Bill Text: MN HF1870 | 2011-2012 | 87th Legislature | Engrossed
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
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
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
1.2relating to education; allowing school districts to base unrequested leave of
1.3absence and certain discharge and demotion decisions on teacher evaluation
1.4outcomes;amending Minnesota Statutes 2010, sections 122A.40, subdivisions
1.510, 11, 19; 122A.41, subdivisions 14, 15; 123A.75, subdivision 1; Minnesota
1.6Statutes 2011 Supplement, sections 122A.245, subdivision 1; 122A.40,
1.7subdivision 5; 122A.41, subdivisions 2, 6.
1.8BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
1.9 Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2011 Supplement, section 122A.245, subdivision 1,
1.10is amended to read:
1.11 Subdivision 1. Requirements. (a) To improve academic excellence, improve ethnic
1.12and cultural diversity in the classroom, and close the academic achievement gap, the
1.13Board of Teaching must approve qualified teacher preparation programs under this section
1.14that are a means to acquire a two-year limited-term license, which the board may renew
1.15one time for an additional one-year term, and to prepare for acquiring a standard license.
1.16The following entities are eligible to participate under this section:
1.17(1) a school district or charter school that forms a partnership with a college or
1.18university that has a board-approved alternative teacher preparation program; or
1.19(2) a school district or charter school, after consulting with a college or university
1.20with a board-approved teacher preparation program, forms a partnership with a nonprofit
1.21corporation organized under chapter 317A for an education-related purpose that has a
1.22board-approved teacher preparation program.
1.23(b) Before participating in this program, a candidate must:
1.24(1) have a bachelor's degree with a 3.0 or higher grade point average unless the
1.25board waives the grade point average requirement based on board-adopted criteria;
2.1(2) pass the reading, writing, and mathematics skills examination under section
2.2122A.09, subdivision 4
, paragraph (b); and
2.3(3) obtain qualifying scores on applicable board-approved rigorous content area and
2.4pedagogy examinations under section122A.09, subdivision 4 , paragraph (e).
2.5(c) The Board of Teaching must issue a two-year limited-term license to a person
2.6who enrolls in an alternative teacher preparation program. This limited-term license is not
2.7a provisional license under section 122A.40 or 122A.41.
2.8EFFECTIVE DATE.This section is effective the day following final enactment.
2.9 Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 2011 Supplement, section 122A.40, subdivision 5, is
2.10amended to read:
2.11 Subd. 5. Probationary period. (a) The first three consecutive years of a teacher's
2.12first teaching experience in Minnesota in a single district is deemed to be a probationary
2.13period of employment, and, the probationary period in each district in which the teacher is
2.14thereafter employed shall be one year. The school board must adopt a plan for written
2.15evaluation of teachers during the probationary period that is consistent with subdivision
2.168. Evaluation must occur at least three times periodically throughout each school year
2.17for a teacher performing services during that school year; the first evaluation must occur
2.18within the first 90 days of teaching service. Days devoted to parent-teacher conferences,
2.19teachers' workshops, and other staff development opportunities and days on which a
2.20teacher is absent from school must not be included in determining the number of school
2.21days on which a teacher performs services. Except as otherwise provided in paragraph
2.22(b), during the probationary period any annual contract with any teacher may or may not
2.23be renewed as the school board shall see fit or consistent with the unrequested leave of
2.24absence plan in effect under subdivision 10 or 11. However, the board must give any such
2.25teacher whose contract it declines to renew for the following school year written notice to
2.26that effect before June 1. If the teacher requests reasons for any nonrenewal of a teaching
2.27contract, the board must give the teacher its reason in writing, including a statement
2.28that appropriate supervision was furnished describing the nature and the extent of such
2.29supervision furnished the teacher during the employment by the board, within ten days
2.30after receiving such request. The school board may, after a hearing held upon due notice,
2.31discharge a teacher during the probationary period for cause, effective immediately,
2.32under section122A.44 .
2.33(b) A board must discharge a probationary teacher, effective immediately, upon
2.34receipt of notice under section122A.20, subdivision 1 , paragraph (b), that the teacher's
2.35license has been revoked due to a conviction for child abuse or sexual abuse.
3.1(c) A probationary teacher whose first three years of consecutive employment are
3.2interrupted for active military service and who promptly resumes teaching consistent with
3.3federal reemployment timelines for uniformed service personnel under United States
3.4Code, title 38, section 4312(e), is considered to have a consecutive teaching experience
3.5for purposes of paragraph (a).
3.6(d) A probationary teacher must complete at least 120 days of teaching service each
3.7year during the probationary period. Days devoted to parent-teacher conferences, teachers'
3.8workshops, and other staff development opportunities and days on which a teacher is
3.9absent from school do not count as days of teaching service under this paragraph.
3.10EFFECTIVE DATE.This section is effective the day following final enactment.
3.11 Sec. 3. Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 122A.40, subdivision 10, is amended to read:
3.12 Subd. 10. Negotiated unrequested leave of absence. (a) The school board and the
3.13exclusive bargaining representative of the teachersmay must negotiate a plan providing
3.14for unrequested leave of absence without pay or fringe benefits for as many teachers
3.15as may be necessary because of discontinuance of position, lack of pupils, financial
3.16limitations, or merger of classes caused by consolidation of districts. The plan must
3.17base unrequested leave of absence decisions on teachers' subject matter licensure fields
3.18and evaluation outcomes, from the least to most effective category under subdivision 8
3.19and from the least to greatest seniority within each effectiveness category, and must be
3.20consistent with subdivision 11, paragraph (n). Failing to successfully negotiate such a
3.21plan, the provisions of subdivision 11 shall apply. The negotiated plan must not include
3.22provisions which would result in the exercise of seniority by a teacher holding only a
3.23provisional license, other than a vocational education license if required for the position,
3.24contrary to the provisions of subdivision 11,clause paragraph (c), or the reinstatement
3.25of a teacher holding only a provisional license, other than a vocational education license
3.26required for the position, contrary to the provisions of subdivision 11,clause (e) paragraph
3.27(f). The provisions of section179A.16 do not apply for the purposes of this subdivision.
3.28(b) For purposes of placing a teacher on unrequested leave of absence or recalling a
3.29teacher from unrequested leave of absence, nothing in this subdivision requires a school
3.30board to reassign a teacher in order to accommodate the seniority claims of another
3.31teacher. For purposes of this subdivision, a provisional license is a license to teach issued
3.32by the Board of Teaching under a waiver or variance.
3.33(c) Notwithstanding section 13.43, subdivision 2, paragraph (a), clause (5), or
3.34other law to the contrary, a teacher's effectiveness category and the underlying data on
3.35the individual teacher generated under the teacher evaluation process in subdivision 8,
4.1paragraph (b), used to determine a teacher's effectiveness category for purposes of this
4.2subdivision are private data on individuals.
4.3(d) Notwithstanding paragraph (c), the school board may make the effectiveness
4.4categories of the teachers accessible to the exclusive representative of teachers for the
4.5purpose of verifying the order of teachers' unrequested leave of absence.
4.6(e) Nothing in this subdivision permits a school board to use a teacher's remuneration
4.7as a basis for making unrequested leave of absence or discharge decisions.
4.8EFFECTIVE DATE.This section is effective the day following final enactment
4.9and applies to negotiated plans agreed to after that date.
4.10 Sec. 4. Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 122A.40, subdivision 11, is amended to read:
4.11 Subd. 11. Unrequested leave of absence. The board may place on unrequested
4.12leave of absence, without pay or fringe benefits, as many teachers as may be necessary
4.13because of discontinuance of position, lack of pupils, financial limitations, or merger
4.14of classes caused by consolidation or reorganization of districts under chapter 123A.
4.15The unrequested leave is effective at the close of the school year. In placing teachers on
4.16unrequested leave, the board is governed by the following provisions:
4.17(a) The board may place probationary teachers on unrequested leave first in the
4.18inverse order of their employment. A teacher who has acquired continuing contract
4.19rights must not be placed on unrequested leave of absence while probationary teachers
4.20are retained in positions for which the teacher who has acquired continuing contract
4.21rights is licensed;.
4.22(b) Teachers who have acquired continuing contract rights shall be placed on
4.23unrequested leave of absence in fields in which they are licensed in the inverse order
4.24in which they were employed by the school district. In the case of equal seniority, the
4.25order in which teachers who have acquired continuing contract rights shall be placed on
4.26unrequested leave of absence in fields in which they are licensed is negotiable;.
4.27(c) Notwithstanding the provisions ofclause paragraph (b), a teacher is not entitled
4.28to exercise any seniority when that exercise results in that teacher being retained by the
4.29district in a field for which the teacher holds only a provisional license, as defined by the
4.30board of teaching, unless that exercise of seniority results in the placement on unrequested
4.31leave of absence of another teacher who also holds a provisional license in the same field.
4.32The provisions of thisclause paragraph do not apply to vocational education licenses;
4.33required for available positions.
4.34(d) Notwithstandingclauses paragraphs (a), (b) and (c), if the placing of a
4.35probationary teacher on unrequested leave before a teacher who has acquired continuing
5.1rights, the placing of a teacher who has acquired continuing contract rights on unrequested
5.2leave before another teacher who has acquired continuing contract rights but who has
5.3greater seniority, or the restriction imposed by the provisions ofclause paragraph (c) would
5.4place the district in violation of its affirmative action program, the district may retain the
5.5probationary teacher, the teacher with less seniority, or the provisionally licensed teacher;.
5.6(e) For purposes of placing a teacher on unrequested leave of absence or recalling a
5.7teacher from unrequested leave of absence, nothing in this subdivision requires a school
5.8board to reassign a teacher in order to accommodate the seniority claims of another teacher.
5.9(f) Teachers placed on unrequested leave of absence must be reinstated to the
5.10positions from which they have been given leaves of absence or, if not available, to other
5.11available positions in the school district in fields in which they are licensed. Reinstatement
5.12must be in the inverse order of placement on leave of absence. A teacher must not be
5.13reinstated to a position in a field in which the teacher holds only a provisional license,
5.14other than a vocational education license if required for the position, while another teacher
5.15who holds a nonprovisional license in the same field remains on unrequested leave.
5.16The order of reinstatement of teachers who have equal seniority and who are placed on
5.17unrequested leave in the same school year is negotiable;.
5.18(f) (g) Appointment of a new teacher must not be made while there is available, on
5.19unrequested leave, a teacher who is properly licensed to fill such vacancy, unless the
5.20teacher fails to advise the school board within 30 days of the date of notification that a
5.21position is available to that teacher who may return to employment and assume the duties
5.22of the position to which appointed on a future date determined by the board;.
5.23(g) (h) A teacher placed on unrequested leave of absence may engage in teaching
5.24or any other occupation during the period of this leave;.
5.25(h) (i) The unrequested leave of absence must not impair the continuing contract
5.26rights of a teacher or result in a loss of credit for previous years of service;.
5.27(i) (j) Consistent with paragraph (n) and subdivision 10, the unrequested leave of
5.28absence of a teacher who is categorized as effective or better under subdivision 8, who
5.29is placed on unrequested leave of absence, and who is not reinstated shall continue for a
5.30period of five years, after which the right to reinstatementshall terminate terminates. The
5.31teacher's right to reinstatementshall also terminate terminates if the teacher fails to file
5.32with the board by April 1 ofany each year a written statement requesting reinstatement;.
5.33(k) Consistent with paragraph (n) and subdivision 10, the unrequested leave of
5.34absence of a teacher who is categorized as ineffective or less under subdivision 8, who
5.35is placed on unrequested leave of absence, and who is not reinstated continues for the
5.36following school year only, after which the teacher's right to reinstatement terminates. The
6.1teacher's right to reinstatement also terminates if the teacher fails to file with the board by
6.2April 1 in that following school year a written statement requesting reinstatement.
6.3(j) (l) The same provisions applicable to terminations of probationary or continuing
6.4contracts in subdivisions 5 and 7 must apply to placement on unrequested leave of
6.5absence;.
6.6(k) (m) Nothing in this subdivision shall be construed to impair the rights of teachers
6.7placed on unrequested leave of absence to receive unemployment benefits if otherwise
6.8eligible.
6.9(n) Beginning in the 2016-2017 school year and later, and notwithstanding any
6.10contradictory provisions in this subdivision, a school board must place teachers on
6.11unrequested leave of absence based on their subject matter licensure fields and most recent
6.12evaluation outcomes, from the least to most effective category under subdivision 8 and
6.13from least to greatest seniority, including probationary teachers, within each effectiveness
6.14category. A school board is not required to reassign a teacher in order to accommodate the
6.15seniority claims of another teacher. A school board may decide to renew or not renew a
6.16probationary teacher's contract as it sees fit. The school board must make available to the
6.17public in a readily accessible format the unrequested leave of absence plan it develops and
6.18implements under this paragraph.
6.19(o) For purposes of this subdivision, a provisional license is a license to teach issued
6.20by the Board of Teaching under a waiver or variance.
6.21(p) Notwithstanding section 13.43, subdivision 2, paragraph (a), clause (5), or
6.22other law to the contrary, a teacher's effectiveness category and the underlying data on
6.23the individual teacher generated under the teacher evaluation process in subdivision 8,
6.24paragraph (b), used to determine a teacher's effectiveness category for purposes of this
6.25subdivision are private data on individuals.
6.26EFFECTIVE DATE.This section is effective the day following final enactment
6.27except that paragraph (n) is effective for the 2016-2017 school year and later.
6.28 Sec. 5. Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 122A.40, subdivision 19, is amended to read:
6.29 Subd. 19. Records relating to individual teacher; access; expungement. All
6.30evaluations and files generated within a school district relating to each individual teacher,
6.31including teacher evaluation data under subdivisions 8, 10, and 11, among other teacher
6.32evaluations and files, must be available to each individual teacher upon written request.
6.33Effective January 1, 1976, all evaluations and files, wherever generated, relating to each
6.34individual teacher must be available to each individual teacher upon written request. The
6.35teacher shall have the right to reproduce any of the contents of the files at the teacher's
7.1expense and to submit for inclusion in the file written information in response to any
7.2material contained therein.
7.3A district may destroy the files as provided by law and must expunge from
7.4the teacher's file any material found to be false or inaccurate through the grievance
7.5procedure required pursuant to section179A.20, subdivision 4 . The grievance procedure
7.6promulgated by the director of the bureau of mediation services, pursuant to section
7.7179A.04, subdivision 3
, clause (h), applies to those principals and supervisory employees
7.8not included in an appropriate unit as defined in section179A.03 . Expungement
7.9proceedings must be commenced within the time period provided in the collective
7.10bargaining agreement for the commencement of a grievance. If no time period is provided
7.11in the bargaining agreement, the expungement proceedings must commence within 15
7.12days after the teacher has knowledge of the inclusion in the teacher's file of the material
7.13the teacher seeks to have expunged.
7.14EFFECTIVE DATE.This section is effective the day following final enactment.
7.15 Sec. 6. Minnesota Statutes 2011 Supplement, section 122A.41, subdivision 2, is
7.16amended to read:
7.17 Subd. 2. Probationary period; discharge or demotion. (a) All teachers in
7.18the public schools in cities of the first class during the first three years of consecutive
7.19employment shall be deemed to be in a probationary period of employment during which
7.20period any annual contract with any teacher may, or may not, be renewed as the school
7.21board, after consulting with the peer review committee charged with evaluating the
7.22probationary teachers under subdivision 3, shall see fit or consistent with the service
7.23termination plan in effect under subdivision 6 or 14. The school site management team
7.24or the school board if there is no school site management team, shall adopt a plan for a
7.25written evaluation of teachers during the probationary period according to subdivisions 3
7.26and 5. Evaluation by the peer review committee charged with evaluating probationary
7.27teachers under subdivision 3 shall occur at least three times periodically throughout each
7.28school year for a teacher performing services during that school year; the first evaluation
7.29must occur within the first 90 days of teaching service. Days devoted to parent-teacher
7.30conferences, teachers' workshops, and other staff development opportunities and days on
7.31which a teacher is absent from school shall not be included in determining the number of
7.32school days on which a teacher performs services. The school board may, during such
7.33probationary period, discharge or demote a teacher for any of the causes as specified in
7.34this code. A written statement of the cause of such discharge or demotion shall be given to
8.1the teacher by the school board at least 30 days before such removal or demotion shall
8.2become effective, and the teacher so notified shall have no right of appeal therefrom.
8.3(b) A probationary teacher whose first three years of consecutive employment are
8.4interrupted for active military service and who promptly resumes teaching consistent with
8.5federal reemployment timelines for uniformed service personnel under United States
8.6Code, title 38, section 4312(e), is considered to have a consecutive teaching experience
8.7for purposes of paragraph (a).
8.8(c) A probationary teacher must complete at least 120 days of teaching service each
8.9year during the probationary period. Days devoted to parent-teacher conferences, teachers'
8.10workshops, and other staff development opportunities and days on which a teacher is
8.11absent from school do not count as days of teaching service under this paragraph.
8.12EFFECTIVE DATE.This section is effective the day following final enactment.
8.13 Sec. 7. Minnesota Statutes 2011 Supplement, section 122A.41, subdivision 6, is
8.14amended to read:
8.15 Subd. 6. Grounds for discharge or demotion. (a) Except as otherwise provided in
8.16paragraph(b) (d), causes for the discharge or demotion of a teacher either during or after
8.17the probationary period must be:
8.18(1) immoral character, conduct unbecoming a teacher, or insubordination;
8.19(2) failure without justifiable cause to teach without first securing the written release
8.20of the school board having the care, management, or control of the school in which the
8.21teacher is employed;
8.22(3) inefficiency in teaching or in the management of a school, consistent with
8.23subdivision 5, paragraph (b);
8.24(4) affliction with active tuberculosis or other communicable disease must be
8.25considered as cause for removal or suspension while the teacher is suffering from such
8.26disability; or
8.27(5) discontinuance of position or lack of pupils.
8.28Beginning in the 2016-2017 school year and later, and notwithstanding any
8.29contradictory provisions in this subdivision, the school board must discharge or demote
8.30teachers under clause (5) based on their subject matter licensure fields and most recent
8.31evaluation outcomes, from the least to most effective category under subdivision 5 and
8.32from least to greatest seniority, including probationary teachers, within each effectiveness
8.33category. Nothing in this subdivision permits a school board to use a teacher's
8.34remuneration as the basis for making discharge or demotion decisions. The school board
9.1must make available to the public in a readily accessible format any discharge and
9.2demotion plan it develops to implement clause (5) of this paragraph.
9.3For purposes of this paragraph, conduct unbecoming a teacher includes an unfair
9.4discriminatory practice described in section363A.13 .
9.5(b) Notwithstanding section 13.43, subdivision 2, paragraph (a), clause (5), or
9.6other law to the contrary, a teacher's effectiveness category and the underlying data on
9.7the individual teacher generated under the teacher evaluation process in subdivision 5,
9.8paragraph (b), used to determine a teacher's effectiveness category for purposes of this
9.9subdivision are private data on individuals.
9.10(c) Notwithstanding paragraph (b), the school board may make the effectiveness
9.11categories of the teachers accessible to the exclusive representative of teachers for the
9.12purpose of verifying the order of teachers' discharge and demotion.
9.13(b) (d) A probationary or continuing-contract teacher must be discharged
9.14immediately upon receipt of notice under section122A.20, subdivision 1 , paragraph
9.15(b), that the teacher's license has been revoked due to a conviction for child abuse or
9.16sexual abuse.
9.17EFFECTIVE DATE.This section is effective the day following final enactment
9.18and applies to negotiated plans agreed to after that date.
9.19 Sec. 8. Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 122A.41, subdivision 14, is amended to read:
9.20 Subd. 14. Services terminated by discontinuance or lack of pupils; preference
9.21given. (a) To the extent consistent with paragraph (c) and subdivision 6, paragraph (a),
9.22clause (5), a teacher whose services are terminated on account of discontinuance of
9.23position or lack of pupils must receive first consideration for other positions in the district
9.24for which that teacher is qualified.In the event If it becomes is necessary to discontinue
9.25one or more positions, in making such discontinuance, teachers must be discontinued in
9.26any department in the inverse order in which they were employed, unless a board and the
9.27exclusive representative of teachers in the district negotiate a plan providing otherwise.
9.28(b) Notwithstanding the provisions ofclause paragraph (a), and to the extent
9.29consistent with paragraph (c) and subdivision 6, paragraph (a), a teacher is not entitled
9.30to exercise any seniority when that exercise results in that teacher being retained by the
9.31district in a field for which the teacher holds only a provisional license, as defined by the
9.32Board of Teaching, unless that exercise of seniority results in the termination of services,
9.33on account of discontinuance of position or lack of pupils, of another teacher who also
9.34holds a provisional license in the same field. The provisions of this clause do not apply
9.35to vocational education licenses.
10.1(c) For purposes of discharging, demoting, or recalling a teacher whose services are
10.2terminated under this subdivision, nothing in this subdivision requires a school board to
10.3reassign a teacher in order to accommodate the seniority claims of another teacher.
10.4(d) Notwithstanding the provisions ofclause paragraph (a), and to the extent
10.5consistent with paragraph (c) and subdivision 6, paragraph (a), a teacher must not be
10.6reinstated to a position in a field in which the teacher holds only a provisional license,
10.7other than a vocational education license if required for the position, while another teacher
10.8who holds a nonprovisional license in the same field is available for reinstatement.
10.9(e) For purposes of this subdivision, a provisional license is a license to teach issued
10.10by the Board of Teaching under a waiver or variance.
10.11EFFECTIVE DATE.This section is effective the day following final enactment.
10.12 Sec. 9. Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 122A.41, subdivision 15, is amended to read:
10.13 Subd. 15. Records relating to individual teacher; access; expungement. All
10.14evaluations and files generated within a district relating to each individual teacher,
10.15including teacher evaluation data under subdivisions 5, 6, and 14, among other teacher
10.16evaluations and files, must be available to each individual teacher upon the teacher's
10.17written request. Effective January 1, 1976, all evaluations and files, wherever generated,
10.18relating to each individual teacher must be available to each individual teacher upon the
10.19teacher's written request. The teacher has the right to reproduce any of the contents of the
10.20files at the teacher's expense and to submit for inclusion in the file written information in
10.21response to any material contained therein.
10.22A district may destroy the files as provided by law and must expunge from
10.23the teacher's file any material found to be false or substantially inaccurate through
10.24the grievance procedure required pursuant to section179A.20, subdivision 4 . The
10.25grievance procedure promulgated by the director of the Bureau of Mediation Services,
10.26pursuant to section179A.04, subdivision 3 , clause (h), applies to those principals and
10.27supervisory employees not included in an appropriate unit as defined in section179A.03 .
10.28Expungement proceedings must be commenced within the time period provided in the
10.29collective bargaining agreement for the commencement of a grievance. If no time period
10.30is provided in the bargaining agreement, the expungement proceedings must commence
10.31within 15 days after the teacher has knowledge of the inclusion in the teacher's file of the
10.32material the teacher seeks to have expunged.
10.33EFFECTIVE DATE.This section is effective the day following final enactment.
11.1 Sec. 10. Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 123A.75, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
11.2 Subdivision 1. Teacher assignment. (a) As of the effective date of a consolidation
11.3in which a district is divided or the dissolution of a district and its attachment to two or
11.4more existing districts, each teacher employed by an affected district shall be assigned to
11.5the newly created or enlarged district on the basis of a ratio of the pupils assigned to each
11.6district according to the new district boundaries. The district receiving the greatest number
11.7of pupils must be assigned the teacher with the greatest seniority, and the remaining
11.8teachers must be alternately assigned to each district until the district receiving the fewest
11.9pupils has received its ratio of teachers who will not be retiring before the effective date of
11.10the consolidation or dissolution.
11.11(b) Notwithstanding paragraph (a), the board and the exclusive representative of
11.12teachers in each district involved in the consolidation or dissolution and attachment may
11.13negotiate a plan for assigning teachers to each newly created or enlarged district.
11.14(c) Notwithstanding other law to the contrary, the provisions of this section apply
11.15only to the extent they are consistent with section 122A.40, subdivisions 8, 10, and 11.
11.16EFFECTIVE DATE.This section is effective the day following final enactment.
1.3absence and certain discharge and demotion decisions on teacher evaluation
1.4outcomes;amending Minnesota Statutes 2010, sections 122A.40, subdivisions
1.510, 11, 19; 122A.41, subdivisions 14, 15; 123A.75, subdivision 1; Minnesota
1.6Statutes 2011 Supplement, sections 122A.245, subdivision 1; 122A.40,
1.7subdivision 5; 122A.41, subdivisions 2, 6.
1.8BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
1.9 Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2011 Supplement, section 122A.245, subdivision 1,
1.10is amended to read:
1.11 Subdivision 1. Requirements. (a) To improve academic excellence, improve ethnic
1.12and cultural diversity in the classroom, and close the academic achievement gap, the
1.13Board of Teaching must approve qualified teacher preparation programs under this section
1.14that are a means to acquire a two-year limited-term license, which the board may renew
1.15one time for an additional one-year term, and to prepare for acquiring a standard license.
1.16The following entities are eligible to participate under this section:
1.17(1) a school district or charter school that forms a partnership with a college or
1.18university that has a board-approved alternative teacher preparation program; or
1.19(2) a school district or charter school, after consulting with a college or university
1.20with a board-approved teacher preparation program, forms a partnership with a nonprofit
1.21corporation organized under chapter 317A for an education-related purpose that has a
1.22board-approved teacher preparation program.
1.23(b) Before participating in this program, a candidate must:
1.24(1) have a bachelor's degree with a 3.0 or higher grade point average unless the
1.25board waives the grade point average requirement based on board-adopted criteria;
2.1(2) pass the reading, writing, and mathematics skills examination under section
2.3(3) obtain qualifying scores on applicable board-approved rigorous content area and
2.4pedagogy examinations under section
2.5(c) The Board of Teaching must issue a two-year limited-term license to a person
2.6who enrolls in an alternative teacher preparation program. This limited-term license is not
2.7a provisional license under section 122A.40 or 122A.41.
2.8EFFECTIVE DATE.This section is effective the day following final enactment.
2.9 Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 2011 Supplement, section 122A.40, subdivision 5, is
2.10amended to read:
2.11 Subd. 5. Probationary period. (a) The first three consecutive years of a teacher's
2.12first teaching experience in Minnesota in a single district is deemed to be a probationary
2.13period of employment, and, the probationary period in each district in which the teacher is
2.14thereafter employed shall be one year. The school board must adopt a plan for written
2.15evaluation of teachers during the probationary period that is consistent with subdivision
2.168. Evaluation must occur at least three times periodically throughout each school year
2.17for a teacher performing services during that school year; the first evaluation must occur
2.18within the first 90 days of teaching service. Days devoted to parent-teacher conferences,
2.19teachers' workshops, and other staff development opportunities and days on which a
2.20teacher is absent from school must not be included in determining the number of school
2.21days on which a teacher performs services. Except as otherwise provided in paragraph
2.22(b), during the probationary period any annual contract with any teacher may or may not
2.23be renewed as the school board shall see fit or consistent with the unrequested leave of
2.24absence plan in effect under subdivision 10 or 11. However, the board must give any such
2.25teacher whose contract it declines to renew for the following school year written notice to
2.26that effect before June 1. If the teacher requests reasons for any nonrenewal of a teaching
2.27contract, the board must give the teacher its reason in writing, including a statement
2.28that appropriate supervision was furnished describing the nature and the extent of such
2.29supervision furnished the teacher during the employment by the board, within ten days
2.30after receiving such request. The school board may, after a hearing held upon due notice,
2.31discharge a teacher during the probationary period for cause, effective immediately,
2.32under section
2.33(b) A board must discharge a probationary teacher, effective immediately, upon
2.34receipt of notice under section
2.35license has been revoked due to a conviction for child abuse or sexual abuse.
3.1(c) A probationary teacher whose first three years of consecutive employment are
3.2interrupted for active military service and who promptly resumes teaching consistent with
3.3federal reemployment timelines for uniformed service personnel under United States
3.4Code, title 38, section 4312(e), is considered to have a consecutive teaching experience
3.5for purposes of paragraph (a).
3.6(d) A probationary teacher must complete at least 120 days of teaching service each
3.7year during the probationary period. Days devoted to parent-teacher conferences, teachers'
3.8workshops, and other staff development opportunities and days on which a teacher is
3.9absent from school do not count as days of teaching service under this paragraph.
3.10EFFECTIVE DATE.This section is effective the day following final enactment.
3.11 Sec. 3. Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 122A.40, subdivision 10, is amended to read:
3.12 Subd. 10. Negotiated unrequested leave of absence. (a) The school board and the
3.13exclusive bargaining representative of the teachers
3.14for unrequested leave of absence without pay or fringe benefits for as many teachers
3.15as may be necessary because of discontinuance of position, lack of pupils, financial
3.16limitations, or merger of classes caused by consolidation of districts. The plan must
3.17base unrequested leave of absence decisions on teachers' subject matter licensure fields
3.18and evaluation outcomes, from the least to most effective category under subdivision 8
3.19and from the least to greatest seniority within each effectiveness category, and must be
3.20consistent with subdivision 11, paragraph (n). Failing to successfully negotiate such a
3.21plan, the provisions of subdivision 11 shall apply. The negotiated plan must not include
3.22provisions which would result in the exercise of seniority by a teacher holding only a
3.23provisional license, other than a vocational education license if required for the position,
3.24contrary to the provisions of subdivision 11,
3.25of a teacher holding only a provisional license, other than a vocational education license
3.26required for the position, contrary to the provisions of subdivision 11,
3.27(f). The provisions of section
3.28(b) For purposes of placing a teacher on unrequested leave of absence or recalling a
3.29teacher from unrequested leave of absence, nothing in this subdivision requires a school
3.30board to reassign a teacher in order to accommodate the seniority claims of another
3.31teacher. For purposes of this subdivision, a provisional license is a license to teach issued
3.32by the Board of Teaching under a waiver or variance.
3.33(c) Notwithstanding section 13.43, subdivision 2, paragraph (a), clause (5), or
3.34other law to the contrary, a teacher's effectiveness category and the underlying data on
3.35the individual teacher generated under the teacher evaluation process in subdivision 8,
4.1paragraph (b), used to determine a teacher's effectiveness category for purposes of this
4.2subdivision are private data on individuals.
4.3(d) Notwithstanding paragraph (c), the school board may make the effectiveness
4.4categories of the teachers accessible to the exclusive representative of teachers for the
4.5purpose of verifying the order of teachers' unrequested leave of absence.
4.6(e) Nothing in this subdivision permits a school board to use a teacher's remuneration
4.7as a basis for making unrequested leave of absence or discharge decisions.
4.8EFFECTIVE DATE.This section is effective the day following final enactment
4.9and applies to negotiated plans agreed to after that date.
4.10 Sec. 4. Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 122A.40, subdivision 11, is amended to read:
4.11 Subd. 11. Unrequested leave of absence. The board may place on unrequested
4.12leave of absence, without pay or fringe benefits, as many teachers as may be necessary
4.13because of discontinuance of position, lack of pupils, financial limitations, or merger
4.14of classes caused by consolidation or reorganization of districts under chapter 123A.
4.15The unrequested leave is effective at the close of the school year. In placing teachers on
4.16unrequested leave, the board is governed by the following provisions:
4.17(a) The board may place probationary teachers on unrequested leave first in the
4.18inverse order of their employment. A teacher who has acquired continuing contract
4.19rights must not be placed on unrequested leave of absence while probationary teachers
4.20are retained in positions for which the teacher who has acquired continuing contract
4.21rights is licensed
4.22(b) Teachers who have acquired continuing contract rights shall be placed on
4.23unrequested leave of absence in fields in which they are licensed in the inverse order
4.24in which they were employed by the school district. In the case of equal seniority, the
4.25order in which teachers who have acquired continuing contract rights shall be placed on
4.26unrequested leave of absence in fields in which they are licensed is negotiable
4.27(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of
4.28to exercise any seniority when that exercise results in that teacher being retained by the
4.29district in a field for which the teacher holds only a provisional license
4.30
4.31leave of absence of another teacher who also holds a provisional license in the same field.
4.32The provisions of this
4.33required for available positions.
4.34(d) Notwithstanding
4.35probationary teacher on unrequested leave before a teacher who has acquired continuing
5.1rights, the placing of a teacher who has acquired continuing contract rights on unrequested
5.2leave before another teacher who has acquired continuing contract rights but who has
5.3greater seniority, or the restriction imposed by the provisions of
5.4place the district in violation of its affirmative action program, the district may retain the
5.5probationary teacher, the teacher with less seniority, or the provisionally licensed teacher
5.6(e) For purposes of placing a teacher on unrequested leave of absence or recalling a
5.7teacher from unrequested leave of absence, nothing in this subdivision requires a school
5.8board to reassign a teacher in order to accommodate the seniority claims of another teacher.
5.9(f) Teachers placed on unrequested leave of absence must be reinstated to the
5.10positions from which they have been given leaves of absence or, if not available, to other
5.11available positions in the school district in fields in which they are licensed. Reinstatement
5.12must be in the inverse order of placement on leave of absence. A teacher must not be
5.13reinstated to a position in a field in which the teacher holds only a provisional license,
5.14other than a vocational education license if required for the position, while another teacher
5.15who holds a nonprovisional license in the same field remains on unrequested leave.
5.16The order of reinstatement of teachers who have equal seniority and who are placed on
5.17unrequested leave in the same school year is negotiable
5.18
5.19unrequested leave, a teacher who is properly licensed to fill such vacancy, unless the
5.20teacher fails to advise the school board within 30 days of the date of notification that a
5.21position is available to that teacher who may return to employment and assume the duties
5.22of the position to which appointed on a future date determined by the board
5.23
5.24or any other occupation during the period of this leave
5.25
5.26rights of a teacher or result in a loss of credit for previous years of service
5.27
5.28absence of a teacher who is categorized as effective or better under subdivision 8, who
5.29is placed on unrequested leave of absence, and who is not reinstated shall continue for a
5.30period of five years, after which the right to reinstatement
5.31teacher's right to reinstatement
5.32with the board by April 1 of
5.33(k) Consistent with paragraph (n) and subdivision 10, the unrequested leave of
5.34absence of a teacher who is categorized as ineffective or less under subdivision 8, who
5.35is placed on unrequested leave of absence, and who is not reinstated continues for the
5.36following school year only, after which the teacher's right to reinstatement terminates. The
6.1teacher's right to reinstatement also terminates if the teacher fails to file with the board by
6.2April 1 in that following school year a written statement requesting reinstatement.
6.3
6.4contracts in subdivisions 5 and 7 must apply to placement on unrequested leave of
6.5absence
6.6
6.7placed on unrequested leave of absence to receive unemployment benefits if otherwise
6.8eligible.
6.9(n) Beginning in the 2016-2017 school year and later, and notwithstanding any
6.10contradictory provisions in this subdivision, a school board must place teachers on
6.11unrequested leave of absence based on their subject matter licensure fields and most recent
6.12evaluation outcomes, from the least to most effective category under subdivision 8 and
6.13from least to greatest seniority, including probationary teachers, within each effectiveness
6.14category. A school board is not required to reassign a teacher in order to accommodate the
6.15seniority claims of another teacher. A school board may decide to renew or not renew a
6.16probationary teacher's contract as it sees fit. The school board must make available to the
6.17public in a readily accessible format the unrequested leave of absence plan it develops and
6.18implements under this paragraph.
6.19(o) For purposes of this subdivision, a provisional license is a license to teach issued
6.20by the Board of Teaching under a waiver or variance.
6.21(p) Notwithstanding section 13.43, subdivision 2, paragraph (a), clause (5), or
6.22other law to the contrary, a teacher's effectiveness category and the underlying data on
6.23the individual teacher generated under the teacher evaluation process in subdivision 8,
6.24paragraph (b), used to determine a teacher's effectiveness category for purposes of this
6.25subdivision are private data on individuals.
6.26EFFECTIVE DATE.This section is effective the day following final enactment
6.27except that paragraph (n) is effective for the 2016-2017 school year and later.
6.28 Sec. 5. Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 122A.40, subdivision 19, is amended to read:
6.29 Subd. 19. Records relating to individual teacher; access; expungement. All
6.30evaluations and files generated within a school district relating to each individual teacher,
6.31including teacher evaluation data under subdivisions 8, 10, and 11, among other teacher
6.32evaluations and files, must be available to each individual teacher upon written request.
6.33Effective January 1, 1976, all evaluations and files, wherever generated, relating to each
6.34individual teacher must be available to each individual teacher upon written request. The
6.35teacher shall have the right to reproduce any of the contents of the files at the teacher's
7.1expense and to submit for inclusion in the file written information in response to any
7.2material contained therein.
7.3A district may destroy the files as provided by law and must expunge from
7.4the teacher's file any material found to be false or inaccurate through the grievance
7.5procedure required pursuant to section
7.6promulgated by the director of the bureau of mediation services, pursuant to section
7.8not included in an appropriate unit as defined in section
7.9proceedings must be commenced within the time period provided in the collective
7.10bargaining agreement for the commencement of a grievance. If no time period is provided
7.11in the bargaining agreement, the expungement proceedings must commence within 15
7.12days after the teacher has knowledge of the inclusion in the teacher's file of the material
7.13the teacher seeks to have expunged.
7.14EFFECTIVE DATE.This section is effective the day following final enactment.
7.15 Sec. 6. Minnesota Statutes 2011 Supplement, section 122A.41, subdivision 2, is
7.16amended to read:
7.17 Subd. 2. Probationary period; discharge or demotion. (a) All teachers in
7.18the public schools in cities of the first class during the first three years of consecutive
7.19employment shall be deemed to be in a probationary period of employment during which
7.20period any annual contract with any teacher may, or may not, be renewed as the school
7.21board, after consulting with the peer review committee charged with evaluating the
7.22probationary teachers under subdivision 3, shall see fit or consistent with the service
7.23termination plan in effect under subdivision 6 or 14. The school site management team
7.24or the school board if there is no school site management team, shall adopt a plan for a
7.25written evaluation of teachers during the probationary period according to subdivisions 3
7.26and 5. Evaluation by the peer review committee charged with evaluating probationary
7.27teachers under subdivision 3 shall occur at least three times periodically throughout each
7.28school year for a teacher performing services during that school year; the first evaluation
7.29must occur within the first 90 days of teaching service. Days devoted to parent-teacher
7.30conferences, teachers' workshops, and other staff development opportunities and days on
7.31which a teacher is absent from school shall not be included in determining the number of
7.32school days on which a teacher performs services. The school board may, during such
7.33probationary period, discharge or demote a teacher for any of the causes as specified in
7.34this code. A written statement of the cause of such discharge or demotion shall be given to
8.1the teacher by the school board at least 30 days before such removal or demotion shall
8.2become effective, and the teacher so notified shall have no right of appeal therefrom.
8.3(b) A probationary teacher whose first three years of consecutive employment are
8.4interrupted for active military service and who promptly resumes teaching consistent with
8.5federal reemployment timelines for uniformed service personnel under United States
8.6Code, title 38, section 4312(e), is considered to have a consecutive teaching experience
8.7for purposes of paragraph (a).
8.8(c) A probationary teacher must complete at least 120 days of teaching service each
8.9year during the probationary period. Days devoted to parent-teacher conferences, teachers'
8.10workshops, and other staff development opportunities and days on which a teacher is
8.11absent from school do not count as days of teaching service under this paragraph.
8.12EFFECTIVE DATE.This section is effective the day following final enactment.
8.13 Sec. 7. Minnesota Statutes 2011 Supplement, section 122A.41, subdivision 6, is
8.14amended to read:
8.15 Subd. 6. Grounds for discharge or demotion. (a) Except as otherwise provided in
8.16paragraph
8.17the probationary period must be:
8.18(1) immoral character, conduct unbecoming a teacher, or insubordination;
8.19(2) failure without justifiable cause to teach without first securing the written release
8.20of the school board having the care, management, or control of the school in which the
8.21teacher is employed;
8.22(3) inefficiency in teaching or in the management of a school, consistent with
8.23subdivision 5, paragraph (b);
8.24(4) affliction with active tuberculosis or other communicable disease must be
8.25considered as cause for removal or suspension while the teacher is suffering from such
8.26disability; or
8.27(5) discontinuance of position or lack of pupils.
8.28Beginning in the 2016-2017 school year and later, and notwithstanding any
8.29contradictory provisions in this subdivision, the school board must discharge or demote
8.30teachers under clause (5) based on their subject matter licensure fields and most recent
8.31evaluation outcomes, from the least to most effective category under subdivision 5 and
8.32from least to greatest seniority, including probationary teachers, within each effectiveness
8.33category. Nothing in this subdivision permits a school board to use a teacher's
8.34remuneration as the basis for making discharge or demotion decisions. The school board
9.1must make available to the public in a readily accessible format any discharge and
9.2demotion plan it develops to implement clause (5) of this paragraph.
9.3For purposes of this paragraph, conduct unbecoming a teacher includes an unfair
9.4discriminatory practice described in section
9.5(b) Notwithstanding section 13.43, subdivision 2, paragraph (a), clause (5), or
9.6other law to the contrary, a teacher's effectiveness category and the underlying data on
9.7the individual teacher generated under the teacher evaluation process in subdivision 5,
9.8paragraph (b), used to determine a teacher's effectiveness category for purposes of this
9.9subdivision are private data on individuals.
9.10(c) Notwithstanding paragraph (b), the school board may make the effectiveness
9.11categories of the teachers accessible to the exclusive representative of teachers for the
9.12purpose of verifying the order of teachers' discharge and demotion.
9.13
9.14immediately upon receipt of notice under section
9.15(b), that the teacher's license has been revoked due to a conviction for child abuse or
9.16sexual abuse.
9.17EFFECTIVE DATE.This section is effective the day following final enactment
9.18and applies to negotiated plans agreed to after that date.
9.19 Sec. 8. Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 122A.41, subdivision 14, is amended to read:
9.20 Subd. 14. Services terminated by discontinuance or lack of pupils; preference
9.21given. (a) To the extent consistent with paragraph (c) and subdivision 6, paragraph (a),
9.22clause (5), a teacher whose services are terminated on account of discontinuance of
9.23position or lack of pupils must receive first consideration for other positions in the district
9.24for which that teacher is qualified.
9.25one or more positions, in making such discontinuance, teachers must be discontinued in
9.26any department in the inverse order in which they were employed, unless a board and the
9.27exclusive representative of teachers in the district negotiate a plan providing otherwise.
9.28(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of
9.29consistent with paragraph (c) and subdivision 6, paragraph (a), a teacher is not entitled
9.30to exercise any seniority when that exercise results in that teacher being retained by the
9.31district in a field for which the teacher holds only a provisional license
9.32
9.33on account of discontinuance of position or lack of pupils, of another teacher who also
9.34holds a provisional license in the same field. The provisions of this clause do not apply
9.35to vocational education licenses.
10.1(c) For purposes of discharging, demoting, or recalling a teacher whose services are
10.2terminated under this subdivision, nothing in this subdivision requires a school board to
10.3reassign a teacher in order to accommodate the seniority claims of another teacher.
10.4(d) Notwithstanding the provisions of
10.5consistent with paragraph (c) and subdivision 6, paragraph (a), a teacher must not be
10.6reinstated to a position in a field in which the teacher holds only a provisional license,
10.7other than a vocational education license if required for the position, while another teacher
10.8who holds a nonprovisional license in the same field is available for reinstatement.
10.9(e) For purposes of this subdivision, a provisional license is a license to teach issued
10.10by the Board of Teaching under a waiver or variance.
10.11EFFECTIVE DATE.This section is effective the day following final enactment.
10.12 Sec. 9. Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 122A.41, subdivision 15, is amended to read:
10.13 Subd. 15. Records relating to individual teacher; access; expungement. All
10.14evaluations and files generated within a district relating to each individual teacher,
10.15including teacher evaluation data under subdivisions 5, 6, and 14, among other teacher
10.16evaluations and files, must be available to each individual teacher upon the teacher's
10.17written request. Effective January 1, 1976, all evaluations and files, wherever generated,
10.18relating to each individual teacher must be available to each individual teacher upon the
10.19teacher's written request. The teacher has the right to reproduce any of the contents of the
10.20files at the teacher's expense and to submit for inclusion in the file written information in
10.21response to any material contained therein.
10.22A district may destroy the files as provided by law and must expunge from
10.23the teacher's file any material found to be false or substantially inaccurate through
10.24the grievance procedure required pursuant to section
10.25grievance procedure promulgated by the director of the Bureau of Mediation Services,
10.26pursuant to section
10.27supervisory employees not included in an appropriate unit as defined in section
10.28Expungement proceedings must be commenced within the time period provided in the
10.29collective bargaining agreement for the commencement of a grievance. If no time period
10.30is provided in the bargaining agreement, the expungement proceedings must commence
10.31within 15 days after the teacher has knowledge of the inclusion in the teacher's file of the
10.32material the teacher seeks to have expunged.
10.33EFFECTIVE DATE.This section is effective the day following final enactment.
11.1 Sec. 10. Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 123A.75, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
11.2 Subdivision 1. Teacher assignment. (a) As of the effective date of a consolidation
11.3in which a district is divided or the dissolution of a district and its attachment to two or
11.4more existing districts, each teacher employed by an affected district shall be assigned to
11.5the newly created or enlarged district on the basis of a ratio of the pupils assigned to each
11.6district according to the new district boundaries. The district receiving the greatest number
11.7of pupils must be assigned the teacher with the greatest seniority, and the remaining
11.8teachers must be alternately assigned to each district until the district receiving the fewest
11.9pupils has received its ratio of teachers who will not be retiring before the effective date of
11.10the consolidation or dissolution.
11.11(b) Notwithstanding paragraph (a), the board and the exclusive representative of
11.12teachers in each district involved in the consolidation or dissolution and attachment may
11.13negotiate a plan for assigning teachers to each newly created or enlarged district.
11.14(c) Notwithstanding other law to the contrary, the provisions of this section apply
11.15only to the extent they are consistent with section 122A.40, subdivisions 8, 10, and 11.
11.16EFFECTIVE DATE.This section is effective the day following final enactment.
