2) If a teacher is suspended as described in subsection (1),

the teacher's salary shall continue during the suspension. However,

if the teacher is convicted of a felony that is not a listed

offense or of a misdemeanor that is a listed offense, the

controlling board may discontinue the teacher's salary effective

upon the date of the conviction. If the teacher is convicted of a

felony that is a listed offense, the controlling board shall

discontinue the teacher's salary effective upon the date of

conviction. As used in this subsection, "listed offense" means that

term as defined in section 2 of the sex offenders registration act,

1994 PA 295, MCL 28.722.

(3) If a preliminary decision and order discharging a teacher

is issued by the administrative law judge and the tenure commission

subsequently reverses the preliminary decision and order of the

administrative law judge, the tenure commission may order back pay.

Enacting section 1. This amendatory act takes effect October

15, 2005.

Enacting section 2. This amendatory act does not take effect