INFORMATIONAL

 Personnel in the Department of Education have receivednumerous inquiries concerning 
the Regulations Governing the Employment of Professional Personnel (1996), and this 
memorandum provides information which may be helpful as you employ instructional 
personnel for next year. The intent of these regulations is to set forth the 
requirements provided by law for contractual agreements for school boards and 
employees.  

The regulations for uniform hiring of teachers establishes a calendar for hiring 
that is compatible with the dates budgets are completed by local governing bodies.  
The calendar dates, which are embodied in the following three-phase employment 
process, establish minimum timeframes to accommodate the hiring process, offer 
local flexibility in including contract terms to cover unique needs and practices 
of the school division, and offer professional mobility for teachers.  Highlights 
of the uniform hiring process follow:

Phase One (beginning of a new school year through April 14 of the new school year): 
The end of the phase on April 14 corresponds to the provisions of Section 22.1-304 
of the Code of Virginia allowing written notice of non-continuation of contract by 
April 15.  During phase one, a teacher may apply and be interviewed for employment 
for the next school year in other school divisions without notice to or permission 
from the division where he or she is employed.  The teacher accepting employment in 
another division for the next school year must resign by giving written notice to 
the current employer.	

Phase Two (April 15-May 31 or the date the teacher contract is final, whichever is 
later): The contract is final when the date of signature and, at a minimum, the 
salary terms are finally known. During phase two, the prospective employer may offer 
a contract without proof of release from the current employer.  The teacher must 
obtain a written release from the contract with the current employer prior to 
signing a contract with the prospective employer.  Release should be liberally 
granted during this phase.

Phase Three (June 1 or the date the salary is set by the local school board, 
whichever occurs later).  The contract is a firm and binding obligation on the 
teacher and the school division. A prospective employer should not offer a contract 
to any teacher during phase three until the teacher has secured a written release 
from the contract with the current employer, and a teacher should not accept a 
contract until a written release has been secured.  During this phase, a school 
board could petition the Virginia Board of Education to take action against a 
teacher's license for willful violation of contractual obligations.

You may obtain a copy of the Board of Education regulations on the employment of 
professional personnel by contacting the following website:

http://leg1.state.va.us/000/reg/TOC08020.HTM#C0440


Please do not hesitate to contact Dr. Thomas A. Elliott, assistant superintendent 
for teacher education and licensure, at (804) 371-2522 if you have questions 
regarding the regulations.

JLD:psp