The New Jersey Appellate Division has affirmed the reinstatement of a teacher who an administrative law judge below said "had voluntarily stepped down from her full-time teaching position and as such had no right to return to it."

According to the decision Monday, Catherine Parsells contacted Dr. Timothy Purnell, the Somerville superintendent, regarding a transfer of her employment status from full-time teacher to a part-time position with benefits. She received board approval for the 2016-2017 school year to do so. During that year, Parsells was granted a maternity leave and a child care leave of absence, which was extended through the 2017-2018 school year.

In April 2018, Parsells spoke with the new superintendent, Dr. Timothy Teehan, who informed her that she had no "automatic right" to a full-time teaching position and that if one became available she would have to apply. Parsells applied but was not selected for any of the available positions. In her appeal to the commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Education, Parsells argued that she never waived her tenure rights when she accepted a part-time position and that when she reapplied for a position, the board hired out-of-district teachers instead.