CONSTITUTIONAL LAW - SCHOOLS AND SCHOOL DISTRICTS - TEACHERS' TENURE LEGISLATION

Although the question of security of employment for public school teachers was discussed as far back as the year 1885, when tenure was interpreted to mean the application of civil service principles to the teaching profession, the organized teacher tenure movement is of comparatively recent origin. From within the profession itself impetus was given to the movement by continuous campaigns carried on by local, state and national teachers' associations. From without, the growth of the movement was facilitated by a wider recognition of the evils attendant upon the unlimited power of school boards to "hire and fire" their employees at will. Surveys brought to light the instability of the teaching body and the large number of teachers required to fill vacant positions each year.

In 1923, for example, the statewide turnover of teachers ranged from four per cent in Florida to forty-seven per cent in Wyoming, while the local turnover was in many cases even greater, more than one-half of the teachers being new in their positions anually.