Pursuant to Wisconsin law, a school board must contract in writing with full-time teachers, who are subject to the renewal and non-renewal procedures outlined in Wis. Stat. § 118.22. In a prior legal update, we addressed the definition of a teacher, how the renewal and non-renewal process functions, and the requirements of notice. This article focuses on the timing of acceptance or rejection of a teacher contract, particularly when the June 15th deadline falls on a Sunday.
Every year, a teacher who holds a contract has a duty to accept or reject the contract, in writing, by no later than the 15th of June. When June 15th happens to land on a weekend day, such as it does this year, there can be confusion on the applicable deadline, including whether it moves to Monday. Based upon another section of the statutes that addresses computation of time, it is likely that if June 15th falls on a Sunday, a teacher must accept or reject his or her contract by Monday, June 16th instead.
Wisconsin Statute § 118.22 creates the requirements surrounding the renewal of teacher contracts and the timeline the school board and teacher must follow in doing so. The relevant portion of the statute outlines the law as follows:
118.22 Renewal of teacher contracts.
(2) On or before May 15 of the school year during which a teacher holds a contract, the board by which the teacher is employed or an employee at the direction of the board shall give the teacher written notice of renewal or refusal to renew the teacher’s contract for the ensuing school year. If no such notice is given on or before May 15, the contract then in force shall continue for the ensuing school year. A teacher who receives a notice of renewal of contract for the ensuing school year, or a teacher who does not receive a notice of renewal or refusal to renew the teacher’s contract for the ensuing school year on or before May 15, shall accept or reject in writing such contract not later than the following June 15. No teacher may be employed or dismissed except by a majority vote of the full membership of the board. Nothing in this section prevents the modification or termination of a contract by mutual agreement of the teacher and the board. No such board may enter into a contract of employment with a teacher for any period of time as to which the teacher is then under a contract of employment with another board.
A teacher who fails to accept the contract by the applicable deadline is not necessarily automatically terminated from employment, unless the school board has provided specific notice in advance regarding this consequence.
Chapter 990 of the Wisconsin Statutes specifies how statutes are constructed and how time may be computed. Specifically, section 990.001(4)(b) addresses how time is computed when a deadline falls on a Sunday:
990.001(4)(b) Time, how computed.
(b) If the last day within which an act is to be done or proceeding had or taken falls on a Sunday or legal holiday the act may be done or the proceeding had or taken on the next secular day.
The term “secular” is defined by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary as not being “overtly or specifically religious.” As applied to Wis. Stat. § 118.22, the next secular day following June 15th would be Monday, June 16th, when the contract acceptance or rejection is due.
As the deadline approaches, it is important to note this change. School districts may also wish to communicate the applicable deadline to teachers when reminding them of the date by which they need to accept or reject contracts in writing.
