1. (a) Any other provision of law to the contrary notwithstanding, any individual employed as an assistant administrative officer in the public schools in Alabama on or after July 1, 2024, at the election of a participating employing board and upon the recommendation of the chief executive officer, may be employed as a probationary assistant administrative officer for up to one full contract year; provided, however, that if the individual is being employed as an assistant administrative officer for the first time, the probationary period may be for up to two full contract years. After completion of the probationary period, the same participating employing board, upon the recommendation of the chief executive officer, shall either offer the probationary assistant administrative officer not less than a three-year contract pursuant to this section or terminate the probationary assistant administrative officer for any reason, or without a stated reason, as the case may be. In the case of a probationary assistant administrative officer who is terminated prior to the end of the school year, the probationary assistant administrative officer shall be entitled to the hearing process as described in this section. Any contract assistant administrative officer hired on or after July 1, 2024, to work in the capacity of a contract assistant administrative officer in a public school in the state shall be properly certified and shall be employed pursuant to a written contract for an initial period of not less than three years. The initial contract of not less than three years may only be canceled for cause as described in subdivision (e)(1). If the contract is canceled for cause related to failure to perform duties in a satisfactory manner, as evidenced by an unsatisfactory evaluation, the chief executive officer and the participating employing board shall be subject to the review provisions described in subsection (j).
2. (b) Subject to the procedures described in subsection (c), in the case of a contract assistant administrative officer after the probationary term of the contract, the contract shall be renewed for a period not less than three years, and shall contain a provision for cancellation during the term of the contract only for just cause, described in subdivision (e)(1).
3. (c) Notwithstanding whether the contract is the initial contract or otherwise, should the chief executive officer make a recommendation to the participating employing board followed by a majority vote of the board not to offer a new, renewed, or extended contract to the contract assistant administrative officer, the vote of the participating employing board shall be made at least 90 days before the end of the existing contract. The recommendation shall contain written notice of the decision of the chief executive officer and the reasons for the decision to nonrenew the contract. Notice shall be provided to the contract assistant administrative officer either by personal service or by certified mail, return receipt requested, mailed to the last known address of the contract assistant administrative officer. The decision of the chief executive officer and the participating employing board may be based on any reason except personal or political reasons.
4. (d) Nothing in this section or article shall be construed to confer continuing service status or nonprobationary status on any contract or probationary assistant administrative officer.

5. (e)

   1. (1) A participating employing board may cancel the contract of a contract assistant administrative officer for cause at any time for any of the following reasons:

      1. a. Immorality.
      2. b. Insubordination.
      3. c. Neglect of duty.
      4. d. Conviction of a felony or a crime involving moral turpitude.
      5. e. Failure to fulfill the duties and responsibilities imposed upon an assistant administrative officer by law.
      6. f. Willful failure to comply with policy of the participating employing board.
      7. g. A justifiable decrease in the number of positions due to decreased enrollment or decreased funding.
      8. h. Failure to maintain his or her certificate in a current status.
      9. i. Incompetency.
      10. j. Failure to perform duties in a satisfactory manner.
      11. k. Other good and just cause.

   2. (2) Within five days of the action of the participating employing board of canceling or nonrenewing the contract of a contract assistant administrative officer, the participating employing board shall provide written notice pursuant to subsection (c) to the contract assistant administrative officer with a statement of the reasons upon which the action was taken.

      1. a. Within 20 working days after the date of receipt of notice provided to a contract assistant administrative officer informing him or her of an action by the participating employing board to nonrenew the assistant administrative officer’s contract at the end of the current term of the contract, the contract assistant administrative officer, by filing written notice with the chief executive officer, may request a nonjury, expedited evidentiary hearing to demonstrate that the chief executive officer’s or supervisor’s recommendation to nonrenew the contract was impermissibly based upon a personal or political reason, or the recommendation was approved based upon personal or political reasons of the chief executive officer, supervisor, or the participating employing board, which shall be the sole issues at the hearing. The contract assistant administrative officer shall bear the burden of proof by a preponderance of the evidence. The hearing shall be held before the circuit court in the judicial circuit of the county in which the participating employing board sits. The expedited evidentiary hearing shall be binding on all parties. Promptly after delivering a written request for a hearing, the contract assistant administrative officer, or his or her designee, shall file with the appropriate circuit court a request for an expedited hearing and shall provide a copy of the request to the applicable chief executive officer.
      2. b. In the case of a contract assistant administrative officer who is recommended for cancellation for cause pursuant to subdivision (1), within 20 working days after the date of receipt by the contract assistant administrative officer of the notice informing him or her of an action by the participating employing board to cancel the assistant administrative officer’s contract for cause as provided in subdivision (1), the contract assistant administrative officer, by filing written notice with the chief executive officer, may request a nonjury, expedited evidentiary hearing before the circuit court in the county in which the participating employing board sits. The chief executive officer shall provide notice to the circuit court promptly after receiving notice that the participating employing board requests the nonjury, expedited evidentiary hearing. At the hearing, the participating employing board shall bear the burden to prove, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the cancellation is solely for cause pursuant to subdivision (1).
   3. (3) All contract assistant administrative officers shall be entitled to an expedited evidentiary hearing process, which shall occur within 45 days after the chief executive officer’s or the contract assistant administrative officer’s request, as the case may be, for an expedited hearing pursuant to subdivision (2). If the circuit court determines that it is not able to complete the expedited evidentiary hearing within the 45-day period, the court shall refer the parties to a mediator to conduct the expedited evidentiary hearing within 45 days after the chief executive officer’s or the contract assistant administrative officer’s request for the expedited hearing. The written decision of the mediator shall be binding on the parties.
   4. (4) The contract assistant administrative officer may request reinstatement at the expedited evidentiary hearing. If such an action is initiated by the contract assistant administrative officer, the pay and benefits of the contract assistant administrative officer shall be discontinued only upon a final order denying reinstatement by the circuit court or the mediator.

6. (f)

   1. (1) Failure to file a timely request for an expedited evidentiary hearing, unless excused by the court or the mediator, shall result in a waiver of the right to appeal the decision of the participating employing board. No further action shall be necessary by the participating employing board.
   2. (2) At the end of the term of the probationary contract or any subsequent contract, absent a written recommendation by the chief executive officer for cancellation or nonrenewal and an acceptance of that recommendation by a majority vote of the participating employing board, the participating employing board shall enter into a new contract with the contract assistant administrative officer for a period of not less than three years.
7. (g) The decision of the circuit court or mediator shall be final and exclusively appealable to the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals as a nonevidentiary appeal in which review is limited to the record from the expedited evidentiary hearing as provided for in this article.

8. (h)

   1. (1) Any assistant administrative officer hired before July 1, 2024, who has not obtained continuing service status with an employing board under prior law and any assistant administrative officer who attained continuing service status under prior law before July 1, 2024, may voluntarily and irrevocably relinquish his or her continuing service status as an assistant administrative officer and elect to be employed by contract.
   2. (2) The relinquishment of continuing service status and election to serve under contract shall be made in writing to the participating employing board at least 30 days before the start of the immediately succeeding scholastic year to be effective in that scholastic year and thereafter.

9. (i)

   1. (1) The chief executive officer, or his or her designee, shall at least annually evaluate the performance of each contract assistant administrative officer. The evaluation shall be performed in a manner prescribed by the State Board of Education.
   2. (2) The participating employing board, upon the written recommendation of the chief executive officer, may at any time enter into a new contract of not less than three years with the contract assistant administrative officer. In the event of an unsatisfactory but remediable performance on the evaluation as prescribed by the State Board of Education, a conference shall be held with the contract assistant administrative officer and a specific plan of professional development shall be presented by the chief executive officer which specifies the area or areas of unsatisfactory performance and recommends a plan to correct the unsatisfactory performance. The contract assistant administrative officer shall complete the specific plan of professional development prior to the next evaluation. In the event of an evaluation indicating unsatisfactory performance as prescribed by the State Board of Education, the chief executive officer shall either recommend to the participating employing board cancellation of the contract for cause as outlined in subdivision (e)(1) or a conference shall be held with the contract assistant administrative officer and a specific plan of professional development shall be presented by the chief executive officer which specifies the area of unsatisfactory performance and recommends a plan to correct the unsatisfactory performance. The contract assistant administrative officer shall complete the specific plan of professional development prior to the next evaluation.

10. (j)

    1. (1) Within 15 days after an unsatisfactory evaluation as prescribed by the State Board of Education and upon receipt of a recommendation by the chief executive officer for cancellation of the contract for cause as outlined in subdivision (e)(1), a contract assistant administrative officer, in writing to the chief executive officer, may request a review of the evaluation.

    2. (2) The review of the evaluation shall be conducted by an independent third-party evaluator who shall determine whether sufficient cause exists for the unsatisfactory finding and be chosen in the following manner:

       1. a. Within five days after the request for a review of the evaluation, the chief executive officer or designee shall request a list of five individuals who are certified to evaluate contract assistant administrative officers from the State Department of Education.
       2. b. From the list described in paragraph a., the chief executive officer and the contract assistant administrative officer shall each strike two names.
       3. c. The State Superintendent of Education shall designate an evaluator from the name or names remaining.
    3. (3) The review of the evaluation shall be completed within 30 days after the request for a review of the evaluation is received by the chief executive officer.

    4. (4)

       1. a. If the result of the review of the evaluation overturns the unsatisfactory evaluation, then the contract of the contract assistant administrative officer shall be continued for the remainder of the term of the contract subject to subdivision (e)(1).
       2. b. If the result of the review of the evaluation upholds the unsatisfactory evaluation, the contract assistant administrative officer shall be informed of the reasons for the upholding of the unsatisfactory evaluation and the contract of the contract assistant administrative officer shall be canceled.
11. (k) Except as provided in subsection (h), the contract of an assistant administrative officer holding the position on July 1, 2024, shall not be canceled, nonrenewed, reduced, or changed in compensation or continuing service status, or time toward continuing service status, due to the enactment of this article.

12. (l)

    1. (1) Any decision not to continue the employment of a probationary assistant administrative officer or contract assistant administrative officer shall be made by a majority vote of the participating employing board upon the written recommendation of the chief executive officer.
    2. (2) The decision not to continue the employment of a contract assistant administrative officer shall cancel the employment relationship between the participating employing board and the contract assistant administrative officer effective at the end of the current contract period.
    3. (3) Any contract assistant administrative officer who had attained continuing service status in a position other than as an assistant administrative officer with the participating employing board before becoming a contract assistant administrative officer shall retain that previously earned status and be returned to a similar status position within a reasonable time after the cancellation or nonrenewal of his or her contract as an assistant administrative officer with the participating employing board, provided that the cause for cancellation is not for conviction of a felony or crime involving moral turpitude.

13. (m)

    1. (1) Commencing on July 1, 2024, an employing board may elect to employ assistant administrative officers pursuant to this article on a contract basis in lieu of the tenure process provided in Chapter 24C, the Students First Act of 2011. After an election is made, the participating employing board may not revert back to the tenure process without the passage of a local legislative act.
    2. (2) Upon passage of a local legislative act mandating reversion, the terms and conditions of any contract executed pursuant to this article shall be fulfilled, and any contract assistant administrative officer who had previously attained continuing service status with the employing board under the Students First Act of 2011, before becoming a contract assistant administrative officer, shall revert back to his or her previously earned status and be returned to a similar status position.
14. (n) If a contract assistant administrative officer is not evaluated as required by this section, his or her contract shall be extended one additional contract year for each contract year not evaluated up to three years.
15. (o) The chief executive officer shall make a timely written recommendation to the participating employing board regarding the continued employment of a probationary assistant administrative officer at the end of his or her probationary period and the continued employment of a contract assistant administrative officer at the end of his or her contract. Failure of the chief executive officer to make a recommendation shall not in any way prejudice the probationary assistant administrative officer or contract assistant administrative officer.

(Act 2024-360, §2.)