Table 1 STATE PROBATIONARY PERIODS STATE Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming Probationary Period Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No/Repealed Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Length 6-12 months 6-12 months 6 months 6 months 6-24 months 6-12 months 3-12 months 3-12 months 12 months 6-9 months 6-12 months 6 months 6-18 months 6 months 6-12 months 6-12 months 6-12 months 6-12 months 6-9 months 6 months 12-18 months 3-12 months 12 months 6-12 months 3-6 months 6 months 12 months 4 months 12 months 6-12 months 3-9 months 6-12 months 6-12 months 12 months 6-12 months 3-6 months 3-6 months 12 months 6 months 6-12 months 6-12 months 6-12 months 6 months 6-12 months Board decides length 6-24 months 12 months Dismissal With or without cause Without cause Without cause Without cause Documentation/with cause Documentation/with cause Documentation/with cause Documentation/with cause Documentation/with cause Documentation/with cause Documentation/with cause Documentation/with cause Documentation/with cause Documentation/with cause Documentation/with cause Without cause Without cause Without cause Without cause Documentation/with cause Documentation/with cause With or without cause With or without cause With or without cause With or without cause Without cause With or without cause With or without cause Documentation/with cause Documentation/with cause Documentation/with cause Without cause Documentation/with cause Without cause Documentation/with cause Documentation/with cause Documentation with cause Documentation/with cause Documentation/with cause Without cause Without cause Without cause Documentation/with cause With or without cause Documentation/with cause Documentation/with cause Without cause Appeal/ Grievance Yes No No No Yes Yes Yes No No Yes Yes No No Yes No No No Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No No Yes Yes No No No No No No No No No No No State of Alabama (personal communication, March 8, 1999) State of Arizona (personal communication, February 15, 1999) State of Arkansas (personal communication, March 8, 1999) State of Colorado (personal communication, March 8, 1999) State of Delaware (personal communication, March 9, 1999) State of Florida (personal communication, March 24, 1999) State of Georgia (personal communication, March 15, 1999) State of Hawaii (personal communication, March 24, 1999) State of Illinois (personal communication, March 16, 1999) State of Iowa (personal communication, March 8, 1999) State of Kansas (personal communication, March 24, 1999) State of Massachusetts (personal communication, March 10, 1999) State of Nebraska (personal communication, March 11, 1999) State of New Hampshire (personal communication, March 12, 1999) State of New Jersey (personal communication, March 9, 1999) State of New Mexico (personal communication, March 23, 1999) State of New York (personal communication, March 17, 1999) State of Pennsylvania (personal communication, March 18, 1999) State of Rhode Island (personal communication, March 24, 1999) State of South Dakota (personal communication, March 12, 1999) State of Tennessee (personal communication, March 24, 1999) State of Vermont (personal communication, March 11, 1999) State of Wisconsin (personal communication, March 18, 1999) State of Wyoming (personal communication, March 10, 1999) The research on other states' use of the probationary period reveals that forty-seven of the forty-eight states contacted use a probationary period.