A split panel of the N.C. Court of Appeals has affirmed this morning a trial court ruling preserving career status, or tenure, for N.C. public school teachers. But the ruling offers no comfort for so-called probationary teachers who have not yet earned tenure.
The three-judge panel ruled unanimously to affirm the portion of Superior Court Judge Robert Hobgood’s ruling that threw out a probationary teacher’s challenge of a state law ending tenure. Writing the court’s opinion, Judge Linda Stephens expressed sympathy for probationary teachers who relied on the prospect of earning tenure when they initially took their jobs. But Stephens concludes that court precedents “provide no support for Plaintiffs’ argument that despite the Career Status Repeal, a probationary teacher has a vested right in the opportunity to earn career status.”
The panel split on the portion of Hobgood’s ruling dealing with the application of the state law to teachers who already had earned tenure. Stephens and Judge Martha Geer agreed with the trial court that the law ending tenure was unconstitutional for those who already had earned tenure. Judge Chris Dillon dissented, arguing that:
(A) the Career Status Law does not create a constitutionally protected contract right to continued employment (i.e., tenure); (B) the Career Status Repeal is unconstitutional to the extent that it grants local school boards the authority to strip career teachers of their constitutionally protected property interest without first holding a hearing; and (C) the Career Status Repeal, on its face, is not otherwise unconstitutional.
The split opinion means the matter could head to the N.C. Supreme Court for a final resolution.
