Teacher Dismissals under Section 13447 of the California Education Code

To cope with declining enrollment and unremitting financial problems, California school districts are increasingly forced to opt for large-scale teacher dismissals. The majority of these dismissals are invalidated because of failure to implement properly the complicated and ambiguous requirements of section 13447. This note analyzes the statute and its application by the courts, examines the difficulties of compliance, and proposes interpretative and legislative changes which would result in a more clearly defined standard for implementation and a more workable law