Legal News
The New Normal
Senate Bill 8 Offers New Flexibilities for Reducing Personnel Costs
by Holly Claghorn
One of the hallmarks of the special legislative session this year was Senate Bill 8 (SB 8), a bill providing flexibilities for school district management. SB
8 made a number of significant
changes to the laws affecting
school district employees. This
article provides an overview
of the provisions of SB 8 that
modify nonrenewal and ter-
mination procedures, permit
salary reductions, and provide
for furloughs of employees
on Chapter 21 (probationary,
continuing, or term) contracts.
Notably, SB 8:
1. Changes the notice
deadline for nonrenewal
of term contracts or
end-of-year termination of probationary
contracts and specifies
procedures for delivery
of such notices
2. Permits board hearings
for mid-contract termination of probationary,
term, and continuing
contracts due to financial exigency
3. Permits alternative
hearing procedures for
nonrenewal of term
contracts for any reason
in larger districts
4. Permits widespread
salary reductions under
certain conditions
5. Permits the implementation of furloughs under
certain conditions
districts will not be able to
begin implementing all of the
bill’s provisions immediately
due to practical constraints.
Issues related to the effective
date and implementation of
SB 8’s flexibility are addressed
in turn below.
SB 8 takes effect on September 28, 2011. However,
Nonrenewal Notices
First, SB 8 changes the
deadline for a district to
provide notice of nonrenewal
of a term contract or notice of
end-of-year termination of a
probationary contract. Cur-
rent law requires a district to
deliver these notices by 45
days before the last day of in-
struction. Tex. Educ. Code §§
21.103(a), .206(a). SB 8 moves
this deadline to 10 days before
the last day of instruction.
Tex. Educ. Code §§ 21.103(a),
.206(a).
10-day deadline is considered
timely. Tex. Educ. Code §§
21.103(a), .206(a).
Effective date: Most
school attorneys agree that
these statutory changes are
procedural in nature and can
be implemented in the spring
of 2012 without impairing teachers’ contract rights.
Nevertheless, for one-year
contracts expiring in the spring
of 2012, some districts may
wish to give 45 days’ notice to
avoid any argument about the
effective date of this change.
Board Hearings on
Financial Exigency
SB 8 authorizes board
hearings for the mid-contract
termination of probationary,
