Note: translated from Polish!
In the judgment of the Supreme Administrative Court of 12.11.2025 (III OSK 2617/22), the court dismissed the cassation appeal of the President of m.st. Warsaw and confirmed that the dismissal of a school principal during the school year can only take place in exceptional and emergency situations that pose a real threat to the functioning of the school.
The court emphasized that a „particularly justified case” includes only gross events – e.g. theft, serious negligence, harassment or mobbing. Ordinary organizational problems, personnel conflicts or reservations about the management style do not meet this premise.
The authority did not prove that the situation was so exceptional as to justify an immediate dismissal. The allegations were of a general nature, and the director was not given the opportunity to present her position – which violates the principles of sound administration.
The judgment confirms the growing tendency to strengthen the guarantee of stability of the position of school head. The Court points out that dismissal during the school year, without observing the performance appraisal procedure, is a measure of a nature similar to a „disciplinary” sanction and as such can be applied only in the most drastic cases.
The ruling is an important signal to the authorities conducting that the abuse of Article 66(1)(2) of the Law on School Education may result in the elimination of the decision from legal circulation. At the same time, the judgment reminds directors that although they are protected from arbitrary dismissal, in cases of gross breaches of duties, the body’s reaction may be immediate.
The judgment of the Supreme Administrative Court of 12 November 2025 restores the right proportions between the right of the authority leading to interference in the management of the school and the constitutional standards of reliable operation of public administration.