Public Act 4-243, “An Act Concerning Termination of Coaches,” also stipulates that an athletic coach who has served for three or more consecutive years has the right to automatic contract renewal unless he or she is notified within 90 days of the end of the season that employment will not be renewed.

The change in policy, made at the board’s February 3 meeting, stemmed from a recent case in Region 10, the Burlington and Harwinton districts. After her contract was abruptly made nonrenewable after a number of years of service, a Region 10 athletic coach “rallied” for support among town officials and later the state legislature to reinstate her to the position.

The case brought to light the fact that there was no state standardized policy on the termination of coaches. The new required written documentation can now help a coach contest a dismissal he or she may think was unwarranted.

The board ensured that in addition to athletic coaches, “other coaches, assistant coaches and volunteer coaches” employed by the board would be included in the policy.

The act mandates that “local and regional boards of education that employ athletic coaches shall require the coaches’ immediate supervisor to evaluate such coaches on an annual basis and to provide such coaches with copies of such evaluations.”

Under Connecticut Statutes 10-145d-423, a coach must have a coaching permit as issued by the State Department of Education. A certified teacher or administrator is eligible for a coaching permit if he or she has completed a course on first aid within the preceding three years and has CPR certification.

Persons who do not have teacher or administrator certification may still be employed as an athletic coach provided that they are a high school graduate at least 18 years of age and have taken at least three semester hours or at least 45 hours of instruction on the educational, legal, medical, and safety aspects of coaching. To retain a coaching permit, a coach must participate in at least 15 hours of approved training every five years.

If a coach has been employed in the same coaching assignment for at least three years, he or she must be notified by the district’s superintendent that he or she will not be reappointed within 90 days of the end of the applicable athletic season. If that happens, such coaches now have the right to appeal that decision to the Board of Education in accordance with such procedures that the board is obligated to establish.

In a second key revision, the board made clear that the decision of the board would be final in the outcome of all hearing procedures.