Lake Fenton Community School District
Administrative Guidelines
 

3130 - TEACHER PLACEMENT

According to statute, teacher assignment and placement is within the discretion of the District. M.C.L. 423.215(j). Decisions regarding the placement and/or assignment of teachers shall be made on the basis of the best interest of the school system as well as the certification, experience and performance evaluation for each respective teacher. The performance evaluation shall be consistent with the requirements of M.C.L. 380.1249.

The District shall conduct all placement and assignment of classroom teachers and, to the extent applicable, administrators satisfying the definition of "teacher" according to the following policies and procedures.

 A.Decisions regarding the placement and/or assignment of teachers shall be made on the basis of the best interest of the District as well as the certification, experience and performance evaluation for each respective teacher.
 B.Insofar as possible, teachers will be assigned to teach in their area of specialization, and teachers' desires and opinions will be taken into consideration regarding changes in assignment in the various grades, but all placement and assignment decisions are within the sole discretion of the District. All decisions pursuant thereto shall be final.
 C.Since students are entitled to be taught by teachers who are working within their area of competence, teachers shall not be assigned, except in accordance with the regulations of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) and the Michigan Department of Education to subjects and/or grades or other classes within the scope of their teaching certificates and/or their major or minor fields of study.
 D.Notice of changes in certification(s), endorsement(s) or qualification(s) shall be conducted as follows:
  1.By May 30th, of each school year, teachers who intend to secure additional endorsement(s), certification(s) or additional qualification(s), shall notify the Department of Human Resources in writing and include the change sought, the university involved or training involved, and the expected completion date.
  2.By the first teacher workday of the school year, any teacher who has submitted a written intent as set forth in subsection (1) above, shall supply the Department of Human Resources with written proof from a teacher certification office of the university or training entity that all work has been completed by such date, and if required, that recommendation by the university will be made to the Michigan Department of Education and Certification Office to be effective by the beginning of the subsequent school year.
  3.In the case of certification(s) and endorsement(s), prior to the first teacher workday of the subsequent school year, the teacher must present to the personnel office an official certificate indicating any such change in certification or endorsement.
 E.All teachers shall be given written notice of their tentative schedules for the forthcoming year as soon as practicable and under normal circumstances no later than June 1st. Teachers affected by assignment changes after June 30th, shall be notified as soon as practicable. Nothing in this section shall limit the District's authority to make changes in assignments at any time.
 F.Requests for transfer must be made prior to April 30th for the ensuing school year.
  1.A classroom teacher may apply for a transfer to another classroom position for which s/he is properly certificated and qualified.
  2.Transfer requests shall only remain on file for a period of one (1) year.
  3.Part-time personnel already under contract will be given consideration for reassignment or transfer prior to full time staff.
  4.No reassignment will be made if the result of such reassignment would be to keep a teacher rated Effective, who would otherwise have been recalled, on leave or on layoff.
  5.Consideration will be given to previous experience in the requested position and District-wide staffing needs.
  6.Upon written request, an internal applicant who was not selected for a posted position will be given verbal feedback from the administrator about the reason(s) s/he was not selected for the position.
 G.When it is determined that an involuntary transfer of a teacher is in the best interest of the District the teacher shall be notified as soon as possible and may upon request be given the reasons for said transfer.
 H.Any teacher who has been involuntarily transferred will be given consideration for return to the position from which s/he was involuntarily transferred when it becomes vacant, subject to the following:
  1.The involuntary transfer must not have been for disciplinary reasons.
  2.The teacher must have been rated as Effective or Highly Effective in the position s/he was involuntarily transferred from for the school year directly preceding the involuntary transfer.
  3.A written request to return to the position from which the involuntary transfer was made was filed with the Human Resources office by March 30th.
  4.Required certification for the former position has been maintained.
 I.A teacher returning from a leave of absence shall be offered a position commensurate with his/her training, experience and certification. A specific position in a specific school cannot be guaranteed on return from a leave of absence, but reasonable effort shall be made to return the teacher to his/her original position.
 J.When the leave of absence expires during a school year, every effort shall be made to place the teacher in an appropriate position as soon as such a position is available.