Michigan Compiled Laws

Mich. Comp. Laws § 38.91 (2026)

Teacher on continuing tenure; program operated by consortium of districts; teacher employed in public school academy; adult education; contracts of employment in other than classroom; salary; extra duty for extra pay.

✓ current as of July 2026

Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section MI-LEGlegislature.mi.gov JustiaChapter on Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

TEACHERS' TENURE

Act 4 of 1937 (Ex. Sess.)

38.91 Teacher on continuing tenure; program operated by consortium of districts; teacher employed in public school academy; adult education; contracts of employment in other than classroom; salary; extra duty for extra pay.

Sec. 1.

(1) After the satisfactory completion of the probationary period, a teacher is considered to be on continuing tenure under this act. A teacher on continuing tenure shall be employed continuously by the controlling board under which the probationary period has been completed and shall not be dismissed or demoted except as specified in this act. Continuing tenure is held only in accordance with this act.

(2) If a teacher employed in a program operated by a consortium of school districts was previously on continuing tenure in a school district that participates in the consortium, the teacher shall be considered to be on continuing tenure only in that school district.

(3) If a teacher employed in a program operated by a consortium of school districts was not previously on continuing tenure in a school district that participates in the consortium and satisfactorily completes the probationary period, the teacher shall be considered to be on continuing tenure only in the school district that is the fiscal agent for the consortium. However, if there is a written agreement between the teacher and another participating school district that provides that the teacher will have continuing tenure in that school district, the teacher shall be considered to be on continuing tenure only in that school district and shall not be considered to be on continuing tenure in the school district that is the fiscal agent for the consortium.

(4) If a teacher employed in a public school academy established under the revised school code, 1976 PA 451, MCL 380.1 to 380.1852, is on leave of absence from a school district and was on continuing tenure in the school district at the time he or she began the leave of absence, the teacher retains continuing tenure in that school district during the period he or she is employed in the public school academy.

(5) If a teacher satisfactorily completes the probationary period as an adult education teacher, the teacher shall be considered to be on continuing tenure in the school district only for adult education and shall not by virtue of completing the probationary period as an adult education teacher be considered to be on continuing tenure in the school district for elementary and secondary education.

(6) If a teacher satisfactorily completes the probationary period as an elementary or secondary education teacher, the teacher shall be considered to be on continuing tenure in the school district only for elementary and secondary education and shall not by virtue of completing the probationary period as an elementary or secondary education teacher be considered to be on continuing tenure in the school district for adult education.

(7) For a teacher employed in a capacity other than as a classroom teacher, including but not limited to, a superintendent, assistant superintendent, principal, department head or director of curriculum, under a contract of employment made with the teacher after the completion of the probationary period, a controlling board shall not provide in the contract of employment that the teacher will be considered to be granted continuing tenure in that other capacity by virtue of the contract of employment. Such a teacher shall be considered to have been granted continuing tenure only as an active classroom teacher in the school district. Upon the termination of such a contract of employment, if the controlling board does not reemploy the teacher under contract in the capacity covered by the contract, the teacher shall be continuously employed by the controlling board as an active classroom teacher. Failure of a controlling board to reemploy a teacher in any such capacity upon the termination of any such contract of employment described in this subsection shall not be considered to be a demotion under this act. The salary in the position to which the teacher is assigned shall be the same as if the teacher had been continuously employed as an active classroom teacher.

(8) Continuing tenure does not apply to an annual assignment of extra duty for extra pay.

History: 1937, Ex. Sess., Act 4, Eff. Sept. 1, 1937 ;-- Am. 1941, Act 119, Imd. Eff. May 23, 1941 ;-- CL 1948, 35.91 ;-- Am. 1963, Act 242, Eff. Sept. 6, 1963 ;-- Am. 1993, Act 59, Imd. Eff. June 11, 1993 ;-- Am. 1993, Act 337, Imd. Eff. Dec. 31, 1993 ;-- Am. 1996, Act 282, Imd. Eff. June 17, 1996 ;-- Am. 2011, Act 101, Imd. Eff. July 19, 2011

PopularName Notes:

Teachers' Tenure Act

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 39 cases (5 in the last 5 years), 1960–2024 · leading case: Slater v. Ann Arbor Pub. Schs. Bd. of Educ., 648 N.W.2d 205 (Mich. Ct. App. 2002).

Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment

Slater v. Ann Arbor Pub. Schs. Bd. of Educ., 648 N.W.2d 205 (Mich. Ct. App. 2002). · cites it 7× “534(d) (ii) did not specifically provide for achieving tenure in a consortium as did MCL 38.91(3) of the tta. On the other hand, the trial court noted that the TTA did not cover the instant situation where “a probationary period is interrupted by a transfer to a different…”

Southfield Educ. Ass'n v. Bd. of Educ. of the Southfield Pub. Sch., 909 N.W.2d 1 (Mich. Ct. App. 2017). · cites it 4× “Plaintiffs allege that Smith, as a *374 tenured teacher, possessed the right to "continuous employment" under MCL 38.91 and that defendant violated the TTA by "failing and/or refusing to recall her to positions for which she is certified and qualified to teach.”

Bode v. Roseville Sch. Dist., 275 N.W.2d 472 (Mich. 1979). · cites it 16× “MCL 38.91; MSA 15.1991 states: "After the satisfactory completion of the probationary period, a teacher shall be employed continuously by the controlling board under which the probationary period has been completed, and shall not be dismissed or demoted except as specified in…”

Southfield Educ. Ass'n v. Bd. of Educ. of the Southfield Pub. Sch., 319 F. Supp. 3d 898 (E.D. Mich. 2018). · cites it 3× “2d at 14 (quoting the Teacher Tenure Act, *904 Mich. Comp. Laws § 38.91 (1) ). The court found the plaintiffs' argument unpersuasive, concluding plaintiff "Smith has no due process right to recall, and the right of continuous employment for tenured teachers simply does not apply…”

Belanger v. Warren Consol. Sch. Dist., 443 N.W.2d 372 (Mich. 1989). · cites it 8× “This Court granted leave to address the issue whether school counselors qualify for position-specific tenure under MCL 38.91; MSA 15.1991. [12] II To determine whether teachers acquire administrative tenure as counselors, we must first look to art 3, § 1, of the teacher tenure…”

Smiley v. Grand Blanc Bd. of Educ., 330 N.W.2d 416 (Mich. 1982). · cites it 16× “Failure of any such controlling board to so provide in any such contract of employment of any teacher in a capacity other than a classroom teacher shall be deemed to constitute the employment of such teacher on continuing contract in such capacity and subject to the provisions…”

Goodwin v. Bd. of Educ. of Sch. Dist., 267 N.W.2d 142 (Mich. Ct. App. 1978). · cites it 5× “Each party argues legislative history supports their respective interpretations of MCLA 38.91; MSA 15.1991. Defendant school board and the tenure commission argue that the only positions in which a teacher can gain non-classroom teacher *566 tenure are those positions which…”

Lamphere Schs. v. Lamphere Fed'n of Teachers, 252 N.W.2d 818 (Mich. 1977). · cites it 2× “The second contract is the individual teacher tenure contract which each teacher signs separately with the school district. This contract is a continuing tenure contract pursuant to the School Code of 1955, MCLA 340.”

Dodge v. Bd. of Educ. of Saginaw City Sch. Dist., 183 N.W.2d 793 (Mich. 1971). · cites it 10× “Defendants say that the striking of the word "Tenure" was the equivalent of what the provision in MCLA § 38.91 (Stat Ann 1968 Rev § 15.1991), above quoted, states, namely, that the board may provide *352 in a contract of employment that a teacher employed as a principal "shall…”

Kola Hasanaj v. Detroit Pub. Schs. Cmty. Dist., 35 F.4th 437 (6th Cir. 2022). “Mich. Comp. Laws Ann. § 38.91 (1). The Tenure Act provides that a teacher “is considered to be on continuing tenure” only “[a]fter the satisfactory No.”

Michael Potts v. Gobles Pub. Sch. Dist., 676 F. App'x 562 (6th Cir. 2017). · cites it 4× “” See Mich. Comp. Laws § 38.91 (1); Tomiak, 397 N.”

Boyce v. Royal Oak Bd. of Educ., 285 N.W.2d 196 (Mich. 1979). · cites it 4× “The employment security offered by the statute is protection from arbitrary and capricious dismissal.”

Show all 39 citing cases →

— Mich. Comp. Laws § 38.91(1) — 4 cases

Southfield Educ. Ass'n v. Bd. of Educ. of the Southfield Pub. Sch., 909 N.W.2d 1 (Mich. Ct. App. 2017). “Plaintiffs allege that Smith, as a *374 tenured teacher, possessed the right to "continuous employment" under MCL 38.91 and that defendant violated the TTA by "failing and/or refusing to recall her to positions for which she is certified and qualified to teach.”

Southfield Educ. Ass'n v. Bd. of Educ. of the Southfield Pub. Sch., 319 F. Supp. 3d 898 (E.D. Mich. 2018). “2d at 14 (quoting the Teacher Tenure Act, *904 Mich. Comp. Laws § 38.91 (1) ). The court found the plaintiffs' argument unpersuasive, concluding plaintiff "Smith has no due process right to recall, and the right of continuous employment for tenured teachers simply does not apply…”

Schwein v. Bd. of Educ. of the Riverview Cmty. Sch. Dist., 335 F. Supp. 3d 964 (E.D. Mich. 2018).

Madu v. Detroit Pub. Schs. Cmty. Dist. (E.D. Mich. 2024).

— Mich. Comp. Laws § 38.91(3) — 1 case

Slater v. Ann Arbor Pub. Schs. Bd. of Educ., 648 N.W.2d 205 (Mich. Ct. App. 2002). “534(d) (ii) did not specifically provide for achieving tenure in a consortium as did MCL 38.91(3) of the tta. On the other hand, the trial court noted that the TTA did not cover the instant situation where “a probationary period is interrupted by a transfer to a different…”

— Mich. Comp. Laws § 38.91(6) — 1 case

Mantei v. Michigan Pub. Sch. Employees Ret. Sys., 663 N.W.2d 486 (Mich. Ct. App. 2003).

— Mich. Comp. Laws § 38.91(7) — 1 case

Kalamazoo Educ. Assn mea/nea v. Kalamazoo Pub. Schs. (Mich. Ct. App. 2023).

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.