Del. C. » Title 14 — Free Public Schools · CHAPTER 14. Procedures for the Termination of Services of Professional Employees · Education
Delaware Code

14 Del. C. § 1403 (2026)

Application of chapter

✓ current as of May 2026
Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section DE-DELCdelcode.delaware.gov JustiaTitle on Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

(a) Except as set forth in subsection (b) of this section, the provisions set forth in §§ 1411, 1412, 1413 and 1414 of this title, covering reasons for termination, notice of termination, hearings before a board and judicial review, shall apply to all teachers:

(1) Who began teaching in a Delaware public school prior to the end of the 2009/2010 school year and have completed 3 years of service in the State, 2 years of which shall be in the employ of the terminating board; or

(2) Who began teaching in a Delaware public school after the conclusion of the 2009/2010 school year and has completed at least 3 years of service in the State, at least 2 of which are in the employ of the terminating board, provided that said teacher has received at least 2 years of “Satisfactory” ratings in the “Student Improvement” component of the teacher appraisal process (established pursuant to § 1270 of this title) within a 3-year period. The 2 “Satisfactory” ratings need not be consecutive and the requirement for “Satisfactory” ratings need only be satisfied once in order for the provisions of §§ 1411 through 1414 of this title to apply.

(3) Who began teaching in a Delaware public school after the conclusion of the 2020-2021 school year and have completed at least 3 years of service in the State, at least 2 of which are in the employ of the terminating board, provided that said teacher has received at least 2 years of “Satisfactory” summative ratings in the teacher appraisal process (established pursuant to § 1270 of this title) within a 3-year period. The 2 “Satisfactory” ratings need not be consecutive and the requirement for “Satisfactory” ratings need only be satisfied once in order for the provision of §§ 1411 through 1414 of this title to apply.

(b) The provisions set forth in §§ 1411, 1412, 1413 and 1414 of this title shall not apply to teachers employed temporarily to replace professional personnel on leave of absence or to teachers holding temporary certificates.

(c) Time spent in military service shall not be counted as years of service for purposes of this chapter.

(d) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (a)(2) of this section, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the provisions set forth in §§ 1411, 1412, 1413 and 1414 of this title shall apply to teachers who began teaching in the 2017-2018 and 2018-2019 school years and have completed at least 3 years of service, at least 2 of which are in the employ of the terminating board.

14 Del. C. 1953, §  1403;  50 Del. Laws, c. 39, §  1;  55 Del. Laws, c. 80, §§  1, 2;  57 Del. Laws, c. 529;  69 Del. Laws, c. 449, §  1;  77 Del. Laws, c. 459, §§  1, 2;  83 Del. Laws, c. 282, § 2; 

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 7 cases, 1963–1976 · leading case: New Castle-Gunning Bedford Educ. Ass'n v. Bd. of Educ., 421 F. Supp. 960 (D. Del. 1976).
Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment
New Castle-Gunning Bedford Educ. Ass'n v. Bd. of Educ., 421 F. Supp. 960 (D. Del. 1976). “14 Del.C. § 1403(a). *965 Recognizing the importance which teachers and school boards give to receipt of tenure, it is difficult for the Court to believe that the parties to the Master Agreement would have included such a major right in such an ambiguous manner, especially where…”
Boyce v. Alexis I. duPont Sch. Dist., 341 F. Supp. 672 (D. Del. 1972). “14 Del.C. § 1403. 5 Nonetheless, section 1410 entitled plaintiff to be advised in writing by May 1st of defendants’ intention not to reemploy him and to be given reasons therefor.”
Pierson v. De La Warr Sch. Dist., 282 A.2d 656 (Del. Ch. 1971). “, during the school year), 2 (c) his employment was suspended immediately, 3 and (d) his request for hearing was denied in view of 14 Del.C. § 1403. B. Before proceeding to the merits, it should be said that we are not concerned with the statutory or other rights of a tenured…”
Newnam v. Bd. of Ed. of Mt. Pleasant Sch. Dist., 350 A.2d 339 (Del. 1975). “14 Del.C. § 1403. Reversed and remanded. 1 .”
Boyce v. Alexis I. Dupont Sch. Dist., 341 F. Supp. 678 (D. Del. 1972). “14 Del.C. § 1403. 2 Nonetheless, section 1410 required that if defendants did not intend to reemploy him the following year he be so advised by May 1st with their reasons.”
Newman v. Bd. of Educ. of the Mt. Pleasant Sch. Dist., 325 A.2d 387 (Del. Ch. 1974). “14 Del.C. § 1403. Thus, new teachers are charged with the knowledge, that in effect, they are on a probationary status for their first three years of service and, at best, unless there is an intention to terminate during the school year (see Pierson v.”
Bd. of Sch. Trs. v. O'BRIEN, 190 A.2d 23 (Del. 1963). “Accordingly, under the provisions of 14 Del.C. § 1403, appellee qualifies as a tenure teacher and is certified to teach general music, music appreciation, elementary music, instrumental music, and vocal music.”
— 14 Del. C. § 1403(a) — 1 case
New Castle-Gunning Bedford Educ. Ass'n v. Bd. of Educ., 421 F. Supp. 960 (D. Del. 1976). “14 Del.C. § 1403(a). *965 Recognizing the importance which teachers and school boards give to receipt of tenure, it is difficult for the Court to believe that the parties to the Master Agreement would have included such a major right in such an ambiguous manner, especially where…”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.