Randall Slade won an appeal before the Third District Appellate Court, in which the Court affirmed the dismissal of a teacher for cause under the Illinois School Code. Longanecker v. East Moline School District #37, et al., 2020 IL App (3d) 150890. The plaintiff was accused of misconduct relating to the administration of the ISAT, MAP and Language! assessments. Following a termination hearing, the hearing officer concluded that the District had not proven misconduct, and recommended reinstatement. The District’s Board of Education rejected the hearing officer’s factual findings and recommendation, issued its own factual findings, and went forward with termination. The plaintiff filed suit in the Circuit Court of Rock Island County, seeking to have the Board’s decision overturned. The trial court found that the Board properly followed the school code and affirmed the plaintiff’s termination. On appeal, the Third District Appellate Court affirmed the trial court’s decision, finding that the Board had the statutory authority under 105 ILCS 5/24-12 to modify or reject the hearing officer’s findings, and that the Board’s factual findings and decision to terminate were not against the manifest weight of the evidence.