Certified Personnel Extra Duty
Policy GCMD
Fair Labor Standards Act
Policy GDBC-R
Federal/State Labor and Safety Laws:
Employees of Dorchester School District Two and visitors to the District shall adhere to and uphold all Federal and State Labor and Safety Laws. All employees are responsible for reading these laws and guidelines which are posted on a dedicated bulletin board at each school and/or job site.
Grievance Procedures
Policy GBK
Policy GBK-R
Personnel File
Each contracted employee in the district has a personnel file which is maintained in the district’s Personnel Office. This file is established upon employment and contains the following items:
- Original completed employment packet
- Tuberculosis test results
- I-9 Form
- Copies of all district evaluations
- Any letters of reprimand/commendation from supervisors
All information in an employee’s personnel file is deemed confidential and is designed for the district’s sole use with the exception of Court Subpoenas. Items sent directly by employees are not accepted or placed in the file. Only those items which pertain to the performance status of an employee are accepted.
All employees should be aware of the contents of their personnel file. Each employee has the right to review his/her personnel file. Employees must request an appointment to schedule a time for review. The review will take place in the presence of the Director of Personnel or the Assistant Director of Personnel Services.
Professional Personnel Reduction in Force
Policy GCQA
Policy GCQB-RA
Resignation of Instructional Staff/Administrative Staff
Any professional staff member who wants to cancel or terminate a contract must state his/her desire in writing to the superintendent. The district is under no obligation to release an employee from a contract except as set out below. For such resignation to be effective, it must be accepted in writing by the superintendent.
When the superintendent does not accept a resignation and the employee fails to continue to perform his/her contractual duties, the superintendent will report such breach to the State Board of Education and request that appropriate action be taken against the employee for failure to comply with contractual obligations. Both state law and State Board of Education regulation provide for suspension or revocation of the professional certificate under such circumstances.
Contract Releases
The board will not release an employee from his/her contract after July 1 except under one of the following conditions:
- Circumstances beyond the employee’s control (ex., military/business transfer of spouse)
- Serious illness of employee
- Promotion
The employee must submit a request for contract release in writing to the superintendent 30 days prior to the deadline set forth above.
The district reserves the right not to release the employee if written notice is not given before the date specified above or a suitable replacement has not been found. Until an employee has been formally released from his/her contract, the district expects the employee to report for duty on the first day of the contract or to continue to report for duty if the request for release is made mid-year.
If a teacher signs a new contract without having been properly released from a previous contract, the new contract is considered to be void.
Discipline, Suspension, and Dismissal of Professional Staff
It is the responsibility of the school administration to operate the public schools of the district in a manner that will maintain a broad community confidence in and support of the public schools of the district. In the absence of such support, the district cannot maintain a strong, effective public education program.
Therefore, it is the policy of the board to remove from employment any professional staff member who fails or who may be incompetent to give instruction in accordance with the directions of the superintendent or who otherwise manifests an evident unfitness for teaching. Principals should be actively involved in this process for their schools.
Any action of the district under this policy will be taken pursuant to the provisions of the Teacher Employment and Dismissal Act, Section 59-25-410, et. seq., Code of Laws of South Carolina 1976, as amended. (The Teacher Employment and Dismissal Act does not apply to teachers on induction or annual contracts.)
