By administrators own admission, one out of every three teachers in Tennessee is ineffective. But after three years on the job, between 90 and 100 percent of them receive what usually amounts to lifelong job security.
Since 2006, only seven teachers in Hamilton County’s nearly 3,000-member teaching force have been fired, or resigned before administrators had the chance to get rid of them.
“Tenure, in a lot of districts, is sort of a foregone conclusion,” said Will Pinkston, managing director of Tennessee’s State Collaborative on Reforming Education. “If you do your time for three years and there aren’t any major problems, odds are, you’re going to get tenure, which carries with it a certain level of job security for a long time.”
PDF: Teacher tenure reform PDF: Annual performance evaluation form
Because tenure entitles those who have it to due process before being terminated, firing incompetent or underperforming teachers often involves a costly legal battle, one in which school systems rarely engage.