As used in Section 6-101 et seq. of this title:

1. "Administrator" means a duly certified person who devotes a majority of time to service as a superintendent, elementary superintendent, principal, supervisor, vice principal or in any other administrative or supervisory capacity in the school district;

2. "Dismissal" means the discontinuance of the teaching service of an administrator or teacher during the term of a written contract, as provided by law;

3. "Nonreemployment" means the nonrenewal of the contract of an administrator or teacher upon expiration of the contract;

4. "Career teacher" means a teacher who:

a.is employed by a school district prior to the 2017-2018 school year and has completed three (3) or more consecutive complete school years as a teacher in one school district under a written continuing or temporary teaching contract, or

b.is employed for the first time by a school district under a written continuing or temporary teaching contract during the 2017-2018 school year and thereafter:

(1)has completed three (3) consecutive complete school years as a teacher in one school district under a written continuing or temporary teaching contract and has achieved a district evaluation rating of "superior" as measured pursuant to the TLE as set forth in Section 6-101.16 of this title for at least two (2) of the three (3) school years,

(2)has completed four (4) consecutive complete school years as a teacher in one school district under a written continuing or temporary teaching contract, has averaged a district evaluation rating of at least "effective" as measured pursuant to the TLE for the four-year period, and has received district evaluation ratings of at least "effective" for the last two (2) years of the four-year period, or

(3)has completed four (4) or more consecutive complete school years in one school district under a written continuing or temporary teaching contract and has not met the requirements of subparagraph a or b of this paragraph, only if the principal of the school at which the teacher is employed submits a petition to the superintendent of the school district requesting that the teacher be granted career status, the superintendent agrees with the petition, and the school district board of education approves the petition. The principal shall specify in the petition the underlying facts supporting the granting of career status to the teacher;

5. "Teacher hearing" means the hearing before a school district board of education after a recommendation for dismissal or nonreemployment of a teacher has been made but before any final action is taken on the recommendation, held for the purpose of affording the teacher all rights guaranteed by the United States Constitution and the Constitution of Oklahoma under circumstances and for enabling the board to determine whether to approve or disapprove the recommendation;

6. "Probationary teacher" means a teacher who:

a.is employed by a school district prior to the 2017-2018 school year and has completed fewer than three (3) consecutive complete school years as a teacher in one school district under a written teaching contract, or

b.is employed for the first time by a school district under a written teaching contract during the 2017-2018 school year and thereafter and has not met the requirements for career teacher as provided in paragraph 4 of this section;

7. "Suspension" or "suspended" means the temporary discontinuance of the services of an administrator or teacher, as provided by law;

8. "Teacher" means a person defined as a teacher in Section 1-116 of this title; and

9. "District evaluation rating" means the rating issued based on the components of the TLE as set forth in subsection B of Section 6-101.16 of this title.

Added by Laws 1989, 1st Ex. Sess., c. 2, § 68, operative July 1, 1990. Amended by Laws 1991, c. 16, § 3, eff. July 1, 1991; Laws 2003, c. 434, § 8; Laws 2010, c. 291, § 8, eff. July 1, 2012; Laws 2011, c. 40, § 2; Laws 2013, c. 373, § 1; Laws 2014, c. 124, § 5, eff. July 1, 2014; Laws 2015, c. 365, § 1, eff. July 1, 2015; Laws 2016, c. 301, § 1, eff. July 1, 2016; Laws 2016, c. 360, § 2, eff. July 1, 2016.

NOTE: Laws 2011, c. 40, § 1 repealed by Laws 2012, c. 11, § 20, emerg. eff. April 4, 2012.