{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-161.790","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 161.790","heading":"Termination of contract by board -- Administrative hearing tribunal --","body":"Sanctions.\n(1) The contract of a teacher shall remain in force during good behavior and efficient\nand competent service by the teacher and shall not be terminated except for  any of\nthe following causes:\n(a) Insubordination, including but not limited to violation of the school laws of\nthe state or administrative regulations adopted by the Kentucky Board of\nEducation, the Education Professional Standards Board, or lawful rules and\nregulations established by the local board of education for the operation of\nschools, or refusal to recognize or obey the authority of the superintendent,\nprincipal, or any other supervisory personnel of the board in the performance\nof their duties;\n(b) Immoral character or conduct unbecoming a teacher;\n(c) Physical or mental disability; or\n(d) Inefficiency, incompetency, or neglect of duty, when a written statement\nidentifying the problems or difficulties has been furnished the teacher or\nteachers involved.\n(2) Charges under subsection (1)(a) and (d) of this section shall be supported by a\nwritten record of the actions of the teacher upon which the charge is based, provided\nby the superintendent, principal, or other supervisory personnel of the district ,\nexcept when the charges are brought as a result of a recommendation made under\nKRS 158.6455.\n(3) No contract shall be terminated except upon notification of the board by the\nsuperintendent. Prior to notification of the board, the superintendent shall fur nish\nthe teacher with a written statement specifying in detail the charge against the\nteacher. The teacher may within ten (10) days after receiving the charge notify the\ncommissioner of education and the superintendent of his or her intention to answer\nthe charge, and upon failure of the teacher to give notice within ten (10) days, the\ndismissal shall be final.\n(4) (a) Except as provided in KRS 163.032, upon receiving the teacher's notice of his\nor her intention to answer the charge, the commissioner of edu cation shall\nappoint a three (3) member tribunal, consisting of one (1) teacher, who may be\nretired, one (1) administrator, who may be retired, and one (1) attorney to\nserve as hearing officer and chairperson of the tribunal, none of whom reside\nin the dis trict, to conduct an administrative hearing in accordance with KRS\nChapter 13B within the district. Priority for selection as a teacher or\nadministrator tribunal member shall be from a pool of potential tribunal\nmembers who have been designated and trained  to serve as tribunal members\non a regular and ongoing basis, pursuant to administrative regulations\npromulgated by the Kentucky Board of Education. Funds appropriated to the\nDepartment of Education for professional development may be used to\nprovide tribunal member training. The commissioner of education shall set the\ndate and time for the hearing. The hearing shall begin no later than forty -five\n(45) days after the teacher files the notice of intent to answer the charge unless\nan extension is granted by t he hearing officer or otherwise agreed to by the\nparties.\n(b) The hearing officer shall be appointed from a pool of hearing officers who\nhave received in -depth training in the law related to employment of teachers\nand in the conduct of due process hearings pursuant to KRS Chapter 13B, and\nwho hold other qualifications as determined by the Kentucky Board of\nEducation.\n(c) The hearing officer training shall be designed and conducted by the Kentucky\nDepartment of Education.\n(d) The Kentucky Board of Education shall adopt administrative regulations to\nimplement the due process provisions required by this section. Persons\nserving as hearing officers shall be paid or reimbursed as provided in KRS\n13B.030.\n(5) The hearing officer shall schedule a mandatory preheari ng conference with the\nparties, which may be held in person or electronically through the use of\ntechnology. Prehearing motions may be disposed of at the conference. The hearing\nofficer shall have the authority to mediate settlement and to enter an agreed order if\nthe matter is resolved by the parties. A hearing officer shall have final authority to\nrule on dispositive prehearing motions.\n(6) If the matter is not settled or dismissed as a result of the prehearing conference, a\ntribunal hearing shall be conducted. The hearing may be public or private at the\ndiscretion of the teacher. At the hearing, the hearing officer appointed by the\ncommissioner of education shall preside with authority to rule on procedural\nmatters, but the tribunal  as a whole shall be the ultimate trier of fact. The local\nboard shall pay each teacher and administrator member of the tribunal a per diem of\none hundred dollars ($100) and travel expenses.\n(7) Upon hearing both sides of the case, the tribunal may by a ma jority vote render its\ndecision or may defer its action for not more than five (5) days. The decision,\nwritten in a recommended order, shall be limited to upholding or overturning the\ndecision of the superintendent. The hearing officer shall then within fi fteen (15)\ndays submit to the parties the written recommended order in a form complying with\nthe requirements of KRS 13B.110(1). Each party may file written exceptions no\nlater than fifteen (15) days from receipt of the recommended order. Upon\nconsideration of the exceptions filed by the parties, the hearing officer may order a\nsettlement conference between the parties. Within ten (10) days after either the\nconsideration of the exceptions or a settlement conference, whichever occurs later,\nthe hearing offic er shall enter a final order. If there is no settlement reached, the\nfinal order shall affirm the recommended order. If a settlement is reached, the final\norder shall approve the terms of a written settlement as an agreed order. Provisions\nof KRS Chapter 1 3B notwithstanding, the hearing officer's decision shall be a final\norder.\n(8) The superintendent may suspend the teacher pending final action to terminate the\ncontract, if, in his or her judgment, the character of the charge warrants the action. If\nthe contract termination is overturned by the final order, the suspended teacher shall\nbe paid his or her full salary for any period of suspension.\n(9) The teacher shall have the right to make an appeal to the Circuit Court having\njurisdiction in the county wher e the school district is located in accordance with\nKRS Chapter 13B. The review of the final order shall be conducted by the Circuit\nCourt as required by KRS 13B.150.\n(10) As an alternative to termination of a teacher's contract, the superintendent upon\nnotifying the board and providing written notification to the teacher of the charge\nmay impose other sanctions, including suspension without pay, public reprimand, or\nprivate reprimand. The procedures set out in subsection (3) of this section shall\napply if the teacher is suspended without pay or publicly reprimanded. The teacher\nmay appeal the action of the superintendent if these sanctions are imposed in the\nsame manner as established in subsections (4) to (9) of this section. Upon\ncompletion of a suspension period, the teacher may be reinstated.","path":["KRS Chapter 161"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=48640","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:51:11Z","sha256":"a2170fa9f26026965503ba60ea911dad1f42ea250dd927b19a43bfd1a65b0975","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-161.780","next":"us-ky/krs-161.795"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}