New Year Could Mean More Job Security For Some North Carolina Teachers

Some North Carolina Public School teachers will soon get more job security. A law that prohibits multi-year contracts will expire in the coming months.

The North Carolina General Assembly voted to eliminate teacher tenure in 2013. But the State Supreme Court said lawmakers violated the constitutional rights of veteran educators by taking away job protections they'd already earned.

However, the judges said lawmakers could stop new teachers from earning the same type of protections since the law passed. So in many cases, instead of offering multi-year contracts, districts have had to offer them year-to-year based on performance reviews and other factors.

According to the News and Observer, that legislation is set to end next July. Now school districts across the state are developing new policies that will allow them to offer employment contracts of up to four years.

Education leaders say the changes will help recruit and retain teachers in their district. Many of them have criticized the law, even blaming lawmakers for playing schoolhouse politics.

But Republican leaders say it helps weed out bad teachers and makes it easier to fire them, and lead to better education outcomes.

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