Board of Regents of State Colleges v. Roth
- Decided
- June 29, 1972
- Docket
- 71-162
- Status
- Published
- Jurisdiction
- Federal
Cited 14,284 timesOverruled in part on other grounds (not yet verified)Possible negative treatment: overruled in part on other grounds, abrogated on other grounds (not yet verified) · Nagel v. City of Jamestown
What later courts said
- holding that the Due Process Clause protects the right to “engage in the common occupations of life” — Johnson v. Rancho Santiago Community College District (2010)
- holding that a teacher hired for a fixed term did not have a property interest in employment after the term expired — Paul K. Raditch, Plaintiff-Counter-Defendant-Appellant v. United States of America, Defendant-Counter-Claimant-Appellee (1991)
- holding that public employee possessed no property right in continued employment after expiration of employment contract — Nini v. Mercer County Community College (2010)
Each line is a later court’s own words about this case, not a summary. Read the opinion before relying on it.
How the opinion begins
[*566] Mr. Justice Stewart delivered the opinion of the Court.
In 1968 the respondent, David Roth, was hired for his first teaching job as assistant professor of political science at Wisconsin State University-Oshkosh. He was hired for a fixed term of one academic year. The notice of his faculty appointment specified that his employment would begin on September 1, 1968, and would end on June 30, 1969.[1] The respondent completed that term. But he was informed that he would not be rehired for the next academic year.
The respondent had no tenure rights to continued employment. Under Wisconsin statutory law a state university teacher can acquire tenure as a “permanent” employee only after four years of year-to-year employment. Having acquired tenure, a teacher is entitled to continued employment “during efficiency and good behavior.” A relatively new teacher without tenure, however, is under Wisconsin law entitled to nothing beyond his one-year appointment.[2] There are no statu [*567] tory or administrative standards defining eligibility for re-employment. State law thus clearly leaves the decision whether to rehire a nontenured teacher for another year to the unfettered discretion of university officials.
Cite this
Board of Regents of State Colleges v. Roth, 408 U.S. 564 (1972)Read the full opinion
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