Requirement that New Jersey School Board Give Timely Written Notice of Non-Renewal and Consequences for Failure
Requirement that New Jersey School Board Give Timely Written Notice of Non-Renewal and Consequences for Failure
New Jersey employment law is clear that non-tenured educators must receive notice in writing by May 15th that their employment contracts will not be renewed for the following academic year.
The Requirement for Written Notice by May 15th
The relevant statute, N.J.S.A. 18A:27-10, provides:
1. On or before May 15 in each year, each nontenured teaching staff member continuously employed by a board of education since the preceding September 30 shall receive either
a. A written offer of a contract for employment from the board of education for the next succeeding year providing for at least the same terms and conditions of employment but with such increases in salary as may be required by law or policies of the board of education, or
b. A written notice from the chief school administrator that such employment will not be offered.
These provisions, by the statute’s terms, apply only to educators hired by September 30th. A teaching staff member must accept the offer of renewal in writing on or before June 1st. The reason for these timeframes is that before the coming school year the employee needs time to look for a new job if she is non-renewed and the board of education needs time to look for a replacement if the employee chooses not to return.
Remedy for Failure to Receive Timely Written Notice
The consequences are significant. If the employer fails to give the required written notice of non-renewal before May 15th, it will be deemed to have offered the employee a contract for employment for the coming school year. The notice requirement’s companion statute, N.J.S.A. 18A:27-11, provides:
Should any board of education fail to give to any nontenure teaching staff member either an offer of contract for employment for the next succeeding year or a notice that such employment will not be offered, all within the time and in the manner provided by this act, then said board of education shall be deemed to have offered to that teaching staff member continued employment for the next succeeding school year upon the same terms and conditions but with such increases in salary as may be required by law or policies of the board of education.
This requirement and the relief have teeth. If written notice is not received by May 15th New Jersey courts will enforce the remedy of a new contract. For example, in the 2025 case of Adeyin vs. Board of Education of the City of Orange, the Appellate Division ofthe Superior Court of New Jersey ruled that a board of education which had only given oral notice of non-renewal before May 15th was required to reinstate the terminated educator with a new contract for the coming school year, and awarded back pay for the time she missed.
Procedure
If a board of education terminates a non-tenured educator without the required written notice by May 15th, the educator may appeal to the New Jersey Department of Education. If the Department finds that the matter is a “contested case,” it will transfer the matter to the New Jersey Office of Administrative Law for an evidentiary hearing before an Administrative Law Judge (“ALJ”). The ALJ reviews the evidence and hears testimony and then makes a recommended decision which the Commissioner of Education can either accept, reject or modify. The Commissioner’s decision can then be appealed to the Appellate Division, and thereafter to the New Jersey Supreme Court. Bear in mind that the time frames for these appeals are very short, and failure to file an appeal within the required time normally leads to dismissal.
The Takeaway
When a local board of education fails to give one of its untenured educators the required written that her contract will not be renewed by May 15th and nonetheless terminates the employee, the educator has an effective avenue of relief.
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