Hays v. Louisiana State Board of Elementary & Secondary Education

BESE maintains that La. R.S. 17:81.4 does not conflict with the provisions of the statute governing tenure for special school teachers, La. R.S. 17:45, but rather that it controls the specific situation presented, as a special and later-enacted statute. I disagree with BESE’s interpretation of the statutes at issue. Under the particular facts of this case, the statutes must be reconciled by giving controlling weight to and liberally construing the beneficial provisions of La. R.S. 17:45. The change in Mrs. Hays’s employment position should not have resulted in a reduction in her salary as a…