Do TN School Districts Have To Put Teacher Contracts In Writing? Rutherford Co. Goes To Court

Rutherford Education Association filed a complaint to the state about collaborative conferencing in April. The lawsuit was filed in June. The Rutherford County dispute is the first in the state to be taken to court since collective bargaining was banned in 2011. Credit: RCS

A judge may end up deciding what teacher contract negotiations are supposed to look like. With collective bargaining outlawed in Tennessee, the teachers’ union in Rutherford County has taken its grievances to court.

A state law passed in 2011 replaced the sometimes-adversarial back-and-forth of collective bargaining with meetings called “collaborative conferencing.” There’s still a lot of confusion about exactly what these sessions were intended to be and whether the outcome is binding. But one thing is spelled out in the law. Instead of a contract, teachers would sign a “memorandum of understanding.”

Tennessee Education Association attorney Rick Colbert says putting something in writing is important.

“From an employment standpoint, they’re the issues that matter most to you. How long is your workday going to be? I think that’s a pretty big issue.”

But the Rutherford County school board has refused. In response to a lawsuit filed by the teachers’ union, the school board argues that the new state law doesn’t require a written document if both sides haven’t agreed on all points. And the district and union do still have a dispute about whether union dues can be deducted from teacher paychecks.

The case is now in Rutherford County Chancery Court.