BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Carol Liu, Chair
2013-14 Regular Session
BILL NO: AB 449
AUTHOR: Muratsuchi
AMENDED: June 6, 2013
FISCAL COMM: Yes HEARING DATE: June 19, 2013
URGENCY: No CONSULTANT:Lenin Del Castillo
SUBJECT : Certificated school employees: reporting of
misconduct.
SUMMARY
This bill requires a superintendent of a school district or
county office of education or the administrator of a
charter school to report changes in the employment status
of certificated employees that result from allegations of
misconduct to the Commission on Teacher Credentialing
(CTC). This bill also constitutes failure to report as a
misdemeanor that is punishable by a fine of between $500
and $1000.
BACKGROUND
Current law provides that any principal, teacher, or school
officer of any elementary or secondary school who refuses
or willfully neglects to make reports to the CTC as are
required by law is guilty of a misdemeanor and is
punishable by a fine of not more than one hundred dollars.
(Education Code § 44030)
Current law provides that each allegation of an act or
omission by an applicant for, or holder of, a credential
for which he or she may be subject to an adverse action
shall be presented to the Committee of Credentials. The
Committee of Credentials has jurisdiction to begin an
initial review of a credential upon receipt of any of the
following:
1) Official records of the Department of Justice, of a
law enforcement agency, of a state or federal court,
and of any other agency of this state or another
state.
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2) An affidavit or declaration signed by person or
persons with personal knowledge of the acts alleged to
constitute misconduct.
3) A statement from an employer notifying the CTC that,
as a result of, or while an allegation of misconduct
is pending, a credential holder has been dismissed,
nonreelected, suspended for more than 10 days, or
placed pursuant to a final adverse employment action
on unpaid administrative leave for more than 10 days,
or has resigned or otherwise left employment.
4) A notice from an employer that a complaint was filed
with the school district alleging sexual misconduct by
a credential holder.
5) A notice from a school district, employer, public
agency, or testing administrator of a violation of
various sections of law, as specified.
6) An affirmative response on an application submitted to
the commission as to any conviction, adverse action
on, or denial of, a license, or pending investigation
into a criminal allegation or pending investigation of
a noncriminal allegation of misconduct by a
governmental licensing entity, or failure to disclose
any of these matters. (Education Code § 44242.5)
Current regulations require the superintendent of an
employing school district to notify the Commission on
Teacher Credentialing (CTC) when a credential holder,
working in a position requiring a credential is dismissed,
resigns, is suspended for more than 10 days, retires, or is
terminated as a result of an allegation of misconduct or
while an allegation of misconduct is pending. These
regulations also require the superintendent of the
employing school district to report the change in
employment status to the CTC not later than 30 days after
the employment action. (California Code of Regulations
Title 5, Section 80303).
ANALYSIS
This bill :
1) Requires the superintendent of a school district or
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county office of education, or the administrator of a
charter school, employing a person with a credential
to report any change in the employment status of the
credential holder to the CTC not later than 30 days
after the change in employment status, if the
credential holder, while working in a position
requiring a credential, and as a result of an
allegation of misconduct or while an allegation of
misconduct is pending, dismissed, is nonreelected,
resigns, is suspended or placed on unpaid
administrative leave for more than 10 days as a final
adverse action, retires, or is otherwise terminated by
a decision not to employ or reemploy.
2) Provides that for purposes of the reporting
requirement specified above (under No. 1), a change of
employment status due solely to unsatisfactory
performance or a reduction in force, as specified, is
not a result of an allegation of misconduct.
3) Provides that the failure to make the report is
unprofessional conduct and may subject the
superintendent of the school district or county office
of education, or the administrator of a charter
school, to adverse action by the CTC.
4) Requires that refusing or willfully neglecting to make
the report is a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of
not less than five hundred dollars or more than one
thousand dollars.
5) Provides that all fines imposed are the personal
responsibility of the superintendent of the school
district or county office of education, or the
administrator of a charter school, and may not be paid
or reimbursed with public funds.
6) Provides that for allegations of misconduct that are
presented to the Committee of Credentials, a change in
status due solely to unsatisfactory performance or a
reduction in force is not an allegation of misconduct.
STAFF COMMENTS
1) Need for the bill . According to the author, existing
law does not provide clear authority for the
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Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CTC) to
investigate or hold a superintendent accountable for
failure to take a report when a school district takes
employment actions against a credentialed employee as
a result of an allegation of misconduct. This can
create reporting delays that may jeopardize the safety
of students at the teacher's current school as well as
other school districts throughout the State.
According to the author, in November 2012, the
California State Auditor released a report regarding
the Los Angeles Unified School District's (LAUSD)
handling of allegations of teacher misconduct. The
State Auditor found that LAUSD failed to timely report
at least 144 cases of teacher misconduct when required
to do so, with at least 31 of these cases reported 3
years late. As a result, the CTC was not able to
review teachers who may have been unfit for the
classroom.
In particular, the State Auditor's report highlighted
one case where the Superintendent failed to report an
allegation of sexual misconduct for three years. This
teacher allegedly had a sexual relationship with a
student; however the district's lack of timely
reporting meant that for 3.5 years the CTC could not
take any steps to revoke the teacher's certificate and
prevent the teacher from working in other school
districts.
The audit also found that LAUSD reported many cases
that did not require reporting, thereby unnecessarily
amplifying the workload for the CTC. By improperly
labeling and reporting unsatisfactory performance,
lay-offs, or reductions in force as "misconduct,"
school districts may consume valuable CTC resources.
2) CTC regulation changes . The CTC is currently
proposing to make various changes to the existing
regulations regarding a superintendent's requirement
to report when a school district takes adverse
employment action against a credential holder because
the regulations in its current form lacks clarity in
some areas and contributes to several ongoing
programs, including the over-reporting of misconduct
related to unsatisfactory performance which consumes
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valuable CTC resources. These regulation changes are
consistent with the provisions contained in AB 449.
However, AB 449 extends the reporting requirements to
county superintendents and administrators of charter
schools. According to the Commission on Teacher
Credentialing (CTC), this could increase the number of
changes in employment status reports that the CTC
receives and potentially improve the safety of pupils
enrolled in charter schools or served through county
offices of education.
3) Related and prior legislation .
AB 349 (Gatto) establishes a new process for tracking
classified employees who have a change in employment
status resulting from an allegation of misconduct
involving a child. This bill is scheduled to be heard
by this Committee on July 3, 2013.
SB 160 (Lara), similar to AB 349 (Gatto), establishes
a new process for tracking classified employees who
have a change in employment status resulting from an
allegation of misconduct involving a child. SB 160 is
pending before the Assembly Education Committee.
AB 375 (Buchanan) modifies procedures relating to the
suspension, dismissal, and leave of absence of
teachers. AB 375 is pending before this Committee.
SB 453 (Huff) would have modified procedures relating
to the evaluation, suspension, and dismissal of
teachers. SB 453 failed passage in this Committee on
April 24, 2013.
SB 531 (Knight), similar to SB 453 (Huff), would have
modified procedures relating to the evaluation,
suspension, and dismissal of teachers. SB 531 failed
passage in this Committee on May 1, 2013.
SUPPORT
California Federation of Teachers
California School Employees Association
California Teachers Association (sponsor)
EdVoice
Redondo Beach Unified School District
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Torrance Unified School District
United Teachers Los Angeles
OPPOSITION
None on file.