Q: What is the process for addressing the School Board?
To request to speak at a School Board Meeting, contact the Board Secretary, Ronda Sparks, via email at ContactUs@jcboe.net or phone at (865) 397-3194.
Sending written information to be included in the school board members’ packet would help the school board members be prepared to address the speaker’s topic. Packets go out to board members 5 days before the meeting.
While speakers are granted three minutes to talk, school board members may add the speaker’s topic to the agenda. If that is the case, more time may be given to the speaker to talk about the topic and answer questions.
School board members are happy to hear from all educational stakeholders and welcome individual phone calls and emails as well.
Q: What is the chain of command that should be followed?
A: Employees should address all concerns with their immediate supervisor. If the concern is not resolved or if the concern is about the immediate supervisor, the employee should contact the Human Resources department.
Q: Does the school system have an organizational chart?
A: Yes. The Jefferson County Schools Organizational Chart is posted in the staff information folders and linked below. The organizational chart does not reflect the chain of command.
A: ELL students must not be retained in grade level because of their language skills. (Tennessee English as a Second Language Program Guide)
Lack of ability to read and write in English cannot be the basis for an F. It is against the law to fail a student because he/she is not proficient in English.(Office of Civil Rights OCR)
However if the regular education teacher AND the ESL teacher feel that a student has failed due to circumstances other than English (attendance or refusal to do modified at his/her level assignments), a student can receive a failing grade. (OCR)
If both the teacher and ESL teacher believe that retention is in the best interest of the child, the following steps must be completed:
Parents will be notified when problems are identified and shall be informed periodically of remedial efforts and given progress reports. (Jefferson County School Board Policy 4.603)
Documentation of all accommodations/modifications must be made available to assure that the student has had full access to the curriculum content within the context of his/her limited English. (OCR)
Parents shall be informed in writing and shall be requested to participate in a conference at least nine (9) weeks before the end of the school year. (JCS Board Policy 4.603)
Notification and information must be provided to parents in an “understandable and uniform format, and to the extent practicable, provided in a language that the parents can understand.” (No Child Left Behind Act, 2001).
Q: What is the Memorandum of Understanding and where can I find it?
The Jefferson County Board of Education and Professional Employees of the Jefferson County School System Memorandum of Understanding 2026-2029, developed under the provisions of the Professional Educators Collaborative Conferencing Act (PECCA) of 2021, is the product of meetings including representatives of the JCBOE Management Team and the Professional Employees Collaboration Team. Use the link below to access the full document.
Q: How do I complete my timesheet if I have overtime?
A: If your actual work hours are over 40 in a work week, your timesheet will alert you to submit an overtime request form for either compensation time or payment.
Q: Where can I find Salary and Performance Pay Information?
Q: 8. What is the system’s procedure regarding tenure?
A: Following is the JCS Procedure regarding tenure:
When new teachers are hired, they are given tenure information in their new teacher notebook.
In March, the director of schools receives a list of tenure candidates to review, and principals get a list of tenure candidates to review and recommend.
In April, the school board receives the list of candidates that principals have approved. The school board reviews the lists and may grant tenure to the approved candidates.
The Human Resources department emails teachers that were approved for tenure to make them aware of their tenure status.
Q: What should I do if I am injured at the workplace?
Workers Compensation Procedure Guide:
The school nurse will be your first point of contact. Each nurse will be responsible for following the proper procedures and sending accident reports to the Finance Office.
Use this link to access current forms and submit completed reports.
A new browser tab will appear. Once opened the current forms can be retrieved by clicking the link at the top of the screen following “Go Here to Download forms …”.
Another tab will open reflecting the folders below:
Insurancecontains forms for:
Property Damage – used to report damage to county owned property
Visitor Accident – used to report an injury to visitors or volunteers that take place on school property.
Student Injury holds form used to report all student injuries/accidents.
Workers Compensation contains forms for:
Workers Compensation Packet complete all documents within this packet anytime an employee injury occurs. It is important to know, all forms must be completed in full, or it may cause a delay in workers’ compensation benefits to the injured party. Also we are currently unable to accept electronic signatures, so forms must be printed and signed.
Once the employee selects which doctor they would like to see from those listed on the Employee’s Choice of Physician form, call the doctor’s office to ensure they are able to be seen and enter the appt date/time on the bottom of the form.
If the employee chooses not to see a doctor at this time, ensure the Employee Accident Form reflects this by checking the box following “None at this time.”
If an employee insists on seeing their own doctor, make sure they understand they will not be eligible for workers’ compensation and must cover all costs themselves.
Fast Pace Health Form should the employee choose to go to Fast Pace, update section I on the Fast Pace Health Form and fax to 865-262-9295 (for Jefferson City Office).
It is important to know, upon notification of a work-related injury, the employer (Finance Office) must report the incident to TN Risk Management Trust within 24 hours (or less depending on the severity of the injury). Your help with timely submission is most appreciated.
Once forms have been completed and signed, scan all forms and save to a secure location. Then submit online using the Upload/Submit buttons on the original link:
If you do not receive an email to confirm the forms were submitted, please call to ensure they were received.
If you have any questions or issues with this process, please contact:
COPIES OF ALL FORMS ARE HOUSED IN THE FORM FILES FOLDER IN GENERAL DOCUMENTS ON THE JEFFERSON COUNTY SCHOOLS WORKERS COMP MICROSOFT SHAREPOINT SITE. CONTACT THE JEFFERSON COUNTY FINANCE OFFICE FOR INFORMATION ON EDITING THESE FORMS.
Q: What are the causes for which a teacher can be terminated?
A: A teacher may be dismissed or suspended due to: incompetence, inefficiency, neglect of duty, unprofessional conduct, and insubordination. TN Law linked here.
Q: Where can I find the Travel Expense Reimbursement Form?
A: The Travel Expense Reimbursement Formis available in the Fiscal Management subfolder of Board Policy Document and Forms on the JCS Public Folders Site.
Q: Where can I find the Per Diem Rates for Meals and Incidentals?
