Examines the employment status of a nonprofessional school employee with reference to the procedural steps that a school administrative unit should use in dismissing him. The focus is on North Carolina case law, but the issues and the conclusions drawn are applicable to other states. (Author/IRT)

Causes for the dismissal of teachers, which have traditionally been judged to be within the discretionary power of school boards, have been closely scrutinized in recent court decisions. The Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution has been interpreted in recent litigation concerning faculty hiring, evaluation, and…