Connecticut Statutes
§ 10-151 — Employment of teachers. Definitions. Tenure. Notice and hearing on failure to renew or termination of contract. Appeal.
Connecticut § 10-151
This text of Connecticut § 10-151 (Employment of teachers. Definitions. Tenure. Notice and hearing on failure to renew or termination of contract. Appeal.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Connecticut primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.
Bluebook
Conn. Gen. Stat. § 10-151 (2026).
Text
(a)For the purposes of this section:
(1)“Board of education” means a local or regional board of education, a cooperative arrangement committee established pursuant to section 10-158a , or the board of trustees of an incorporated or endowed high school or academy approved pursuant to section 10-34 , which is located in this state;
(2)“Teacher” includes each certified professional employee below the rank of superintendent employed by a board of education for at least ninety calendar days in a position requiring a certificate issued by the State Board of Education;
(3)“Continuous employment” means that time during which the teacher is employed without any break in employment as a teacher for the same board of education;
(4)“Full-time employment” means a teacher's employment in a position
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Related
Petrowski v. Norwich Free Academy
506 A.2d 139 (Supreme Court of Connecticut, 1986)
Wanamaker v. Westport Board of Education
899 F. Supp. 2d 193 (D. Connecticut, 2012)
Spanierman v. Hughes
576 F. Supp. 2d 292 (D. Connecticut, 2008)
Zimmerman v. Board of Educ. of Town of Branford
597 F. Supp. 72 (D. Connecticut, 1984)
Alba v. Ansonia Board of Education
999 F. Supp. 687 (D. Connecticut, 1998)
Valenzisi v. Stamford Board of Education
948 F. Supp. 2d 227 (D. Connecticut, 2013)
Connecticut Education Ass'n v. Ferrandino, No. Cv93 531032 (Jan. 21, 1997)
1997 Conn. Super. Ct. 537-H (Connecticut Superior Court, 1997)
Jozus v. Morgan, No. Cv97-0081814s (Apr. 21, 1998)
1998 Conn. Super. Ct. 4176 (Connecticut Superior Court, 1998)
Drahan v. Regional School District, No. 523352 (Jun. 22, 1995)
1995 Conn. Super. Ct. 6471 (Connecticut Superior Court, 1995)
Lefevre v. Killingly Board of Education, No. Cv 94 0049135 S (Oct. 12, 1995)
1995 Conn. Super. Ct. 11374 (Connecticut Superior Court, 1995)
Tracey v. Hill Assoc. Ltd. Part., No. X01 Cv 98 0166061s (Mar. 19, 2002)
2002 Conn. Super. Ct. 3411 (Connecticut Superior Court, 2002)
Harhay v. Board of Education, No. Cv 94 55336 S (Jul. 21, 1995)
1995 Conn. Super. Ct. 8373 (Connecticut Superior Court, 1995)
Mitchell v. New Haven Board of Education, No. Cv 00 0437939 (Sep. 24, 2001)
2001 Conn. Super. Ct. 13362 (Connecticut Superior Court, 2001)
Cleveland v. Norwich Board of Education, No. 545746 (Aug. 5, 1999)
1999 Conn. Super. Ct. 10778 (Connecticut Superior Court, 1999)
Lathrop v. Town of East Hampton, No. Cv 97-0083839 (May 23, 2001)
2001 Conn. Super. Ct. 6904 (Connecticut Superior Court, 2001)
Palmieri v. City of New Haven, No. X01 Cv 98 0166015 (Mar. 18, 2002)
2002 Conn. Super. Ct. 2953 (Connecticut Superior Court, 2002)
Stallworth v. Waterford, No. 555312 (Mar. 20, 2003)
2003 Conn. Super. Ct. 3695 (Connecticut Superior Court, 2003)
Shepley v. Administrator, Unempl. Comp. Act, No. 554476 (Oct. 23, 2000)
2000 Conn. Super. Ct. 13064 (Connecticut Superior Court, 2000)
Murphy v. Young, No. Cv93-0244076 (Nov. 22, 1995)
1995 Conn. Super. Ct. 13246 (Connecticut Superior Court, 1995)
Caracoglia v. Middletown Fed. of Teachers, No. Cv96 0078034-S (May 6, 1998)
1998 Conn. Super. Ct. 5487 (Connecticut Superior Court, 1998)
Legislative History
(1949 Rev., S. 1438; 1949, 1955, S. 938d; 1959, P.A. 625; 1961, P.A. 480; 556; February, 1965, P.A. 278; 1969, P.A. 532; 1971, P.A. 61; P.A. 73-456, S. 1, 2; P.A. 74-278, S. 3, 5; P.A. 75-435; 75-615; P.A. 76-436, S. 297, 681; P.A. 78-218, S. 99; 78-280, S. 1, 127; P.A. 79-90; 79-504, S. 1, 4; P.A. 80-354, S. 1–3; P.A. 81-216, S. 1, 2; P.A. 82-257; P.A. 83-398, S. 1, 2; P.A. 85-230; 85-343, S. 1, 2, 5; P.A. 86-22, S. 1, 2; P.A. 95-58, S. 2, 4; P.A. 97-247, S. 25, 27; P.A. 00-13, S. 1, 2; P.A. 01-173, S. 16, 67; P.A. 10-111, S. 9; P.A. 11-28, S. 8; 11-135, S. 10; 11-136, S. 14; P.A. 12-116, S. 57; P.A. 13-31, S. 12; 13-245, S. 4; P.A. 15-215, S. 21; P.A. 19-139, S. 2.) History: 1959 act added Subsec. (e); 1961 acts amended Subsec. (a) by providing for the supplying of a statement of the reasons for failure to renew the contract upon request, amended Subsec. (b) to provide for giving copy of transcript to teacher and added first proviso to Subsec. (e); 1965 act added Subsec. (f) re appeals to court of common pleas; 1969 act included in Subsec. (a) provisions for filling supervisory or administrative positions; 1971 act amended Subsec. (a) to require that board accept or reject nominations within 35 days rather than within one month; P.A. 73-456 inserted new Subsec. (c) re teacher evaluations, relettering following subsections accordingly and deleted reference to supervising agents in Subsec. (d), formerly (c); P.A. 74-278 deleted Subsec. (c), relettering following subsections accordingly; P.A. 75-435 included in provisions of Subsec. (e) teachers who leave employment and are subsequently rehired in the same municipality or school district; P.A. 75-615 amended section to include provisions concerning hearings before impartial hearing panels; P.A. 76-436 amended Subsec. (f) to substitute superior court for court of common pleas, effective July 1, 1978; P.A. 78-218 made technical changes; P.A. 78-280 deleted reference to counties in Subsec. (f); P.A. 79-90 amended Subsec. (a) to delete provision which had forbidden court appeal from decisions of impartial panel and clarified circumstances in which teachers whose contracts have been terminated may appeal; P.A. 79-504 extended provisions of section to include certified professional employees of incorporated or endowed high schools; P.A. 80-354 clarified application of provisions to professional employees of incorporated or endowed high schools by requiring them to choose coverage in Subsec. (a) and amended Subsec. (b)(5) re loss of position to another teacher and clarified provisions concerning layoffs and added to Subsec. (b) general proviso re agreements with bargaining representatives; P.A. 81-216 amended Subsec. (c) to define “continuous employment” and “part-time employment” for purposes of clarifying the provisions of the teacher fair dismissal law; P.A. 82-257 amended Subsec. (c) to require that authorized leave time be treated in the same manner as layoff time for purposes of computing continuous employment where previously authorized leave was entirely excluded in computations; P.A. 83-398 redesignated former Subsec. (c) containing definitions as Subsec. (a), adding definitions of “board of education”, “full-time employment”, “tenure” and “school month” and redefining “part-time employment”, redesignated former Subsec. (a) as Subsec. (b) and limited provisions to employment of teachers, moved provision re termination of contract of employment previously contained in former Subsec. (a) to Subsec. (c) for teachers who have not attained tenure and Subsec. (d) for tenured teachers; and repealed former Subsec. (e) re employment and termination of contracts for tenured teachers, effective July 1, 1983, provided provisions of P.A. 83-398 shall not apply to layoff, nonrenewal or termination proceedings initiated prior to that date; P.A. 85-230 amended Subsec. (d) to provide for hearing before a single impartial hearing officer if both parties agree; P.A. 85-343 amended Subsecs. (c) and (d) to allow the board to designate a subcommittee to conduct hearings and submit written findings and recommendations to the board for final disposition in certain teacher termination cases and made technical changes; P.A. 86-22 required that findings be submitted within 90 days after receipt of the request for a hearing rather than within 15 days after the close of the hearing in Subsec. (d); P.A. 95-58 amended Subsec. (a)(2) to add employment “for at least ninety days”, Subsec. (a)(6)(A) to apply the 30 school months to teachers hired prior to July 1, 1996, and to require teachers hired after said date to be employed for 40 school months provided the superintendent offers the teacher a contract to return for the following school year, Subsec. (a)(6)(C) to change 16 to 20 school months for the attainment of tenure by teachers who previously attained tenure with the same or a different board of education, Subsec. (b) to require the superintendent to base the offer of a contract to return on the records of evaluations, Subsec. (c) to allow a terminated teacher to request and receive a statement of the reason for such termination, to remove provision for hearings for nonrenewal, to add alternative for a hearing before an impartial hearing officer, to limit extensions for the commencement of hearings to 15 days, to require the submission of written findings and recommendations to the board of education in all cases not just in the case of teachers whose contracts are terminated for the reasons stated in Subsec. (d)(5), to remove the right to an appeal for teachers terminated for the reasons enumerated in Subsec. (d)(1) and (2), Subsec. (d) to replace board of education with superintendent re notice to teachers that termination is under consideration and provision of statements in writing of the reasons upon request, to allow boards of education to designate subcommittees to conduct hearings in all cases not just terminations for the reasons stated in Subdiv. (5), to limit extensions to 15 days, to substitute agreement by the teacher and superintendent for “both parties” re hearings before single impartial hearing officers, to substitute superintendent for board of education re appointment of panels, to add provision for appointment of third panel member with the assistance of the American Arbitration Association, to reduce the time for the submission of findings from 90 to 75 days, to specify that the Subsec. does not limit the right of a superintendent to suspend a teacher and to make technical changes, deleted former Subsec. (e) specifying that the provisions of a special act regarding the dismissal or employment of teachers prevail over the provisions of the section in the event of conflict and relettered Subsecs., and amended newly designated Subsec. (e), formerly Subsec. (f), to require submission of the minutes of board of education meetings relating to the termination, including the vote of the board on termination, removed language allowing parties to the appeal to introduce evidence and added requirement that the court affirm or reverse the decision appealed from in accordance with Sec. 4-183(j), effective July 1, 1995; P.A. 97-247 amended Subsec. (c) to provide for a hearing for nonrenewal unless the contract of a teacher who has not attained tenure is not renewed due to elimination of the position or loss of position to another teacher and to provide that the board of education rescind a nonrenewal decision only if the board finds such decision to be arbitrary and capricious, effective July 1, 1997; P.A. 00-13 amended Subsec. (d) to add requirement for the determination of incompetence to be based on evaluations, effective July 1, 2000; P.A. 01-173 amended Subsec. (d) to make technical changes, effective July 1, 2001; (Revisor's note: In 2005 the Revisors changed the reference to “subsection (f)” in the phrase “shall have the right to appeal in accordance with the provisions of subsection (f) of this section”, at the end of Subsec. (c), to “subsection (e)”, to correctly reflect the relettering of the subsections by P.A. 95-58); P.A. 10-111 amended Subsec. (a)(6) by replacing “subparagraph (B)” with “subparagraphs (B) and (D)” in Subpara. (C) and adding Subpara. (D) re attainment of tenure for employment in a priority school district, effective July 1, 2010; P.A. 11-28 made technical changes in Subsec. (a), effective June 3, 2011; P.A. 11-135 amended Subsec. (a) by adding provision re cooperative arrangement committee in Subdiv. (1), adding Subdiv. (6)(A)(iv) re previous continuous employment immediately prior to cooperative arrangement for purposes of attaining tenure, adding Subdiv. (6)(E) re tenured teachers employed by board that enters into cooperative arrangements, and making technical changes, effective July 1, 2011; P.A. 11-136 amended Subsec. (c) by replacing “April” with “May” and making technical changes, effective July 1, 2011; P.A. 12-116 amended Subsec. (a)(6) to redefine “tenure” by replacing “thirty” with “forty” re school months of continuous employment and adding provision re contract based on effective practice as informed by performance evaluations in Subpara. (A) and by adding provision re contract to return offered by superintendent based on effective practice as informed by performance evaluations in Subpara. (C), amended Subsec. (c) by revising time periods re statement of reasons for nonrenewal or termination and re hearing request and deleting provisions re hearing panel, amended Subsec. (d) by adding “or ineffectiveness” and replacing “July 1, 2000” with “July 1, 2014” in Subdiv. (1), deleting provision re written request filed by teacher following notice that contract is under consideration for termination, requiring request for hearing to be filed not later than 10 calendar days after receipt of written notice, deleting provisions re hearing panel, adding provision re hearing process when reason for termination is incompetence or ineffectiveness, and requiring submission of written findings and recommendation not later than 45 calendar days after receipt of hearing request, and replaced “days” with “calendar days” and made technical and conforming changes throughout, effective July 1, 2014; P.A. 13-31 made technical changes in Subsecs. (d) and (e), effective July 1, 2014; P.A. 13-245 amended Subsec. (d) by replacing “developed” with “adopted” in clause (i), effective July 1, 2014; P.A. 15-215 amended Subsec. (a)(6) by adding clause (v) re joining a regional school district in Subpara. (A) and adding Subpara. (F) re joining a regional school district, effective June 30, 2015; P.A. 19-139 amended Subsec. (a)(6) by deleting former Subpara. (D) re teacher or administrator employed by priority school district may attain tenure after ten months if such teacher or administrator previously attained tenure with another school district, redesignating existing Subparas. (E) and (F) as Subparas. (D) and (E), and making a conforming change, effective July 1, 2019. Cited. 138 C. 280; 152 C. 148. Language of former Subsec. (b) clearly concerned with defining grounds for discharge of a teacher. Id., 150. Cited. Id., 568. Section says nothing about form of notice. 165 C. 671. Right of appeal provided by former Subsec. (f) applies only to tenured teachers. 166 C. 189. Hearing re termination of teacher's contract held a “contested case” in the meaning of Sec. 4-166(2). 167 C. 368. Right of appeal is granted by section only to tenured teachers; teacher employed who does not have appropriate state certificate is illegally employed and not entitled to benefits of section. Id., 444. Cited. 168 C. 435; 170 C. 36; Id., 43; 171 C. 691; 173 C. 462; 174 C. 366; Id., 414; Id., 522; 175 C. 445. Absence of prior board authorization for teacher tenure hearing and failure to advise of right to legal representation deemed not prejudicial given all the circumstances involved. 176 C. 466. Judicial review of decisions of boards of education can be had only as authorized by section. Id., 630. Violation of terms of a decision of board is not violation of “reasonable rules” under former Subsec. (b); insubordination in and of itself constitutes other due and sufficient cause for termination of contract and is valid statutory basis for dismissal, however dismissal under facts of case determined to be excessive punishment, an abuse of discretion. 177 C. 572. Where his position is eliminated, board not required to assign tenured teacher to comparable position held by nontenured teacher, only required to assign to a vacant position. 178 C. 618. Cited. 179 C. 428. Teacher Tenure Act (Sec. 10-151 et seq.) not applicable to reassignments of administrators. 180 C. 66. Cited. Id., 96. A teacher discharged for cause under statute is entitled, as a matter of constitutional law, to a written statement of decision reached, the reasons for the determination and a fair summary of evidence relied on. 181 C. 69. Cited. 182 C. 93; 187 C. 94. Board of education may not terminate a teacher's contract unless the board first notifies the teacher that such action is under consideration. 189 C. 585. Cited. 190 C. 748; 195 C. 174; 196 C. 647; 198 C. 229. Doctrine of exhaustion of administrative remedies discussed; judgment of Appellate Court in 2 CA 36 reversed in part and case remanded with direction that judgment of trial court be reinstated. 199 C. 70. Judgment of Appellate Court in 2 CA 551 reversed and case remanded with direction to reinstate the judgment of the trial court. Id., 231. Cited. 200 C. 21; Id., 376; 206 C. 113; 210 C. 286; 216 C. 541; 226 C. 475; Id., 704; 227 C. 333; 231 C. 308; 232 C. 198; 240 C. 119. A board of education may not terminate a teacher's contract unless the teacher is first notified by the board that such action is “under consideration”. 2 CA 36; judgment reversed in part, see 199 C. 70. Cited. 2 CA 551; judgment reversed, see 199 C. 231; 3 CA 630. Full trial-type evidentiary hearing held before impartial hearing panel pursuant to section fulfills the right to due process. 4 CA 1. An appeal may be taken only from a decision to terminate a contract of employment; there is no right to appeal from suspension of employment. Id., 87. Cited. Id., 464; 5 CA 253; 8 CA 508; 9 CA 260; 20 CA 231; 31 CA 690; 32 CA 6; Id., 395; 33 CA 78. Determination of voluntariness is prior to and thus outside the scope of a hearing pursuant to section. 36 CA 282. Cited. 42 CA 480; 44 CA 179; Id., 677. Plaintiff would need to follow provisions of section only after initial determination was made that her resignation was involuntary. 53 CA 252. Section mandates continued employment for tenured teacher unless statutory ground for termination has been found, but is silent re continuing pay during period of administrative leave. 90 CA 59. Plaintiff not permitted to file a direct action against board of education and town for terminating her employment contract because plaintiff lacked standing individually to enforce provisions of the collective bargaining agreement as she failed to identify any provision in the agreement permitting her individually to enforce the agreement, plaintiff did not allege that union had breached its duty of fair representation, and plaintiff did not allege a violation of her constitutional right to due process. 158 CA 872. Cited. 9 CS 442. Injunction does not lie to prevent impending breach of contract. 12 CS 174. Board of education has broad powers in superintendence of school affairs. 14 CS 280. To fulfill the intent and purpose of statute, a local board of education must exercise a sound and reasonable discretion in making decisions to renew or not renew the contracts of nontenured teachers. 26 CS 102. Cited. Id., 107. Plaintiff working under temporary emergency teaching certificate does not meet technical requirements of tenure defined by former Subsec. (b); tenure is statutory not contractual. 32 CS 264. Policy decision by board of education to eliminate a teaching position may not be challenged by teacher at hearing. 34 CS 115. Former Subsec. (b)(5) violated where school board terminated plaintiff tenured teacher's employment while nontenured teacher had the same position in school system; section encompasses entire school system and is not limited to school classifications created by school board; board's staff reduction policy prohibiting “bumping” between levels of organizational classifications absolutely at variance with statute. 35 CS 55. Sufficiency of board's termination hearing and its proposed findings and conclusion discussed; appeal dismissed. 45 CS 171. Subsec. (a): Assistant superintendent is “below the rank of superintendent” and thus a teacher as defined in Subsec. 261 C. 287. Subsec. (d): Purpose of Subsec. is reciprocal: To provide framework for termination of tenured teacher's contract while protecting teacher's right to due process of law; teacher not required to exhaust administrative remedies if such recourse is futile or inadequate. 246 C. 456; overruled in part re recognition of cause of action, see 319 C. 36.
Nearby Sections
15
§ 10-10i
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Bluebook (online)
Connecticut § 10-151, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/statute/ct/10-151.