Webinar: ‘Tis the Season for Dismissals and RIFs: Check Your List Twice
If you thought the holidays were the only season to watch for, think again—school districts across Illinois are entering another critical season—dismissals and reductions in force (RIFs) season. And due to those 2023 legislative changes, the rules for these critical decisions, and the impact they have on employees’ rights, have shifted.
Public Act 103-500, effective August 2023, brought major updates to the Illinois School Code. One of the most notable – Shortened timelines for Professional Educator License (PEL) holders to achieve tenure. In plain terms, PEL holders, hired after July 1, 2023, are now hitting their third year of employment this school year. If they meet all statutory requirements, they’ll earn contractual continued service—aka tenure.
On February 25, join us for a webinar at 11 am, as we discuss RIFs and Teacher Dismissals.
Timing is very important when contemplating discontinuation of the employment relationship. If a PEL holder is dismissed during their final probationary year, they’re entitled to specific reasons for dismissal, in writing. And while the law now says written notice must be received by April 15, a school district’s collective bargaining agreement or policy might require an earlier date—many contracts and policies still reflect the requirement of notice by 45 days before the end of the school term, which was the statutory requirement before the amendments in Public Act 103-500 and may precede April 15 in some districts.
With the changing tenure timelines, be on the lookout for earlier-than-expected tenure acquisition, and potentially new steps to be sure to take when considering dismissal of non-tenured teachers this year: including not only the changes for those employed after July 1, 2023, but the change for those employed prior to July 1, 2023 who received two “excellent” ratings within three years. Also, note the super-accelerated tenure in some circumstances as amended by PA 103-500. Accelerated and accelerated portable tenure (now effectively defined to be the same thing) are not optional and cannot be “waived” or refused by a District. This means that certain employees who are currently in their second, third, and fourth years may be in their final years of service, which therefore requires cause set forth in the notice of dismissal.
And – for those considering reducing the number of employees through RIF, timely notices also matter, along with consideration of having completed a number of prerequisites through the Sequence of Honorable Dismissal list, the work of the RIF joint committee, and recognizing the differences between PEL employees and educational support employees.
Administrators and Boards should double-check timelines and agreements now. Missing a deadline or misunderstanding the new rules could lead to costly mistakes—or even legal challenges.
Please contact the authors of this post or any Franczek attorney with questions about dismissals and reductions in force that your District is considering effectuating in the 2025-2026 school year.