The Fayette

County School System isn't quite ready to move forward with a non-renewal

policy for teachers.

The Fayette

County Association of Educators presented a "fair dismissal"

policy to the Board of Education last month and urged its adoption as

an incentive for recruitment and retention of teachers.

Board members

agreed, but want to fashion their own policy. They had intended to discuss

the policy during Monday's board meeting, but board attorney Phil Hartley

hasn't finished looking over the proposed policy yet, said school Superintendent

John DeCotis.

Under the proposal,

a teacher would receive "quality teacher" status after signing

a contract for a fourth consecutive year.

Those teachers

would then be entitled to renewal of their contracts unless there is just

cause for non-renewal.

If the plan

is approved, the board would have to notify a teacher by April 15 of his

or her third full year of employment to avoid attainment of the protected

status. In that case, the teacher would be on probation and the administrator

involved would be required to develop an improvement plan to help that

teacher achieve quality status.

Once that status

is achieved, the teacher would be entitled to a series of notices and

hearings if the board intends to end his or her contract.

If enacted,

this policy would affect 114 teachers already employed, according to comments

made at a recent school board meeting.

The matter

will be moved to the board's next meeting, April 2.