Alabama’s Students First Act, codified at Chapter 24C of Title 16, gives tenured teachers and nonprobationary classified school employees the right to written notice, a hearing before the local school board, and two levels of appeal before a termination becomes final. It applies to employees of local boards of education and two-year postsecondary institutions under the Department of Postsecondary Education. Probationary employees, substitutes, and temporary staff do not get these protections. If you have earned tenure or nonprobationary status and receive a notice of proposed termination, the most important date on the page is the 15-day deadline to request a hearing. Miss it and you lose the hearing entirely.
Who Is Covered
The Act splits covered workers into two groups. Teachers are employees who hold a professional educator’s certificate issued by the State of Alabama, including classroom teachers, principals, counselors, and administrators. Classified employees are non-certified staff such as custodians, bus drivers, cafeteria workers, and office support personnel. Both groups follow the same general framework, with some timing differences at two-year postsecondary institutions.
Private schools operate under separate employment agreements and are not governed by this chapter.
When You Become Tenured or Nonprobationary
Teachers earn tenure after three full, consecutive school years of full-time employment with the same employer, provided the school board does not issue a termination notice by the last day of the third year. A teacher whose employment starts before October 1 and who finishes the school year gets credit for a complete year of service. Time worked without a valid professional educator’s certificate does not count.1Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 16-24C-4 – Tenure of Teachers; Nonprobationary Status of Classified Employees
Classified employees reach nonprobationary status on the same three-year timeline. The board’s deadline to issue a termination notice is June 15 following the third school year, or June 30 in the first year of each legislative quadrennium. At two-year postsecondary institutions, teachers need six consecutive semesters (excluding summers) and classified employees need 36 consecutive months.1Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 16-24C-4 – Tenure of Teachers; Nonprobationary Status of Classified Employees
Before you cross that line, you are probationary. A probationary employee can be dismissed with far fewer procedural steps, and if the board acts within the statutory window the decision is final without a full hearing. An employee at two years and eleven months has dramatically fewer rights than one who just crossed the three-year mark.
Grounds a Board Must State
Once you are tenured or nonprobationary, the employer cannot terminate you at will. The statute limits terminations to specific reasons:2Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 16-24C-6 – Termination of Employment – Grounds for Termination; Procedures; Appeals
- A justifiable decrease in positions, such as budget cuts or enrollment declines.
- Incompetency.
- Insubordination.
- Neglect of duty.
- Immorality.
- Failure to perform duties satisfactorily.
- Other good and just cause.
The statute also prohibits termination decisions made for political or personal reasons. That is an explicit safeguard against retaliation dressed up as a legitimate personnel action.
Criminal conduct on or off campus can supply grounds under several of these categories. A conviction for drug possession, theft, or a violent offense may establish incompetency or immorality depending on the circumstances. Certain sex offenses involving students are classified as Class B felonies under Alabama law.3Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 13A-6-81 – School Employee Engaging in a Sex Act with a Student Who Is Under the Age of 19 Years or Is a Protected Person Under the Age of 22 Years
The Termination Process
Termination follows a specific sequence. Skipping any step can invalidate the entire action.
Written Notice
The process begins when the chief executive officer, typically the superintendent, issues a written notice of proposed termination. The notice must state the reasons and include a plain statement of facts tying those reasons to one or more of the statutory grounds.2Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 16-24C-6 – Termination of Employment – Grounds for Termination; Procedures; Appeals
Requesting a Hearing Within 15 Days
You have 15 calendar days from the date the notice is issued to file a written request for a hearing with the chief executive officer. This deadline is unforgiving. If you fail to request a hearing in that window, the governing board votes on the termination without one and you lose the chance to contest the decision in a formal proceeding.2Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 16-24C-6 – Termination of Employment – Grounds for Termination; Procedures; Appeals
The Hearing Before the Board
If you request a hearing on time, it must be scheduled no fewer than 30 and no more than 60 calendar days from the date the employer issues written notice of the time, date, and place. The hearing takes place before the local governing board, not an independent officer at this stage.2Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 16-24C-6 – Termination of Employment – Grounds for Termination; Procedures; Appeals
At the hearing you may be represented by an attorney, present evidence, and call and cross-examine witnesses. The chief executive officer has authority to issue subpoenas, both on your timely request and for any witness the CEO believes has relevant knowledge. A majority vote of the board is required to approve the termination.
Suspensions and the 20-Day Line
Not every disciplinary action is a full termination. The Act allows employers to suspend a tenured or nonprobationary employee with or without pay, and the procedural rules depend on the length.4Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 16-24C-6 – Termination of Employment
A suspension without pay of 20 work days or fewer is not treated as a termination and does not trigger the full hearing and appeal process. The employer must still give you adequate notice of the reasons and an opportunity to present evidence and argument, in person or in writing, before imposing it. Suspensions without pay that exceed 20 work days do trigger the same notice, hearing, and appeal rights that apply to terminations. That 20-day line is the boundary between a relatively informal disciplinary action and the full statutory process.
Two Levels of Appeal
Appeal to a Hearing Officer
If the board rules against you, you have 15 days from receiving the decision to file a written notice of appeal with the State Superintendent of Education. Missing this deadline makes the board’s decision final.2Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 16-24C-6 – Termination of Employment – Grounds for Termination; Procedures; Appeals
The State Superintendent refers the appeal to the Executive Director of the Alabama State Bar Association, who assembles a panel of five retired Alabama judges drawn from an official alternative dispute resolution roster. You and the employer either agree on a hearing officer from the panel or select one through alternating strikes, with you striking first. The selection must be completed within 10 calendar days of receiving the panel names, and the hearing officer may not have any personal or professional conflict of interest.
If the hearing officer overturns the termination, you are reinstated and credited with any benefits due under applicable salary schedules and compensation policies.2Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 16-24C-6 – Termination of Employment – Grounds for Termination; Procedures; Appeals
Appeal to the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals
Either party may appeal an adverse hearing officer decision to the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals by filing a notice of appeal under the Alabama Rules of Appellate Procedure. The court reviews the existing record rather than holding a new trial, and it evaluates whether the decision was supported by the evidence and whether legal errors occurred. If due process was violated or the decision was arbitrary, the court may reverse or remand. Further review by the Alabama Supreme Court is possible but discretionary.
Due Process Behind the Statute
The Students First Act sits on top of federal constitutional protections. Under Cleveland Board of Education v. Loudermill (1985), a public employee who has earned a property interest in continued employment cannot be fired without due process, which at minimum means notice of the charges and a meaningful opportunity to respond before the termination takes effect.5Justia. Cleveland Board of Education v. Loudermill, 470 U.S. 532 (1985)
Alabama’s tenure system creates exactly that kind of property interest. Once you finish the three-year probationary period, the state has given you a legitimate expectation of continued employment that the Fourteenth Amendment protects. A school board that shortcuts the statutory process is not just violating state law. It is potentially violating your federal constitutional rights, opening the door to a claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for damages caused by the deprivation of due process.
Certificate Revocation Is a Separate Consequence
Termination under the Students First Act is an employment action, but the fallout can reach further. Alabama law separately empowers the State Superintendent of Education to revoke a teaching certificate for immoral conduct or unbecoming behavior. For certain criminal convictions, revocation is mandatory and immediate.6Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 16-23-5 – Revocation of Certificates
Mandatory revocation applies to convictions for capital murder, any Class A felony, and a detailed list of sex-related offenses including rape, sodomy, sexual abuse, child pornography, electronic solicitation of a child, and any criminal sex offense where the victim is under 12. It also covers equivalent crimes in other states or federal jurisdictions. A certificate holder convicted of any listed offense loses certification automatically, which ends the ability to work in any certified position in Alabama.
Even outside mandatory categories, the State Superintendent retains discretionary authority to revoke certificates for immoral conduct. A termination for immorality or misconduct under the Students First Act can therefore lead to a parallel certification proceeding that carries broader career consequences than the job loss itself. Winning the employment case does not automatically resolve the certification case, and losing the employment case can feed directly into it.