PURPOSE
1.1 The Board of Education of Sevier School District believes that Career Employee Status is something that must be earned and not merely awarded due to the passage of time. The Board expects that Provisional Certified Employees will demonstrate all of the abilities and qualifications for, and meet the high expectations of their position before being awarded Career Employee Status. Provisional Certified Employees must be recommended for Career Employee Status by their supervisor/principal. Once recommended, the District will then consider awarding Career status.
1.2 Supervisors/principals will be evaluated on their decisions to recommend Career Employee Status. The recommendation should not be made lightly or be based on a supervisor’s personal relationships with his or her employees. Rather, the best interests of the students and the District should always be the prime consideration in a supervisor’s recommendation.
DEFINITIONS
2.1 Certified Employee
2.1.1 For the purpose of this policy, a certified employee is a person that holds a Level 1, 2, or 3 license as defined in Section 53E-6-102. A person holding a competency-based license is not eligible for career status.
2.2 Provisional Certified Employee
2.2.1 Any certified employee who has not achieved career employee status is a "Provisional Certified Employee." A Provisional Certified Employee is hired on individual, one-year contracts. Provisional Certified Employees have no expectation of continued employment beyond the current one-year contract term. Provisional Certified Employees are employed at the will of the District and their employment can be terminated at the discretion of the Board of Education. Provisional Certified Employees can only be discharged during the term of a contract for cause.
3. PROCEDURES
3.1 Provisional Certified Employees may not be awarded Career Employee Status until they have completed three consecutive years of at least half-time employment. If the Provisional Certified Employee starts after the beginning of the school year, he/she must successfully complete that school year plus three other consecutive full academic school years.
3.2 During a Provisional Certified Employee’s third year of service, the employee’s supervisor/principal may initiate the process to recommend Career Employee Status. If the Provisional Certified Employee receives all of the necessary recommendations, the employee may be awarded Career Employee Status. If the employee does not receive all of the necessary recommendations, the employee’s supervisor/principal shall either recommend not issuing a contract for the following year or a fourth provisional year of service. If the employee continues as a fourth year Provisional Certified Employee, this process shall be repeated. If an employee is not recommended for Career Employee Status during the employee’s fifth year of service the employee will not be offered a contract for the following year. If an employee will not be offered a contract for the following year during their provisional status, Sevier School District Policy 2225, ORDERLY SCHOOL TERMINATION FOR EMPLOYEES must be followed.
3.3 Circumstances under which an employee’s provisional status may be extended include: (1) evaluation resulting in an overall score below 2 before rounding or a 1 or below before rounding in any of the areas; (2) receipt of complaint(s) or expression(s) of concern from a parent, co-worker, or member of the community that creates uncertainty about the employee’s professionalism, performance, or character; (3) declining student enrollment in the district or in a particular program or class; (4) the discontinuance or substantial reduction of a particular service, program, or funding; or (5) budgetary concerns.
3.4 Nothing in this policy shall limit the District’s authority or ability to not offer a contract for the following year, to a Provisional Certified Employee or to take any other corrective or disciplinary action consistent with the law and Board policy. In addition, the Board and the Superintendent reserve the right to not offer a contract for the following year to an employee.
Approved: 1/19/11
Revised: 06/21/17
Revised 03/13/19
Revised 10/11/23