HB 465 Summary

• Establishes the "Students First Act of 2011" to govern employment actions for educators at county and city school boards, Alabama's specialized schools, and two-year postsecondary institutions.

• Repeals the Teacher Tenure Law, Fair Dismissal Act, and teacher transfer procedures, replacing them with new probationary (3 years) and nonprobationary employment status provisions with streamlined termination and appeal procedures.

• Probationary employees may be terminated at employer discretion with written notice; nonprobationary employees may be terminated for justifiable cause (incompetency, insubordination, neglect of duty, immorality, or inadequate student performance) with notice, hearing before governing board, and limited court review.

• Restricts involuntary transfers and reassignments of nonprobationary employees to once per school year, requires 15 days' notice, and prohibits compensation reductions unless following full termination procedures.

• Becomes effective July 1, 2011, with existing tenured and nonprobationary employees grandfathered into new status categories and pending cases completed under prior law procedures.