BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1619
Page 1
Date of Hearing: March 26, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Joan Buchanan, Chair
AB 1619 (Gonzalez) - As Amended: March 18, 2014
SUBJECT : School employees: regional occupational centers or
programs.
SUMMARY : Makes changes regarding which credentialed employees
can attain permanent employee status; and, deletes sections that
differentiate employment practices for school districts with
less than 250 average daily attendance (ADA) and employees who
were in their probationary period prior to the 1983-84 fiscal
year. Specifically, this bill :
1)Deletes the requirement for a county office of education (COE)
with an ADA more than 250, to award permanent status to
employees in a teaching position requiring certification if
they are reelected for a third year; and, instead requires all
COEs employees requiring certification to receive permanent
status if they are reelected for a third year.
2)Deletes the prohibition on including service as an instructor,
conducted at regional occupational centers or programs
(ROC/Ps), toward the service required to attain permanent
employee status; and, instead requires service as an
instructor at an ROC/P to be counted toward the service
requirement to attain permanent employee status at a school
district.
3)Requires an employee of a school district of any type or
class, with an ADA of 250 or less, who is reelected to a third
year of employment in a position requiring certification, to
be classified as a permanent employee of the school district;
and, makes conforming changes.
4)Deletes employment sections that apply only to employees in
their probationary year prior to the 1983-84 fiscal year,
including:
a) The requirement that school districts must dismiss
probationary employees during the school year for cause
only.
b) The school district may suspend a probationary employee
for a specified period of time without pay as an
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alternative to dismissal.
5)Deletes the dismissal process for probationary employees of a
school district with an ADA of less than 250 students which
include the following provisions, among others:
i) The dismissal hearing shall be conducted by an
administrative law judge (ALJ).
ii) The ALJ shall make a recommendation to the school
board and the final dismissal decision shall be made by
the school board.
6)Deletes the authorization for school districts with less than
250 ADA to dismiss probationary employees during the school
year for unsatisfactory performance; and, instead authorizes
all school districts to dismiss probationary employees during
the school year for unsatisfactory performance.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Legislative Counsel, this bill
is non-fiscal. However, the Assembly Committee on Rules has
determined that there is potential fiscal effect and has
referred the bill to the Assembly Appropriations Committee upon
passage from this Committee.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Specifies that if the ADA of the schools and classes
maintained by a county superintendent of schools is 250 or
more, each person who, after being employed for two complete
consecutive school years by the superintendent in a teaching
position in those schools or classes requiring certification
and whose salary is paid from the county school service fund,
is reelected for the next succeeding school year, shall be
classified as a permanent employee (Education Code (EC)
Section 1296)
2)Specifies that service by a person as an instructor in classes
conducted at ROC/Ps shall not be included in computing the
service required as a prerequisite to attainment of, or
eligibility to, classification as a permanent employee of a
school district. (EC Section 44910)
3)Specifies that every employee of a school district of any type
or class having an ADA of 250 or more who, after having been
employed by the district for two complete consecutive school
years in a position or positions requiring certification
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qualifications, is reelected for the next succeeding school
year to a position requiring certification qualifications
shall, at the commencement of the succeeding school year be
classified as and become a permanent employee of the district.
(EC Section 44929.21)
4)Specifies the governing board of a school district of any type
or class having an average daily attendance of less than 250
pupils may classify as a permanent employee of the district
any employee who, after having been employed by the school
district for three complete consecutive school years in a
position or positions requiring certification qualifications,
is reelected for the next succeeding school year to a position
requiring certification qualifications. (EC Section 44929.23)
5)Requires governing boards of school districts to dismiss
probationary employees during the school year for cause only,
as in the case of permanent employees whose probationary
period commenced prior to the 1983-84 fiscal year or who are
employed in a school district having an average daily
attendance of less than 250 pupils. Authorizes the governing
board to suspend a probationary employee for a specified
period of time without pay as an alternative to dismissal for
employees whose probationary period commenced prior to the
1983-84 fiscal year. (EC Section 44948)
6)Specifies notwithstanding subdivision (a) of Section 44948 and
subdivision (c) of Section 44948.3, the governing board of any
school district having an average daily attendance of less
than 250 may elect to dismiss probationary employees during
the school year pursuant to the provisions of Section 44948.3.
(EC Section 44948.2)
7)Authorizes first and second year probationary employees to be
dismissed during the school year for unsatisfactory
performance, or for cause and specifies that this applies only
to probationary employees whose probationary period commenced
during the 1983-84 fiscal year or any fiscal year thereafter,
and does not apply to probationary employees in a school
district having an average daily attendance of less than 250
pupils. (EC Section 44948.3)
8)Specifies a dismissal process for probationary employees of a
school district with an ADA of less than 250 students and
whose probationary period commenced prior to the 1983-84
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fiscal year, which includes the following provisions, among
others:
a) The dismissal hearing shall be conducted by an
administrative law judge (ALJ).
b) The ALJ shall make a recommendation to the school board
and the final dismissal decision shall be made by the
school board. (EC Section 44948.5)
9)Specifies that a person employed in an administrative or
supervisory position requiring certification qualifications
upon completing a probationary period, including any time
served as a classroom teacher, in the same district, shall, in
a district having an ADA of 250 or more pupils, be classified
as and become a permanent employee as a classroom teacher. In
a district having an ADA of less than 250 pupils, he or she
may be so classified. (EC Section 44897)
10)Specifies each person employed by a county superintendent of
schools in a position requiring certification qualifications,
except employees included in the civil service system or in
any merit system, or any person who holds an office by virtue
of an election conducted under the Elections Code or the
Education Code, and whose salary is paid from the county
school service fund, has the same right with respect to leaves
of absence, sick leave, and bereavement leave as a person
employed by a school district or a community college district
in a position requiring certification qualifications. (EC
Section 1294)
11)Authorizes a county superintendent of schools to enter into
contracts of employment with persons employed by him in
positions requiring certification qualifications for periods
of not to exceed the end of the school year in which the term
for which the county superintendent of schools was elected or
appointed expires and in no event, for more than four years
and six months. (EC 1293)
COMMENTS : This bill makes four substantive changes regarding
which credentialed employees can attain permanent employee
status. The bill requires the following groups to attain
permanent employee status after completing a probationary
period:
1)Certificated employees at COEs, both below and above 250 ADA
and both teaching and non-teaching positions.
2)School district ROC/P instructors.
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3)Certificated employees at school districts, with an ADA of 250
or less.
Further, the bill makes changes to code sections that
differentiate employment practices for school districts with
less than 250 ADA and employees who were in their probationary
period prior to the 1983-84 fiscal year.
What protections does "permanent employee" status offer to these
employees ? "Permanent employee" status guarantees the specific
employees listed in the bill with due process rights if they are
dismissed. In the case of dismissal, "permanent employee"
status allows employees to request a hearing before a Commission
on Professional Competence to decide whether their dismissal was
appropriate. Further, a "permanent employee" has the right to
request a hearing during a reduction in force.
ROP Teachers : This bill requires service as an ROC/P teacher to
count toward attaining permanent employee status. With the
implementation of the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF),
ROC/Ps no longer receive categorical program funding. Instead,
funding for ROC/Ps has been rolled into the funding that is
allocated via the LCFF. However, existing law requires
districts to maintain their 2012-13 level of ROC/P funding for
two years. After the two year period, local funding for ROC/Ps
is optional. If this bill is implemented January 1, 2015,
existing ROC/P teachers would attain permanent employee status,
however, one year later, designated funding for ROC/Ps will be
folded into the LCFF funding formula. Generally, ROC/P teachers
have not be given permanent employee status due to the volatile
nature of ROC/P funding and industry changes regarding specific
courses offered through those programs. The sponsors, however,
have presented evidence that in at least one school district,
ROC/P teachers have been employed for nearly 18 years
continuously and that these teachers should attain permanent
employee status.
Neumarkel Case : The sponsors indicate that the bill was spurred
by the ruling in the case of Neumarkel v. Allard, 163 Cal. App.
3d 457 (1985), which upheld Education Code Section 1296, stating
that certificated employees, in teaching positions, at COEs with
more than 250 ADA can attain permanent employee status. The
Neumarkel case was decided in 1985 and it hasn't been overturned
or cited in any recent court cases. The sponsor indicated that
a few rural COEs have recently dismissed counselors, and that is
the impetus for the bill.
AB 1619
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County Offices and Districts with less than 250 ADA : According
to the sponsor, the California Teachers Association, there are
17 COE's with less than 250 ADA and approximately 250 school
districts with less than 250 ADA. This bill will affect those
districts and COEs by requiring that all certificated employees
attain permanent employee status after a probationary period.
Old Code Sections : This bill deletes code sections that only
apply to employees whose probationary period commenced prior to
the 1983-84 fiscal year and code sections that apply to COEs and
school districts with more or less than 250 ADA. The sponsors
indicated that the intent is to eliminate any code sections that
apply different rules to COEs and districts with more or less
than 250 ADA so that all local education agencies follow the
same requirements. At least two education code sections that
reference employees whose probationary period started before the
1983-84 fiscal year are left out of this bill and a few code
sections that apply to districts with less than 250 ADA are
similarly left out. The committee may wish to consider whether
these additional code sections should be addressed.
According to the author, "Under current law, permanent school
employees can only be terminated for just-cause or as part of a
layoff. However, some school employees in the state have been
inappropriately denied permanent status which prevents them from
going through the proper dismissal procedures. This bill will
address this problem by proposing the following changes:
1) Allow the time served of ROP instructors to be included
in calculating the prerequisite to attain permanent status.
Existing law requires that only certified teachers provide
instruction at these centers, but the law also prohibits
ROP teachers from being classified as a permanent employee
of a school district (Education Code 44910), regardless of
the amount of time they work.
2) Subject all certificated employees, regardless of the
average daily attendance of the school districts, to the
same dismissal procedures. Under existing law, small school
districts with an average daily attendance of less than 250
students utilize different criteria when determining an
employee's classification status, which has prevented
employees from receiving permanent status."
Arguments in Support : The California School Employees
Association and the California Teachers Association argue that
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AB 1619 will ensure that all employees serving in a position
requiring certification will be classified as permanent
employees following the completion of a probationary period.
Unfortunately, several classes of certificated education
employees have been inappropriately denied permanent status
based on the need to create fiscal solvency or in anticipation
that the need for services into the future was insecure; there
are currently systems in place to appropriately reduce staffing
if needed. AB 1619 will remedy this situation treating all
certificated employees with dignity, respect and
professionalism.
Arguments in Opposition : The California School Boards
Association (CSBA) opposes the bill and states, "CSBA opposes
this bill for several reasons. First, the bill attempts to even
the playing field by setting the same rules for granting
permanent teaching status regardless of your student population.
The bill reduces the flexibility of the small school districts to
address the changing needs of their student population where
school populations create unique staffing challenges?. Finally,
the change being proposed for ROP teachers is very problematic
given the recent changes in the law related to the Local Control
Funding Formula. The bill would make ROCP teachers permanent
employees even though the elimination of the state's ROP
categorical program as a part of the LCFF reforms could make
these teacher permanent even though the district would no longer
be offering the same number of these career related programs as
they had in the past. The bill would limit a district's ability
to provide the needed career technical education classes that
would be in the most demand because the permanent status of ROP
teachers will be very limiting. Typically, ROCP classes are
geared towards local job market trends that can change based on
local market needs. AB 1619 would significantly limit this
market sensitivity."
Committee Amendments : Staff recommends the following committee
amendments:
1)Specify this bill shall be implemented on July 1, 2015.
2)Clarify that all certificated employees, at school districts
and COEs with more than 250 ADA, who will attain permanent
employee status from this bill, who more than 2 years of
service will be granted permanent employee status on the date
this bill is implemented on July 1, 2015; and, that
certificated employees with less than 2 years of service on the
date this bill is implemented on July 1, 2015 must complete
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their probationary period and then be granted permanent
employee status if they are reelected for a third year of
service. Also clarify that all certificated employees, at
school districts and COEs with less than 250 ADA, who will
attain permanent employee status from this bill, who have more
than 3 years of service will be granted permanent employee
status on the date this bill is implemented on July 1, 2015;
and, that certificated employees with less than 3 years of
service on the date this bill is implemented on July 1, 2015
must complete their probationary period and then be granted
permanent employee status if they are reelected for a fourth
year of service, as applicable pursuant to 44929.23.
3)Specify that code sections that currently apply to school
districts with less than 250 ADA, related to probationary
status, the attainment of permanent employee status and
dismissal shall apply to certificated employees at COEs with
less than 250 ADA.
4)Delete the following code sections from the bill and reinstate
those code sections to read as they do in existing law: 44948,
44948.2, 44948.3, 44948.5.
5)Amend Section 44929.23 to specify that school districts and
COEs with less than 250 ADA shall grant permanent status after
a 3 year probationary period and make corresponding changes.
6)Specify that permanent status shall be granted to all
non-supervisory, nonmanagement employees who work in positions
requiring certification in COEs and school districts in
Sections 1296 and 44929.21.
Related Legislation : AB 165 (Cohn) from 2001, which was held on
the Assembly Appropriations Suspense file, would have required
COEs) serving at least 250 ADA, to grant permanent status to
non-supervisory, nonmanagement employees who work in positions
requiring certification, if the individual works two consecutive
school years and is rehired for the next (third) year.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California School Employees Association (Sponsor)
California Teachers Association (Sponsor)
Opposition
California School Boards Association
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Small School Districts Association
StudentsFirst
Analysis Prepared by : Chelsea Kelley / ED. / (916) 319-2087