Teacher tenure is a policy that provides job security to teachers after they successfully complete a probationary period. It restricts the ability to fire teachers without just cause, ensuring they have the right to due process and a fair hearing before termination. Key points about teacher tenure:

• Teachers usually have a probationary period (often 3 to 4 years) during which they must demonstrate satisfactory performance.
• After this period, if the teacher is recommended and granted tenure, they gain protections that make it difficult to be fired arbitrarily.
• Tenure requires that a teacher can only be dismissed for specific reasons such as incapacity, inefficiency, unbecoming conduct, or other just cause.
• The tenure system aims to protect teachers from unfair dismissal and supports academic freedom and stability in teaching.
• The probationary period length and tenure rules vary by state and local jurisdictions.

For example:

• In New York, teachers serve a probationary period of four years and a day and must be recommended by their principal and superintendent to achieve tenure.
• In New Jersey, the probationary period is three years before a teacher may be granted tenure.

Teacher tenure does not guarantee a job for life but ensures a teacher cannot be terminated without due process, including the right to know the reason and the opportunity to challenge dismissal.