Missouri teachers increasingly face consequences for breaking contracts

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - Missouri teachers who quit their jobs on short notice are facing increasingly severe consequences.

According to the Springfield News-Leader, districts are imposing penalties as high as $10,000 or seeking to suspend the teaching licenses of teachers who break their contracts.

During the 2022-2023 school year, the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education said 11 teachers had their licenses contested because they had broken a contract.

All 11 cases must go before the State Board of Education, which has final say on whether a license is suspended or not.

DESE confirmed Thursday that the State Board did recommend a one-year suspension in two cases earlier this week. One involved a teacher in Independence and the other involved a teacher in Hazelwood.

A representative for the DESE said: “Any penalties for breaking contracts are established by the local school district involved and the locally established contracts between teachers and school districts; those penalties are not established/standard statewide.”

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