Arkansas board waives employee protections for 2 districts
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — The Arkansas Board of Education has voted to waive employee protection laws for two school districts that have been taken over by the state.
The board on Thursday voted to waive the Teacher Fair Dismissal and Public School Employee Fair Hearing acts for Pine Bluff district for the school year. The board also waived the teacher dismissal law for the Little Rock School District.
The state in September took over the Pine Bluff school district, and Little Rock's has been under state control since early 2015.
The waivers make it easier for the districts to fire poorly performing employees. Opponents said the waivers would hurt the districts' efforts to recruit and retain teachers by removing those protections.