The following discussion considers the legal nature of tenure. In general, tenure is construed to be a privilege granted by the state rather than an obligation the state owes to the educator. The latter has no inherent right to permanent employment merely because he or she has complied with state certification requirements or served a probationary period during which satisfactory service has been rendered in the eyes of the employer. Teh courts generally hold that a tenure statute is not a contract between teh state and the teachers affected by it, that an act of the legislature is only an expression of current legislative policy, and that the acts of one legislature do not necessarily bind future legislatures unless the intent to doso is clear.