Opinion
1940020.
January 13, 1995.
Petition for writ of certiorari to the Court of Civil Appeals (AV93000418). Appeal from the Chambers Circuit Court, No. CV-93-5, Philip Dale Segrest, Judge.
Amardo W. Pitters and Terry G. Davis of Terry G. Davis, P.C., Montgomery, for petitioner.
Walter Gregory Ward, Lanett, for respondent.
Prior report: Ala. Civ. App., 653 So.2d 995.
WRIT DENIED.
MADDOX, SHORES, HOUSTON, KENNEDY and INGRAM, JJ., concur.
COOK, J., dissents.
I respectfully dissent. A tenured public school teacher has petitioned this Court to consider the following question: Whether the board of education may, in a hearing convened to address its proposed termination of a teacher with 23 years of experience, and consistent with due process requirements, rely on allegations that a decline in students' standardized test scores evidenced the teacher's incompetence, where the specific reasons contained in the board's pretermination notice to the teacher failed to include the decline as a reason for termination?
The board failed to provide in its pretermination notice any indication that it was going to consider a decline in students' standardized test scores as evidence of incompetence, yet at the hearing it heard substantial evidence relating to a decline in test scores. Procedural due process requires notice, to allow for the preparation of a defense. It appears that the board considered evidence of declining test scores as bearing on the question of competency. Therefore, in my judgment, the dismissal was based on a proceeding conducted without adequate notice and violated the constitutional guaranty of due process. I would therefore grant the writ.