1.     Prior to commencing action to terminate teacher contracts under this procedure, the Board will give due consideration to its ability to effectuate position elimination and/or reduction in staff by:  

A.     Voluntary retirements; 

B.     Voluntary resignations; 

C.     Transfer of existing staff members; or  

D.     Voluntary leaves of absence. 
  

2.     In the event a reduction in force is required, teachers who are retained pursuant to these procedures may be reassigned if suitable position openings are available in instructional areas for which they are highly qualified or they have obtained a charter school specific certification for which the administration has approved transfer pursuant to Idaho Code. 
  

3.     When determining which individuals will be released pursuant to the reduction in force, the Board will consider the criteria set out below. Each criterion shall be considered in terms of the total context when selecting those employees who are to be considered for release pursuant to the provisions of these procedures. The following criteria will be considered: 
   

A.     The positions classified by the School as hard to fill that the teacher is certified and qualified to fill; 

B.     The total number of subject areas in which the teacher holds an active state teaching endorsement; 

C.     Educational or degree status; 

D.     National certifications held; 

E.     The teacher's status as a lead teacher within the School; 

F.     Whether the teacher is certified to teach a course necessary for high school graduation requirements; 

G.     Whether the teacher is certified to teach a course necessary for middle school advancement; 

H.     Contribution and/or involvement in extracurricular or co-curricular positions with students; 

I.     Compliance with Professional Standards and Conduct over the course of their employment with the School; and 

J.     For purposes of this criterion, administration will use the teacher’s prior year Charlotte Danielson Teacher Summative Evaluation, including components required by Idaho Code, for teachers with one or more years at RISE. For first-year RISE teachers, an equivalent evaluation based on the Charlotte Danielson framework, including components required by Idaho Code, will be used from the beginning of the fiscal year through April 1 of the fiscal year. 
 

1.     The Human Resources Department or Executive Director shall advance notice of the possible reduction in force to all teachers who may be released, based upon the number of teachers who may be released, in whole or in part, and the school programs, teacher positions or categories of positions that may be affected.  
  

2.     With this notification, the Human Resources Department or Executive Director shall provide a copy of the teacher’s profile, utilizing the established point system, and the steps a teacher should take if they believe that there is an error in their individual teacher profile.  
  

3.     If a teacher receiving a teacher profile believes that an error has been made on their individual profile, the teacher shall notify the Human Resources Department or Executive Director of their concern of an error, in writing, by the close of the school day on the third school day after the teacher profile has been delivered to the teacher or the teacher’s mailbox or emailed to the teacher. This written notice shall specifically identify what element or elements of the teacher's profile are believed to be erroneous and explain specifically why the element(s) is believed to be in error.  
  

4.     If the Human Resources Department or Executive Director receives notice of a possible error, each such written notice, timely received, shall be individually reviewed for possible reconsideration or evaluation of the information used to create the Teacher Profile. This may include a member of the administration communicating directly with the teacher to obtain more information or documentation relating to the alleged error.  
   

A.     If the Human Resources Department or Executive Director determines that an error was made in completion of the teacher's profile, a new profile will be created and forwarded to the teacher in question. 

B.     If the Human Resources Department or Executive Director determines that no error was made in completion of the teacher's profile, the teacher shall be notified of this determination. 
 

C.     The teacher shall have a period of three school days to file written notice of an appeal of this decision to the Charter School’s Executive Director. Thereafter the Executive Director or the Executive Director’s designee shall review the dispute, in whatever manner the Executive Director or designee deems appropriate for the circumstance, and make a final decision on the issue of the appeal and alleged error in the teacher profile.  
  

5.     If the Board determines that a reduction in force in fact will be implemented, the Executive Director shall submit a list of the teachers recommended for release, through use of the above process, and shall make recommendation to the Board as to what due process, if any, the Board needs to implement for each individual personnel situation.  
  

6.     All releases shall be done in conformance with the applicable provisions of Idaho Code and all affected teachers will be promptly notified, in writing, of the Board’s decision or actions that need to be taken by the Board relating to applicable due process activities, if any. 
 

7.     Recall Provisions: If the contract of employment of a teacher is terminated because of the implementation of these reduction in force procedures, the name of the teacher shall be placed upon a reappointment list and remain on such list for a period of one year(s).  
 
If a position becomes open during such period, and the teacher has been selected by the Board as a person on the recall list who is most capable of holding the position, then the teacher will be notified in writing by certified mail, sent to the last known address, at least 30 days prior to the anticipated date of employment, when possible.  
 
In determining whether a teacher is qualified for reappointment, the Board shall consider the criteria set forth in this policy. The teacher shall accept or reject the appointment in writing within seven days after receipt of such notification. If the appointment is accepted, the teacher shall receive a written contract within 20 days of receipt of the teacher’s reply by the Board. If the teacher rejects the appointment offer or does not respond according to this procedure within seven days after receipt of such notification, the name of the teacher will be removed from the recall list.