§442.  Tenure

A.(1)(a)  A teacher who has acquired tenure before September 1, 2012, retains tenure and is subject to the provisions of this Section.

(b)  Effective beginning on July 1, 2012, a teacher rated "highly effective" for five years within a six-year period pursuant to the performance evaluation program as provided in R.S. 17:3881 through 3905 shall be granted tenure.

(2)  A teacher paid with federal funds shall not be eligible to acquire tenure, nor shall time spent in employment paid with federal funds be counted toward the time required for acquisition of tenure.

B.  The school superintendent shall notify a teacher, in writing, when tenure has been awarded and the teacher is deemed to have acquired tenure on the date specified therein.  A teacher who is not awarded tenure remains an at-will employee of the public school board or the special school district but shall acquire tenure upon meeting the criteria established in Subsection A of this Section.

C.(1)  A tenured teacher who receives a final performance rating of "ineffective" pursuant to the performance evaluation program as provided in R.S. 17:3881 through 3905 shall lose his tenure and all rights related thereto immediately upon exhaustion of the grievance procedure established pursuant to R.S. 17:3883(A)(5), unless the "ineffective" performance rating is reversed, and such rating shall constitute sufficient grounds for disciplinary action pursuant to R.S. 17:443(A).  If a teacher is found "highly effective" based on the evidence of the growth portion of the evaluation but is found "ineffective" according to the observation portion, within thirty days after such finding, the teacher shall be entitled to a second observation by members of a team of three designees, chosen by the local superintendent, which shall not include the principal.

(2)  Such teacher shall reacquire tenure if the teacher receives a performance rating of "highly effective" for five years within a six-year period subsequent to receiving an "ineffective" rating as provided in Subsection A of this Section.

Acts 2012, No. 1, §3, eff. July 1, 2012; Acts 2014, No. 570, §1, eff. June 9, 2014.