ABSTRACT
The rapidly changing statutory framework has played an important role in developing the right of teachers to organize and bargain collectively. Within this statutory framework grievance arbitration is the “very heart” of the collective bargaining process. Under a contract, the bargaining parties can determine the arbitrator’s limits for reaching a decision. Once a valid agreement providing for grievance arbitration has been entered into, any controversy between the parties that is within the scope of the provisions must proceed to arbitration. The function of grievance arbitration in contract administration is to resolve disputes arising out of the collective bargaining agreement. Both federal and state decisions have made it clear that it is the function of the court to determine whether the parties to a collective bargaining contract have agreed to submit specific issues to arbitration. Public education provides an excellent environment for the development of a case-by-case method of defining the scope of collective bargaining.
