Mid-Year Hiring: Reminders and Resources

As the fall semester ends, many educational entities are embarking on the mid-year hiring season due to resignations, retirements, and mid-year staffing adjustments, sparking many questions that can be answered in the information below.

Mid-Year Job Postings

Texas Education Code (TEC) § 11.513(e) addresses how districts may approach filling mid-year vacancies for a teacher position as defined in TEC § 21.201, which includes a superintendent, principal, supervisor, classroom teacher, counselor, or other full-time professional employee who is required to hold a certificate.

If, during the school year, a district needs to fill a vacant teacher position in less than ten school days, the district must provide notice of the posting of the position as soon as possible after the vacancy occurs, as required. However, a district is not required to post the notice for ten school days before filling the position or required to provide a reasonable opportunity for district employees to apply for the position.

School districts should ensure they are following posting guidelines, and if reducing the number of days a job is posted, it’s best to be consistent in procedures for posting and hiring employees for mid-year openings.

Reassignment and Transfer

TASB Policy DK(LOCAL) states, “All personnel are employed subject to assignment and reassignment by the superintendent or designee when the superintendent determines that the assignment or reassignment is in the best interest of the district.” Additionally, local policy defines reassignment as the “transfer to another position, department, or facility that does not necessitate a change in the employment contract of a contract employee.”

Before reassignment, district human resources staff should verify the terms of the employee’s contract to ensure it does not specify a particular position (i.e., 4th grade teacher, instructional coach). This should not be an issue for districts using the TASB model contracts in the HR Services Resource Library (member login required). TASB model contracts provide the use of professional capacity that ensures some flexibility in reassignment during the terms of the contract.

Contract or Letter of Employment

TASB HR Services consultants often receive questions about how a district should employ an educator hired after the beginning of the year. TEC § 21.401(a) specifies that educator contracts must be for a minimum of 10 months of service. Effectively, the rule requires the educator be employed on a contract based on a typical 10-month schoolyear.

During the first semester of the school year, issuing a 10-month Chapter 21 contract is reasonable. The 10-month requirement becomes problematic for mid-year hires, during the second semester. The contract is misaligned with the district contract cycle and doesn’t meet the rule for length of a contract.

While attorneys at TASB Legal Services reasonably believe the use of an employment agreement for a late hire could be legally defensible, there is no commissioner’s decision supporting this action. Employing the individual on a probationary contract during the second semester may give an individual more contract rights, but it complies with the requirement to employ the individual on a Chapter 21 contract. Regardless of how the district employs the individual, best practice is to follow the Chapter 21 process for terminating a probationary contract at the end of the year, including required timelines, if the district does not want to continue the employment relationship.

To ensure proper contract management processes are used, the district may want to consider employing the late hire on a Chapter 21 probationary contract with the term stated as follows:

“You will be employed for the remainder of the 20__-20__ school year, according to the hours and dates set by the District as they exist or may hereafter be amended.”

We always recommend a district work with local counsel to determine how to employ late hires in your district.

Resources

The following resources may help navigate mid-year hiring issues:

• HR Services Resource Library (member login required)
• HRX article: Mid-Year Job Postings
• HRX article: Contract Administration Resources
• HRX article: The Top 10 Most Common Questions on Educator Contracts
• HRX article: Chapter 21 Contract Guidance
• TASB Legal Services’ Guide to Educator Contracts