Bill Text: MN HF1870 | 2011-2012 | 87th Legislature | Engrossed

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: School districts allowed to base unrequested leave of absence and discharge and demotion decisions on teacher evaluation outcomes.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 13-0)

Status: (Vetoed) 2012-05-03 - Governor's action Veto Chapter 274 [HF1870 Detail]

Download: Minnesota-2011-HF1870-Engrossed.html

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A bill for an act

relating to education; allowing school districts to base unrequested leave of
absence and certain discharge and demotion decisions on teacher evaluation
outcomes;amending Minnesota Statutes 2010, sections 122A.40, subdivisions
10, 11, 19; 122A.41, subdivisions 14, 15; 123A.75, subdivision 1; Minnesota
Statutes 2011 Supplement, sections 122A.245, subdivision 1; 122A.41,
subdivision 6.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

    Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2011 Supplement, section 122A.245, subdivision 1,
is amended to read:
    Subdivision 1. Requirements. (a) To improve academic excellence, improve ethnic
and cultural diversity in the classroom, and close the academic achievement gap, the
Board of Teaching must approve qualified teacher preparation programs under this section
that are a means to acquire a two-year limited-term license, which the board may renew
one time for an additional one-year term, and to prepare for acquiring a standard license.
The following entities are eligible to participate under this section:
(1) a school district or charter school that forms a partnership with a college or
university that has a board-approved alternative teacher preparation program; or
(2) a school district or charter school, after consulting with a college or university
with a board-approved teacher preparation program, forms a partnership with a nonprofit
corporation organized under chapter 317A for an education-related purpose that has a
board-approved teacher preparation program.
(b) Before participating in this program, a candidate must:
(1) have a bachelor's degree with a 3.0 or higher grade point average unless the
board waives the grade point average requirement based on board-adopted criteria;
(2) pass the reading, writing, and mathematics skills examination under section
122A.09, subdivision 4 , paragraph (b); and
(3) obtain qualifying scores on applicable board-approved rigorous content area and
pedagogy examinations under section 122A.09, subdivision 4, paragraph (e).
(c) The Board of Teaching must issue a two-year limited-term license to a person
who enrolls in an alternative teacher preparation program. This limited-term license is not
a provisional license under section 122A.40 or 122A.41.
EFFECTIVE DATE.This section is effective the day following final enactment.

    Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 122A.40, subdivision 10, is amended to read:
    Subd. 10. Negotiated unrequested leave of absence. (a) The school board and the
exclusive bargaining representative of the teachers may must negotiate a plan providing
for unrequested leave of absence without pay or fringe benefits for as many teachers
as may be necessary because of discontinuance of position, lack of pupils, financial
limitations, or merger of classes caused by consolidation of districts. The plan must
base unrequested leave of absence decisions on teachers' subject matter licensure fields
and evaluation outcomes, from the least to most effective category under subdivision
8 and from the least to greatest seniority within each effectiveness category, and must
be consistent with subdivision 11, paragraph (n). Failing to successfully negotiate
such a plan, the provisions of subdivision 11 shall apply. The negotiated plan must not
include provisions which would result in the exercise of seniority by a teacher holding a
provisional license, other than a vocational education license if required for the position,
contrary to the provisions of subdivision 11, clause paragraph (c), or the reinstatement of a
teacher holding a provisional license, other than a vocational education license required
for the position, contrary to the provisions of subdivision 11, clause (e) paragraph (f). The
provisions of section 179A.16 do not apply for the purposes of this subdivision.
(b) For purposes of placing a teacher on unrequested leave of absence or recalling a
teacher from unrequested leave of absence, nothing in this subdivision requires a school
board to reassign a teacher with more seniority to a different subject matter licensure
field in order to accommodate the seniority claims of a teacher who is similarly licensed
and effective but with less seniority. For purposes of this subdivision, a teacher holding
a provisional license is a teacher who has received a waiver or variance to teach from
the Minnesota Board of Teaching.
(c) Notwithstanding section 13.43, subdivision 2, paragraph (a), clause (5), or
other law to the contrary, a teacher's effectiveness category and the underlying data on
the individual teacher generated under the teacher evaluation process in subdivision 8,
paragraph (b), used to determine a teacher's effectiveness category for purposes of this
subdivision are private data on individuals.
(d) Nothing in this subdivision permits a school board to use a teacher's remuneration
as a basis for making unrequested leave of absence or discharge decisions.
EFFECTIVE DATE.This section is effective the day following final enactment
and applies to negotiated plans agreed to after that date.

    Sec. 3. Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 122A.40, subdivision 11, is amended to read:
    Subd. 11. Unrequested leave of absence. The board may place on unrequested
leave of absence, without pay or fringe benefits, as many teachers as may be necessary
because of discontinuance of position, lack of pupils, financial limitations, or merger
of classes caused by consolidation or reorganization of districts under chapter 123A.
The unrequested leave is effective at the close of the school year. In placing teachers on
unrequested leave, the board is governed by the following provisions:
(a) The board may place probationary teachers on unrequested leave first in the
inverse order of their employment. A teacher who has acquired continuing contract
rights must not be placed on unrequested leave of absence while probationary teachers
are retained in positions for which the teacher who has acquired continuing contract
rights is licensed;.
(b) Teachers who have acquired continuing contract rights shall be placed on
unrequested leave of absence in fields in which they are licensed in the inverse order
in which they were employed by the school district. In the case of equal seniority, the
order in which teachers who have acquired continuing contract rights shall be placed on
unrequested leave of absence in fields in which they are licensed is negotiable;.
(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of clause paragraph (b), a teacher is not entitled
to exercise any seniority when that exercise results in that teacher being retained by the
district in a field for which the teacher holds only a provisional license, as defined by the
board of teaching, unless that exercise of seniority results in the placement on unrequested
leave of absence of another teacher who also holds a provisional license in the same field.
The provisions of this clause paragraph do not apply to vocational education licenses;
required for available positions.
(d) Notwithstanding clauses paragraphs (a), (b) and (c), if the placing of a
probationary teacher on unrequested leave before a teacher who has acquired continuing
rights, the placing of a teacher who has acquired continuing contract rights on unrequested
leave before another teacher who has acquired continuing contract rights but who has
greater seniority, or the restriction imposed by the provisions of clause paragraph (c) would
place the district in violation of its affirmative action program, the district may retain the
probationary teacher, the teacher with less seniority, or the provisionally licensed teacher;.
(e) For purposes of placing a teacher on unrequested leave of absence or recalling a
teacher from unrequested leave of absence, nothing in this subdivision requires a school
board to reassign a teacher with more seniority to a different subject matter licensure field
in order to accommodate the seniority claims of a teacher who is similarly licensed and
effective but with less seniority.
(f) Teachers placed on unrequested leave of absence must be reinstated to the
positions from which they have been given leaves of absence or, if not available, to other
available positions in the school district in fields in which they are licensed. Reinstatement
must be in the inverse order of placement on leave of absence. A teacher must not be
reinstated to a position in a field in which the teacher holds only a provisional license,
other than a vocational education license if required for the position, while another teacher
who holds a nonprovisional license in the same field remains on unrequested leave.
The order of reinstatement of teachers who have equal seniority and who are placed on
unrequested leave in the same school year is negotiable;.
(f) (g) Appointment of a new teacher must not be made while there is available, on
unrequested leave, a teacher who is properly licensed to fill such vacancy, unless the
teacher fails to advise the school board within 30 days of the date of notification that a
position is available to that teacher who may return to employment and assume the duties
of the position to which appointed on a future date determined by the board;.
(g) (h) A teacher placed on unrequested leave of absence may engage in teaching
or any other occupation during the period of this leave;.
(h) (i) The unrequested leave of absence must not impair the continuing contract
rights of a teacher or result in a loss of credit for previous years of service;.
(i) (j) Consistent with paragraph (n) and subdivision 10, the unrequested leave of
absence of a teacher who is categorized as effective or better under subdivision 8, who
is placed on unrequested leave of absence, and who is not reinstated shall continue for a
period of five years, after which the right to reinstatement shall terminate terminates. The
teacher's right to reinstatement shall also terminate terminates if the teacher fails to file
with the board by April 1 of any each year a written statement requesting reinstatement;.
(k) Consistent with paragraph (n) and subdivision 10, the unrequested leave of
absence of a teacher who is categorized as ineffective or less under subdivision 8, who
is placed on unrequested leave of absence, and who is not reinstated continues for the
following school year only, after which the teacher's right to reinstatement terminates. The
teacher's right to reinstatement also terminates if the teacher fails to file with the board by
April 1 in that following school year a written statement requesting reinstatement.
(j) (l) The same provisions applicable to terminations of probationary or continuing
contracts in subdivisions 5 and 7 must apply to placement on unrequested leave of
absence;.
(k) (m) Nothing in this subdivision shall be construed to impair the rights of teachers
placed on unrequested leave of absence to receive unemployment benefits if otherwise
eligible.
(n) Beginning in the 2016-2017 school year and later, and notwithstanding any law
to the contrary, a school board must place teachers on unrequested leave of absence based
on their subject matter licensure fields and most recent evaluation outcomes, from the
least to most effective category under subdivision 8 and from the least to greatest seniority
within each effectiveness category. A school board is not required to reassign a teacher
with more seniority to a different subject matter licensure field in order to accommodate
the seniority claims of a teacher who is similarly licensed and effective but with less
seniority. A school board may decide not to renew a probationary teacher's contract or
may place the probationary teacher on unrequested leave of absence as it sees fit. The
school board must publish in a readily accessible format the unrequested leave of absence
plan it develops and implements under this paragraph.
(o) For purposes of this subdivision, a teacher who holds only a provisional license
is a teacher who has received a waiver or variance to teach from the Minnesota Board of
Teaching.
(p) Notwithstanding section 13.43, subdivision 2, paragraph (a), clause (5), or
other law to the contrary, a teacher's effectiveness category and the underlying data on
the individual teacher generated under the teacher evaluation process in subdivision 8,
paragraph (b), used to determine a teacher's effectiveness category for purposes of this
subdivision are private data on individuals.
EFFECTIVE DATE.This section is effective the day following final enactment
except that paragraph (n) is effective for the 2016-2017 school year and later.

    Sec. 4. Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 122A.40, subdivision 19, is amended to read:
    Subd. 19. Records relating to individual teacher; access; expungement. All
evaluations and files generated within a school district relating to each individual teacher,
including teacher evaluation data under subdivisions 8, 10, and 11, among other teacher
evaluations and files, must be available to each individual teacher upon written request.
Effective January 1, 1976, all evaluations and files, wherever generated, relating to each
individual teacher must be available to each individual teacher upon written request. The
teacher shall have the right to reproduce any of the contents of the files at the teacher's
expense and to submit for inclusion in the file written information in response to any
material contained therein.
A district may destroy the files as provided by law and must expunge from
the teacher's file any material found to be false or inaccurate through the grievance
procedure required pursuant to section 179A.20, subdivision 4. The grievance procedure
promulgated by the director of the bureau of mediation services, pursuant to section
179A.04, subdivision 3 , clause (h), applies to those principals and supervisory employees
not included in an appropriate unit as defined in section 179A.03. Expungement
proceedings must be commenced within the time period provided in the collective
bargaining agreement for the commencement of a grievance. If no time period is provided
in the bargaining agreement, the expungement proceedings must commence within 15
days after the teacher has knowledge of the inclusion in the teacher's file of the material
the teacher seeks to have expunged.
EFFECTIVE DATE.This section is effective the day following final enactment.

    Sec. 5. Minnesota Statutes 2011 Supplement, section 122A.41, subdivision 6, is
amended to read:
    Subd. 6. Grounds for discharge or demotion. (a) Except as otherwise provided
in paragraph (b), causes for the discharge or demotion of a teacher either during or after
the probationary period must be:
(1) immoral character, conduct unbecoming a teacher, or insubordination;
(2) failure without justifiable cause to teach without first securing the written release
of the school board having the care, management, or control of the school in which the
teacher is employed;
(3) inefficiency in teaching or in the management of a school, consistent with
subdivision 5, paragraph (b);
(4) affliction with active tuberculosis or other communicable disease must be
considered as cause for removal or suspension while the teacher is suffering from such
disability; or
(5) discontinuance of position or lack of pupils.
Beginning no later than the 2016-2017 school year, and notwithstanding any
contradictory provisions in this subdivision, the school board must discharge or demote
teachers under clause (5) based on their subject matter licensure fields and most recent
evaluation outcomes, from the least to most effective category under subdivision 5 and
from the least to greatest seniority within each effectiveness category. Notwithstanding
section 13.43, subdivision 2, paragraph (a), clause (5), or other law to the contrary,
a teacher's effectiveness category and the underlying data on the individual teacher
generated under the teacher evaluation process in subdivision 5, paragraph (b), used
to determine a teacher's effectiveness category for purposes of this subdivision are
private data on individuals. The school board must publish in a readily accessible format
any discharge and demotion plan it develops to implement clause (5). Nothing in this
subdivision permits a school board to use a teacher's remuneration as a basis for making
discharge or demotion decisions.
For purposes of this paragraph, conduct unbecoming a teacher includes an unfair
discriminatory practice described in section 363A.13.
(b) A probationary or continuing-contract teacher must be discharged immediately
upon receipt of notice under section 122A.20, subdivision 1, paragraph (b), that the
teacher's license has been revoked due to a conviction for child abuse or sexual abuse.
EFFECTIVE DATE.This section is effective the day following final enactment
and applies to negotiated plans agreed to after that date.

    Sec. 6. Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 122A.41, subdivision 14, is amended to read:
    Subd. 14. Services terminated by discontinuance or lack of pupils; preference
given. (a) To the extent consistent with paragraph (c) and subdivision 6, paragraph (a),
clause (5), a teacher whose services are terminated on account of discontinuance of
position or lack of pupils must receive first consideration for other positions in the district
for which that teacher is qualified. In the event If it becomes is necessary to discontinue
one or more positions, in making such discontinuance, teachers must be discontinued in
any department in the inverse order in which they were employed, unless a board and the
exclusive representative of teachers in the district negotiate a plan providing otherwise.
(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of clause paragraph (a), and to the extent
consistent with paragraph (c) and subdivision 6, paragraph (a), a teacher is not entitled
to exercise any seniority when that exercise results in that teacher being retained by the
district in a field for which the teacher holds only a provisional license, as defined by the
Board of Teaching, unless that exercise of seniority results in the termination of services,
on account of discontinuance of position or lack of pupils, of another teacher who also
holds a provisional license in the same field. The provisions of this clause do not apply
to vocational education licenses.
(c) For purposes of discharging, demoting, or recalling a teacher whose services are
terminated under this subdivision, nothing in this subdivision requires a school board
to reassign a teacher with more seniority to a different subject matter licensure field in
order to accommodate the seniority claims of a teacher who is similarly licensed and
effective but with less seniority.
(d) Notwithstanding the provisions of clause paragraph (a), and to the extent
consistent with paragraph (c) and subdivision 6, paragraph (a), a teacher must not be
reinstated to a position in a field in which the teacher holds only a provisional license,
other than a vocational education license if required for the position, while another teacher
who holds a nonprovisional license in the same field is available for reinstatement.
(e) For purposes of this subdivision, a teacher who holds a provisional license is
a teacher who has received a waiver or variance to teach from the Minnesota Board of
Teaching.
EFFECTIVE DATE.This section is effective the day following final enactment.

    Sec. 7. Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 122A.41, subdivision 15, is amended to read:
    Subd. 15. Records relating to individual teacher; access; expungement. All
evaluations and files generated within a district relating to each individual teacher,
including teacher evaluation data under subdivisions 5, 6, and 14, among other teacher
evaluations and files, must be available to each individual teacher upon the teacher's
written request. Effective January 1, 1976, all evaluations and files, wherever generated,
relating to each individual teacher must be available to each individual teacher upon the
teacher's written request. The teacher has the right to reproduce any of the contents of the
files at the teacher's expense and to submit for inclusion in the file written information in
response to any material contained therein.
A district may destroy the files as provided by law and must expunge from
the teacher's file any material found to be false or substantially inaccurate through
the grievance procedure required pursuant to section 179A.20, subdivision 4. The
grievance procedure promulgated by the director of the Bureau of Mediation Services,
pursuant to section 179A.04, subdivision 3, clause (h), applies to those principals and
supervisory employees not included in an appropriate unit as defined in section 179A.03.
Expungement proceedings must be commenced within the time period provided in the
collective bargaining agreement for the commencement of a grievance. If no time period
is provided in the bargaining agreement, the expungement proceedings must commence
within 15 days after the teacher has knowledge of the inclusion in the teacher's file of the
material the teacher seeks to have expunged.
EFFECTIVE DATE.This section is effective the day following final enactment.

    Sec. 8. Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 123A.75, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
    Subdivision 1. Teacher assignment. (a) As of the effective date of a consolidation
in which a district is divided or the dissolution of a district and its attachment to two or
more existing districts, each teacher employed by an affected district shall be assigned to
the newly created or enlarged district on the basis of a ratio of the pupils assigned to each
district according to the new district boundaries. The district receiving the greatest number
of pupils must be assigned the teacher with the greatest seniority, and the remaining
teachers must be alternately assigned to each district until the district receiving the fewest
pupils has received its ratio of teachers who will not be retiring before the effective date of
the consolidation or dissolution.
(b) Notwithstanding paragraph (a), the board and the exclusive representative of
teachers in each district involved in the consolidation or dissolution and attachment may
negotiate a plan for assigning teachers to each newly created or enlarged district.
(c) Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, the provisions of this section apply
only to the extent they are consistent with section 122A.40, subdivisions 8, 10, and 11.
EFFECTIVE DATE.This section is effective the day following final enactment.