Bill Text: CA AB2417 | 2011-2012 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: San Diego Unified School District: certificated school
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2012-04-09 - From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on ED. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on ED. [AB2417 Detail]
Download: California-2011-AB2417-Amended.html
BILL NUMBER: AB 2417 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 9, 2012
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Block
FEBRUARY 24, 2012
An act to amend Sections 44949 and 44955
add and repeal Section 44949.1 of the Education Code, relating
to school employees , and declaring the urgency thereof, to
take effect immediately .
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2417, as amended, Block. San Diego Unified School District:
certificated school employees: layoff: notice.
Existing law requires specified school district officials to give
a preliminary notice to the governing board and certificated
employees when it is recommended that a notice be given to employees
that their services are to be terminated pursuant to a reduction in
the workforce for the next school year and the reasons for that
reduction. Existing law requires that this preliminary notice be
given by March 15. Existing law requires the final notice that an
employee's services will be terminated for the next year pursuant to
a reduction in the workforce to be given to the employee by May 15.
This bill would extend the deadlines for the notices described
above for the 2011-12 fiscal year 2013
for the San Diego Unified School District to June 15
1 and August 15 1
, respectively. The bill would also make a conforming
change and technical, nonsubstantive changes.
This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to
the necessity of a special statute for the San Diego Unified School
District.
This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as
an urgency statute.
Vote: 2/3 majority . Appropriation:
no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) According to the San Diego Unified School District, the May
revision of the proposed budget and the annual Budget Act provide
more predictive information for purposes of the district's budgetary
and personnel decisions than the January budget proposed by the
Governor. The San Diego Unified School District expects this to be
the case again this year.
(b) Existing law requires school districts to issue preliminary
reduction in force notices by March 15 and final reduction in force
notices by May 15 of each year.
(c) As a result of this law and in order to guarantee that it will
remain fiscally solvent, for the past five years, the San Diego
Unified School District has relied on the January budget proposed by
the Governor to determine the number of layoff notices that it must
give to its employees. This results in hundreds of teachers receiving
notices that are later rescinded when more accurate information is
available in May when the proposed budget is revised and later when
the annual Budget Act is enacted.
(d) Given the evidence that the existing statutory deadlines hurt
its schools, the San Diego Unified School District and the bargaining
unit of its certificated employees have determined that for
the 2011-12 fiscal year it will be more productive for the
schools, pupils, and teachers of the district if the deadlines for
giving notice to certificated employees that the school district may
terminate their services are extended by three months.
(e) Because of its particular circumstances, the San Diego Unified
School District and the bargaining unit of its certificated
employees anticipate that this act will result in fewer layoffs and
greater stability for the district's pupils and schools.
SEC. 2. Section 44949.1 is added to the
Education Code , to read:
44949.1. (a) Notwithstanding Section 44949 and any other law, for
2013 for the San Diego Unified School District, the March 15
deadline specified in subdivision (a) of Section 44949 shall be
extended to June 1, and the May 7 deadline specified in subdivision
(c) of Section 44949 shall be extended to July 24.
(b) Notwithstanding Section 44955 and any other law, for 2013 for
the San Diego Unified School District the May 15 deadline specified
in subdivision (c) of Section 44955 shall be extended to August 1.
(c) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2014, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2014, deletes or extends
that date.
SEC. 2. Section 44949 of the Education Code is
amended to read:
44949. (a) (1) (A) No later than March 15 and before an employee
is given notice by the governing board that his or her services will
not be required for the next school year for the reasons specified in
Section 44955, the governing board and the employee shall be given
written notice by the superintendent of the district or his or her
designee, or in the case of a district that has no superintendent by
the clerk or secretary of the governing board, that it has been
recommended that the notice be given to the employee, and stating the
reasons for that notice.
(B) Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), subdivision (c), and any
other law, for the 2011-12 fiscal year the deadline specified in
subparagraph (A) shall be extended to June 15 for the San Diego
Unified School District and the deadline specified in subdivision (c)
shall be extended to August 7.
(2) Until the employee has requested a hearing as provided in
subdivision (b) or has waived his or her right to a hearing, the
notice and the reasons therefor shall be confidential and shall not
be divulged by any person, except as may be necessary in the
performance of duties. The violation of this requirement of
confidentiality, in and of itself, shall not in any manner be
construed as affecting the validity of any hearing conducted pursuant
to this section.
(b) The employee may request a hearing to determine if there is
cause for not reemploying him or her for the next school year. A
request for a hearing shall be in writing and shall be delivered to
the person who sent the notice pursuant to subdivision (a), on or
before a date specified in that subdivision, which shall not be less
than seven days after the date on which the notice is served upon the
employee. If an employee fails to request a hearing on or before the
date specified, his or her failure to do so shall constitute his or
her waiver of his or her right to a hearing. The notice provided for
in subdivision (a) shall advise the employee of the provisions of
this subdivision.
(c) If a hearing is requested by the employee, the proceeding
shall be conducted and a decision made in accordance with Chapter 5
(commencing with Section 11500) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of
the Government Code, and the governing board shall have all the
power granted to an agency in that chapter, except that all of the
following shall apply:
(1) The respondent shall file his or her notice of defense, if
any, within five days after service upon him or her of the
accusation, and he or she shall be notified of this five-day period
for filing in the accusation.
(2) The discovery authorized by Section 11507.6 of the Government
Code shall be available only if request is made therefor within 15
days after service of the accusation, and the notice required by
Section 11505 of the Government Code shall so indicate.
(3) The hearing shall be conducted by an administrative law judge
who shall prepare a proposed decision, containing findings of fact
and a determination as to whether the charges sustained by the
evidence are related to the welfare of the schools and the pupils of
the schools. The proposed decision shall be prepared for the
governing board and shall contain a determination as to the
sufficiency of the cause and a recommendation as to disposition. The
governing board shall make the final determination as to the
sufficiency of the cause and disposition. None of the findings,
recommendations, or determinations contained in the proposed decision
prepared by the administrative law judge shall be binding on the
governing board. Nonsubstantive procedural errors committed by the
school district or governing board of the school district shall not
constitute cause for dismissing the charges unless the errors are
prejudicial errors. Copies of the proposed decision shall be
submitted to the governing board and to the employee on or before May
7 of the year in which the proceeding is commenced. All expenses of
the hearing, including the cost of the administrative law judge,
shall be paid by the governing board from the district funds.
The governing board may adopt from time to time such rules and
procedures not inconsistent with provisions of this section as may be
necessary to effectuate this section.
(d) Any notice or request shall be deemed sufficient when it is
delivered in person to the employee to whom it is directed, or when
it is deposited in the United States registered mail, postage prepaid
and addressed to the last known address of the employee.
(e) If after request for hearing pursuant to subdivision (b) any
continuance is granted pursuant to Section 11524 of the Government
Code, the dates prescribed in subdivision (c) which occur on or after
the date of granting the continuance and the date prescribed in
subdivision (c) of Section 44955 which occurs after the date of
granting the continuance shall be extended for a period of time equal
to the continuance.
SEC. 3. Section 44955 of the Education Code is
amended to read:
44955. (a) A permanent employee shall not be deprived of his or
her position for causes other than those specified in Sections 44907
and 44923, and Sections 44932 to 44947, inclusive, and a probationary
employee shall not be deprived of his or her position for cause
other than as specified in Sections 44948 to 44949, inclusive.
(b) (1) If in any school year the average daily attendance in all
of the schools of a district for the first six months in which school
is in session shall have declined below the corresponding period of
either of the previous two school years, if the governing board
determines that attendance in a district will decline in the next
school year as a result of the termination of an interdistrict
tuition agreement as defined in Section 46304, if a particular kind
of service is to be reduced or discontinued not later than the
beginning of the next school year, or if the amendment of state law
requires the modification of curriculum, and if in the opinion of the
governing board of the district it shall have become necessary by
reason of any of these conditions to decrease the number of permanent
employees in the district, the governing board may terminate the
services of not more than a corresponding percentage of the
certificated employees of the district, permanent as well as
probationary, at the close of the school year. Except as otherwise
provided by law, the services of a permanent employee shall not be
terminated under this section while any probationary employee, or any
other employee with less seniority, is retained to render a service
that the permanent employee is certificated and competent to render.
(2) In computing a decline in average daily attendance for
purposes of this section for a newly formed or reorganized school
district, each school of the district shall be deemed to have been a
school of the newly formed or reorganized district for both of the
two previous school years.
(3) As between employees who first rendered paid service to the
district on the same date, the governing board shall determine the
order of termination solely on the basis of needs of the district and
the pupils of the district. Upon the request of any employee whose
order of termination is so determined, the governing board shall
furnish in writing no later than five days before the commencement of
the hearing held in accordance with Section 44949, a statement of
the specific criteria used in determining the order of termination
and the application of the criteria in ranking each employee relative
to the other employees in the group. This requirement that the
governing board provide, on request, a written statement of reasons
for determining the order of termination shall not be interpreted to
give affected employees any legal right or interest that would not
exist without such a requirement.
(c) (1) (A) Notice of termination of services shall be given
before the 15th of May in the manner prescribed in Section 44949, and
services of these employees shall be terminated in the inverse of
the order in which they were employed, as determined by the governing
board in accordance with the provisions of Sections 44844 and 44845.
If a permanent or probationary employee is not given the notices and
a right to a hearing as provided for in Section 44949, he or she
shall be deemed reemployed for the next school year.
(B) Notwithstanding subparagraph (A) and any other law, for the
2011-12 fiscal year, the San Diego Unified School District shall give
the notice of termination of services before August 15.
(2) The governing board shall make assignments and reassignments
in a manner that employees shall be retained to render any service
that their seniority and qualifications entitle them to render.
Before assigning or reassigning any certificated employee to teach a
subject that he or she has not previously taught, and for which he or
she does not have a teaching credential or that is not within the
employee's major area of postsecondary study or the equivalent
thereof, the governing board shall require the employee to pass a
subject matter competency test in the appropriate subject.
(d) Notwithstanding subdivision (b), a school district may deviate
from terminating a certificated employee in order of seniority for
either of the following reasons:
(1) The district demonstrates a specific need for personnel to
teach a specific course or course of study, or to provide services
authorized by a services credential with a specialization in either
pupil personnel services or health for a school nurse, and that the
certificated employee has special training and experience necessary
to teach that course or course of study or to provide those services,
which others with more seniority do not possess.
(2) For purposes of maintaining or achieving compliance with
constitutional requirements related to equal protection of the laws.
SEC. 4. SEC. 3. The Legislature
finds and declares that a special law is necessary and that a general
law cannot be made applicable within the meaning of Section 16 of
Article IV of the California Constitution because of the unique
situation of the San Diego Unified School District, as described in
Section 1 of this act.
SEC. 5. This act is an urgency statute
necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health,
or safety within the meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and
shall go into immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity
are:
In order to allow the San Diego Unified School District to make
more informed budgetary and personnel decisions by extending for the
2011-12 fiscal year the deadlines for the notice given by the San
Diego Unified School District to its certificated employees in
anticipation of the termination of employee services, it is necessary
that this act take effect immediately.
