GBK, Employee Discipline

The Superintendent and his/her designee shall possess the authority to discipline employees when an employee's behavior warrants such action. A principal shall have the authority to recommend to the Superintendent when appropriate that employees at the school in which he/she is employed should be disciplined.

Discipline of an employee shall be progressive in nature such that penalties for poor job performance or broken rules become increasingly harsh as similar or related conditions continue or infractions are repeated. Such progressive discipline, however, shall not inhibit the Superintendent’s authority or, in the case of certain employees, the School Board’s authority, to discipline, suspend, or terminate an employee based on the circumstances of any single event. Documentation of employee behavior, employee performance and any disciplinary action taken shall be properly and thoroughly recorded.

Should any disciplinary measure become necessary, any documentation shall be considered confidential and treated in accordance with statutory provisions and School Board policy.

Hearing procedures are statutorily required for certain disciplinary actions for teachers as defined below. However, such procedures do not prevent the Superintendent and/or principal from taking other disciplinary measures which do not require a hearing, as he/she feels appropriate.

Discipline and disciplinary action shall include only suspension without pay, reduction in pay, involuntary demotion, or dismissal.

Written notice shall be considered given when the notice is hand delivered to the teacher, or on the day it is delivered to the teacher by registered mail, certified mail, or a commercial courier.

The Superintendent may take disciplinary action against any non-tenured teacher after providing such teacher with the written reasons therefor and providing the teacher the opportunity to respond. The teacher shall have seven (7) days to respond, and such response shall be included in the teacher’s personnel file. The Superintendent shall notify the teacher in writing of his/her final decision. The teacher shall not be entitled to a hearing before the School Board.

Within sixty (60) days of such notice, the teacher may seek summary review in district court of whether or not the Superintendent’s action was arbitrary or capricious.

A teacher with tenure shall not be disciplined except upon written and signed charges by the Superintendent or his/her designee of poor performance, willful neglect of duty, incompetency, dishonesty, immorality, or of being a member of or contributing to any group, organization, movement, or corporation that is by law or injunction prohibited from operating in the state of Louisiana, and then only if furnished with a copy of such written charges and given the opportunity to respond.

The teacher shall have ten (10) calendar days from written notice of the charges to respond, in person or in writing. Following review of the teacher’s response, the Superintendent may take interim disciplinary action, which may include placing the teacher on paid administrative leave. If the teacher has been arrested for a violation of any of the following: La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§14:42 through 14:43.5, 14:80 through 14:81.5, any other sexual offense affecting minors, any of the crimes provided in La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §15:587.1, or any justified complaint of child abuse or neglect on file in the central registry pursuant to Children’s Code Article 615, the administrative leave shall be without pay. Paid administrative leave shall not exceed fifty (50) days from notice of the Superintendent’s interim decision.

Within ten (10) calendar days after written notice of the interim disciplinary action or within ten (10) calendar days after receipt of the teacher’s response if no interim disciplinary action is taken, a teacher may request a hearing before a disciplinary hearing officer. If the teacher fails to timely request a hearing, the disciplinary action shall become final.

Upon request for a review hearing, the Superintendent shall randomly appoint a hearing officer from a list of persons previously approved by the School Board as disciplinary hearing officers. If the school district serves fewer than twenty thousand students, the School Board shall maintain a list of at least five (5) hearing officers. If the school district serves twenty thousand students or more, the School Board shall maintain a list of at least ten (10) hearing officers. All hearing officers shall be qualified to serve as a disciplinary hearing officer in accordance with state law. If the School Board fails to maintain such a list, the Superintendent may randomly appoint a hearing officer from a list of persons previously approved by the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.

Such hearing may be private or public, at the option of the teacher, and shall commence no sooner than ten (10) calendar days nor later than thirty (30) calendar days after receipt of the teacher's request for such hearing. The disciplinary hearing officer shall have the power to issue subpoenas, and shall conduct the hearing in accordance with procedures adopted by the School Board.

The teacher shall have the right to appear before the disciplinary hearing officer with witnesses on his/her behalf and with counsel of his/her selection. The disciplinary hearing officer shall hold a hearing and review on whether the interim decision of the Superintendent was arbitrary or capricious and shall either affirm or reverse the action of the Superintendent. The disciplinary hearing officer shall notify the Superintendent and the teacher of his/her final determination, with written reasons, within ten (10) days from the date of the hearing. If the Superintendent's disciplinary action is affirmed, it shall become effective upon the teacher's receipt of the decision of the disciplinary hearing officer. If the Superintendent's disciplinary action is reversed, the teacher shall be restored to duty.

Within sixty (60) days from the postmarked date of such written notification of the decision of the disciplinary hearing officer, the School Board or the teacher may petition a court of competent jurisdiction to review the matter as a summary proceeding.

The time periods contained above may be extended by mutual agreement of the parties.

The Superintendent shall have the authority to discipline tenured bus operators and persons employed on performance contracts, including suspension with or without pay, when circumstances necessitate immediate action. If sufficient grounds for suspension without pay are subsequently not found to exist by the School Board or Superintendent, the bus operator or contract appointee shall be reimbursed for any loss of compensation.

The Superintendent shall have the authority to discipline, including suspension, any non-tenured, non-contract employee with or without pay, when circumstances warrant such action.

La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §17:443 and §17:444 require school districts to utilize Disciplinary Hearing Officers (DHO) when certain disciplinary actions, as defined by law, are contemplated against tenured teachers and against administrators. These procedures shall govern the conduct of such hearings before a DHO within the school district.

confer with the parties and their counsel regarding scheduling;
advise the teacher or administrator that the hearing will be either public or private, at the option of the teacher or administrator;
review whether the interim decision of the Superintendent was arbitrary or capricious and shall either affirm or reverse the action of the Superintendent;
notify the Superintendent and the teacher or administrator of his final determination, with written reasons, within ten (10) days of the conclusion of the hearing;
maintain and safeguard all exhibits accepted or proffered into evidence at the hearing; and
such other duties and responsibilities as may be imposed upon him/her by law and/or these procedures.

Hearings shall be scheduled in accordance with the timelines established by law and shall be held in private or open session, at the option of the teacher or administrator. Hearings shall be held at the School Board's central office, unless a different location is fixed by the DHO.
Hearings shall be conducted on weekdays during normal business hours, unless the DHO determines that the just and efficient completion of the hearing, compliance with the mandated delays, or the DHO's, counsel's or party's schedule requires a deviation from such times.
The DHO may suspend a hearing, upon both parties' agreement and request, when it appears that a resolution of the disciplinary action at issue has been reached between the parties. Before such hearing is suspended, such resolution shall be entered upon the record of such proceeding and shall have the same preclusive force and effect as a compromise entered and received in open court. Any verbal agreements placed into the record shall be memorialized in writing and signed by all parties within seven (7) calendar days.
The DHO shall require that the proceedings be conducted with dignity and in an orderly and expeditious manner and shall control the proceedings so that justice is done.
Both parties shall have the right to appear before the DHO with witnesses on their behalf and with counsel of their selection.
The normal order of the hearing shall be as follows:

Before testifying, every witness shall be required to declare that he will testify truthfully, by oath or affirmation.
A witness who is subpoenaed but who fails to appear or a witness who appears but refuses to testify without proper cause shall be considered in contempt, and the DHO may apply to a district judge in the Parish where the hearing is being held for an Order holding the recalcitrant witness in contempt.
The DHO may order, upon a showing of appropriate safeguards, live testimony of a witness to be presented during the hearing by teleconference, video link, or other visual remote technology, if the witness is beyond the subpoena power of the DHO or when compelling circumstances are shown.
Formal exceptions to rulings or orders of the DHO are unnecessary. Contemporaneous objections with the reasons stated therefore to such rulings are sufficient.
In all cases, the DHO shall state the reason for his/her ruling as to the inadmissibility of the evidence.
When the DHO rules against the admissibility of any evidence, he/she shall either permit the party offering such evidence to make a complete record thereof, or permit the party to make a statement setting forth the nature of the evidence.
At the request of any party, the DHO may allow any excluded evidence to be proffered, subject to cross-examination on the record during a recess or such other time as the DHO shall designate. When the record is completed during a recess or other designated time, there will be no necessity for the requesting party to make a statement setting forth the nature of the evidence.
If the DHO permits a party to make a complete record of the evidence held inadmissible, it shall allow any other party the opportunity to make a record in the same manner of any evidence bearing upon the evidence held to be inadmissible or, in case of the unavailability of such evidence or inability to the other party to do, to make a statement setting forth the nature of the evidence.
The Louisiana Administrative Code is not applicable to hearings conducted before the DHO. In addition, a strict interpretation of the Louisiana Code of Evidence shall not be used to exclude evidence when, in the opinion of the DHO, the principles underlying the Code of Evidence and attendant circumstances suggest that such evidence is reliable.
Each hearing shall be recorded by a certified court reporter.
Such court report's appearance fee shall be paid by the School Board within forty-five (45) days of the presentation of an invoice.
Upon the request of any party to the DHO, he/she shall request the court reporter to transcribe the record of the entire hearing and transmit the original transcript of the hearing to the DHO. The requesting party shall be obligated to pay all costs and fees associated with the transcription of the hearing by the certified court reporter and for obtaining a copy thereof. Notice of such request for transcription shall be contemporaneously transmitted to all parties who may obtain a copy of such transcript from the court reporter upon paying for same.
Upon request of any party directed to the DHO, he/she shall cause the original transcript of the hearing and all exhibits accepted or proffered into evidence to be filed with the appropriate district court. The requesting party shall be obligated to pay all costs and fees associated with the filing of the transcript and exhibits directly to the clerk of court at the time of filing.
All exhibits accepted or proffered into evidence shall be maintained and safeguarded by the DHO for a period of not less than one hundred twenty (120) days after transmission of his/her final determination to the Superintendent. After the expiration of such one hundred twenty (120) day period, all evidence shall be sealed and returned to the Superintendent.
The DHO shall not be called as a witness upon review by the District Court, unless there is a dispute as to the formalities required by law for such hearings and only when ordered by the District Court.