Tenured teacher’s objection to submitting a challenge to termination to arbitration rejected
Atwater v. Commissioner of Education, Massachusetts Supreme Court, November 21, 2011, Docket: SJC-10817
A tenured teacher was terminated for conduct unbecoming a teacher.
The teacher appealed contending that Massachusetts law compelling arbitration of a wrongful dismissal claim made by a tenured public school teacher violated Article 30 of the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights because it impermissibly delegated to a private individual (an arbitrator) a judicial function and denied meaningful judicial review.
Massachusetts Supreme Court ruled that submitted a challenge to a principal's or superintendent's dismissal decision to arbitration did not interfere with “core judicial functions” and the statute provided sufficient judicial review.
The decision is posted on the Internet at: