Virginia Code 22.1-313: Decision of school board; generally
A. The school board shall retain its exclusive final authority over matters concerning employment and supervision of its personnel, including dismissals and suspensions.
Terms Used In Virginia Code 22.1-313
- Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
- Executive session: A portion of the Senate's daily session in which it considers executive business.
- Grievance: means a complaint or dispute by a teacher relating to his employment, including (i) disciplinary action including dismissal; (ii) the application or interpretation of (a) personnel policies, (b) procedures, (c) rules and regulations, (d) ordinances, and (e) statutes; (iii) acts of reprisal against a teacher for filing or processing a grievance, participating as a witness in any step, meeting, or hearing relating to a grievance, or serving as a member of a fact-finding panel; and (iv) complaints of discrimination on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, political affiliation, disability, age, national origin, sex, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or military status. See Virginia Code 22.1-306
- Quorum: The number of legislators that must be present to do business.
- School board: means the school board that governs a school division. See Virginia Code 22.1-1
- Superintendent: means the Superintendent of Public Instruction. See Virginia Code 22.1-1
B. In the case of a hearing before the school board, the school board shall give the teacher its written decision as soon as practicable but in no case more than 30 days after the hearing.
C. In the case of a hearing before a hearing officer appointed by the school board or a three-member fact-finding panel, the school board shall give the teacher its written decision as soon as practicable but in no case more than 30 days after receiving the record or recording of the hearing; however, should there be a further hearing before the school board, such decision shall be furnished the teacher as soon as practicable but in no case more than 30 days after such further hearing.
D. A teacher may be dismissed or suspended by a majority of a quorum of the school board.
E. The school board’s attorney, assistants, or representative, if he or they represented a participant in the prior proceedings, the grievant, the grievant’s attorney or representative, and notwithstanding the provisions of § 22.1-69, the superintendent shall be excluded from any executive session of the school board which has as its purpose reaching a decision on a grievance. However, immediately after a decision has been made and publicly announced, as in favor of or not in favor of the grievant, the school board’s attorney or representative and the superintendent may join the school board in executive session to assist in the writing of the decision.
F. In those instances when licensed personnel are dismissed or resign due to a conviction of any felony, any offense involving the sexual molestation, physical or sexual abuse or rape of a child, any offense involving drugs, or due to having become the subject of a founded case of child abuse or neglect, the local school board shall notify the Board of Education within 10 business days of such dismissal or the acceptance of such resignation.
Code 1950, § 22-217.8; 1968, c. 691; 1974, c. 18; 1979, c. 298; 1980, c. 559; 1983, c. 327; 1992, c. 679; 2003, c. 187; 2008, cc. 474, 827; 2013, cc. 588, 650; 2020, c. 875.