Oregon Revised Statutes Chapter 342 § 342.905 — Appeal

Appeal procedure; arbitration as alternative. (1) If the district school board dismisses the teacher or does not extend the contract of the contract teacher, the teacher or the teacher’s representative may appeal that decision to the Fair Dismissal Appeals Board established under ORS 342.930 by depositing by certified mail addressed to the Superintendent of Public Instruction and a copy to the superintendent of the school district: (a) In the case of dismissal, within 10 days, as provided in ORS 174.120, after receipt of notice of the district school board’s decision, notice of appeal with a brief statement giving the reasons for the appeal. (b) In the case of a contract nonextension, within 15 days, as provided in ORS 174.120, after receipt of the written notice of nonextension of a contract, notice of appeal with a brief statement giving the reasons for the appeal. (2)(a) As soon as practicable after the time the notice of appeal is received by the Superintendent of Public Instruction, the superintendent shall appoint a panel of three members from the Fair Dismissal Appeals Board for the purpose of conducting a hearing. Insofar as practicable, the panel shall be selected from those members of the board serving in positions where the average daily membership as determined in ORS 342.930 most nearly coincides with that of the involved district. The panel shall consist of: (A) One member from the category representing district school board members; (B) One member from the category not affiliated with common or union high school districts; and (C) One member from the category representing teachers or administrators, as follows: (i) If the appeal is from a contract teacher in a teaching position, the panel shall include the teacher member of the board. (ii) If the contract teacher is in an administrative position, an administrative member shall sit in place of the teacher member. (b) The panel may not contain a member who is a resident of the district that is bringing the dismissal or nonextension. (c) The Department of Education, at the department’s expense, shall provide to the panel appropriate professional and other special assistance reasonably required to conduct a hearing. The panel shall be empowered, on behalf of the contract teacher, the district superintendent and the district school board, to subpoena and swear witnesses and to require witnesses to give testimony and produce relevant evidence at or prior to the hearing. (d) The executive secretary of the board may issue subpoenas on behalf of a panel. A person subpoenaed under this subsection may move to quash or modify the subpoena if it is oppressive or unreasonable. The motion must be made before the time specified in the subpoena for appearance or production of materials. The motion may be made to the executive secretary or the panel. (e) In a case pending before a panel that involves a teacher’s performance at an Oregon Youth Authority facility, the panel assigned to the case may submit to the Director of the Oregon Youth Authority written questions that the panel unanimously agrees are relevant to the case. The director shall respond to the panel’s questions in writing within 20 days of the director’s receipt of the questions from the panel. If a question by the panel seeks information that is not confidential or privileged under Oregon or federal law, the director shall provide the information requested by the panel. If a question by the panel seeks information that is confidential or privileged under Oregon or federal law, the director, in responding to the question, may not disclose the confidential or privileged information but shall instead explain that the information being sought is confidential or privileged. The procedure outlined in this paragraph is not in lieu of any other mechanism that may be available to the panel or parties for obtaining or presenting evidence. (3) The Attorney General shall assign an assistant, at no cost to either involved party, to advise the Fair Dismissal Appeals Board, to be present at any hearing held by a panel, and to perform those tasks at the request of the board that would normally require legal training. (4) Within 10 days after receipt of the notice of an appeal of contract nonextension, the district shall serve upon the Fair Dismissal Appeals Board and the teacher a written statement of reason for the contract nonextension, which shall include: (a) A plain and concise statement of the facts relied on to support the statutory grounds for nonextension of the contract; (b) The statutory grounds upon which the district believes such contract nonextension is justified; and (c) A list of witnesses and documents upon which the district will rely at hearing. (5)(a) At least 10 days prior to the hearing, the teacher shall provide a list of witnesses and exhibits to the Fair Dismissal Appeals Board panel and the school district. (b) The Fa