BILL NUMBER: SB 453 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Senator Huff
FEBRUARY 21, 2013
An act to amend Sections 14501, 44662, 44955, and 44956 of, to
amend and repeal Section 44660 of, and to add Sections 44660.5,
44955.1, and 44955.2 to, the Education Code, relating to school
employees.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 453, as introduced, Huff. School employees: teachers:
evaluation: termination.
(1) Existing law expresses the intent of the Legislature that
governing boards of school districts establish a uniform system of
evaluation and assessment of the performance of all certificated
personnel of a school district, including schools conducted or
maintained by county superintendents of education. Existing law
prohibits the evaluation and assessment of certificated employee
performance from including the use of publishers' norms established
by standardized tests.
This bill would instead require the governing board of a school
district to establish an evaluation and assessment system for
certificated employees that uses a multiple-measures evaluation
system with multiple research-validated approaches to measuring
effectiveness, as specified. The governing board would be required to
establish the system by the 2015-16 school year, and to fully
implement the system by the 2016-17 school year, and would require
the Superintendent of Public Instruction to institute fiscal
penalties for noncompliance. The bill would delete the provisions
prohibiting the use of publishers' norms established by standardized
tests in evaluating and assessing certificated employees. The bill
would require a compliance audit to include the verification of the
development and implementation of the evaluation system. Because the
bill would increase the duties of school districts, it would impose a
state-mandated local program.
(2) Existing law provides that, when employees are terminated
pursuant to a reduction in workforce, a school district is required
to terminate the employees in order of seniority. Existing law
further provides those employees with preferred right to
reappointment and opportunity for substitute service in order of
seniority. Existing law authorizes a school district to deviate from
the order of seniority for those purposes for specified reasons,
including compliance with constitutional requirements related to
equal protection of the laws.
This bill would provide additional reasons for which a school
district may deviate from terminating employees in order of
seniority, including authorizing school districts to terminate
employees on the basis of performance evaluations and on the basis
that the employee is assigned to a schoolsite that has been selected
by the governing board for exemption from certificated reductions in
force, based upon the needs of the educational program. The bill
would provide an exception to this authorization for an employee who
has 18 months or less from his or her date of retirement, or is on
medical leave. The bill would specify that the equal protection
exception to the general requirement that terminations and
reappointments occur in order of seniority applies to equal
protection as it relates to pupils.
(3) Existing law generally requires school districts to adhere to
certain requirements with respect to teacher and administrator
employment, and requires charter school petitions to contain certain
information relating to employment.
This bill would authorize school districts, county offices of
education, and charter schools to assign, reassign, and transfer
teachers and administrators based on effectiveness and subject matter
needs, without regard to years of service.
(4) This bill would make various nonsubstantive and clarifying
changes.
(5) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse
local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates
determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these
statutory provisions.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 14501 of the Education Code is amended to read:
14501. (a) As used in this chapter, "financial and compliance
audit" shall be consistent with the definition provided in the
"Standards for Audits of Governmental Organizations, Programs,
Activities, and Functions" promulgated by the Comptroller General of
the United States. Financial and compliance audits conducted under
this chapter shall fulfill federal single audit requirements.
(b) As used in this chapter, "compliance audit" means an audit
that ascertains and verifies whether or not funds provided through
apportionment, contract, or grant, either federal or state, have been
properly disbursed and expended as required by law or regulation or
both and includes the verification of each of the following:
(1) The reporting requirements for the sufficiency of textbooks or
instructional materials, or both, as defined in Section 60119.
(2) Teacher misassignments pursuant to Section 44258.9.
(3) The accuracy of information reported on the School
Accountability Report Card required by Section 33126. The
requirements set forth in paragraphs (1) and (2) and this paragraph
shall be added to the audit guide requirements pursuant to
subdivision (b) of Section 14502.1.
(4) The development and implementation of the teacher and
principal evaluation system required pursuant to Section 44660.5.
SEC. 2. Section 44660 of the Education Code is amended to read:
44660. (a) It is the intent of the
Legislature that governing boards establish a uniform system of
evaluation and assessment of the performance of all certificated
personnel within each school district of the state, including schools
conducted or maintained by county superintendents of education. The
system shall involve the development and adoption by each school
district of objective evaluation and assessment guidelines which may,
at the discretion of the governing board, be uniform throughout the
district or, for compelling reasons, be individually developed for
territories or schools within the district, provided that all
certificated personnel of the district shall be subject to a system
of evaluation and assessment adopted pursuant to this article.
This
(b) This article does not apply
to certificated personnel who are employed on an hourly basis in
adult education classes.
(c) This section shall become inoperative on July 1, 2015, and, as
of January 1, 2016, is repealed, unless a later enacted statute,
that becomes operative on or before January 1, 2016, deletes or
extends the dates on which it becomes inoperative and is repealed.
SEC. 3. Section 44660.5 is added to the Education Code, to read:
44660.5. (a) (1) By the 2015-16 school year, the governing board
of a school district shall establish a uniform system of evaluation
and assessment of the performance of all certificated employees
within the school district, and shall fully implement the system by
the 2016-17 school year. The system shall clearly define a rigorous,
transparent, and fair multiple-measures evaluation system for both
teachers and principals and shall involve the development and
adoption by the governing board of objective evaluation and
assessment guidelines. All certificated employees of the school
district shall be subject to a system of evaluation and assessment
adopted pursuant to this article, except that this article does not
apply to certificated employees who are employed on an hourly basis
in adult education classes.
(2) This article applies to the county superintendent of schools
and the employees of schools conducted or maintained by the county
superintendent of schools.
(b) For purposes of this section, a "multiple-measures evaluation
system" is a teacher and principal evaluation system that uses
multiple research-validated approaches to measuring effectiveness,
including the measures specified in Section 44662. A school district
evaluation system also shall include a quantitative pupil academic
achievement growth component that shall constitute at least 30
percent of the overall teacher and principal effectiveness measure.
(c) (1) The requirement to develop and implement the evaluation
system shall be subject to the annual audits, conducted pursuant to
Section 14501, commencing with the 2015-16 fiscal year.
(2) The Superintendent shall institute fiscal penalties for
noncompliance with this section. Fiscal penalties shall include, but
not be limited to, withholding 10 percent of the school district or
county office of education apportionments. This withholding shall be
returned to the school district or county office of education once
the evaluation system required by this section is implemented.
SEC. 4. Section 44662 of the Education Code is amended to read:
44662. (a) The governing board of each school district shall
establish standards of expected pupil achievement at each grade level
in each area of study.
(b) The governing board of each school district shall evaluate and
assess certificated employee performance as it reasonably relates
to:
(1) The progress of pupils toward the standards established
pursuant to subdivision (a) and, if applicable, the state adopted
academic content standards as measured by state adopted criterion
referenced assessments.
(2) The instructional techniques and strategies used by the
employee.
(3) The employee's adherence to curricular objectives.
(4) The establishment and maintenance of a suitable learning
environment, within the scope of the employee's responsibilities.
(c) The governing board of each school district shall establish
and define job responsibilities for certificated noninstructional
personnel, including, but not limited to, supervisory and
administrative personnel, whose responsibilities cannot be evaluated
appropriately under the provisions of subdivision (b) and shall
evaluate and assess the performance of those noninstructional
certificated employees as it reasonably relates to the fulfillment of
those responsibilities.
(d) Results of an employee's participation in the Peer Assistance
and Review Program for Teachers established by Article 4.5
(commencing with Section 44500) shall be made available as part of
the evaluation conducted pursuant to this section.
(e) The evaluation and assessment of certificated employee
performance pursuant to this section shall not include the use of
publishers' norms established by standardized tests.
(f) Nothing in this section shall be construed as in any way
limiting
(e) This section does not limit
the authority of the governing board of a school district
governing boards to develop and adopt additional
evaluation and assessment guidelines or criteria.
SEC. 5. Section 44955 of the Education Code is amended to read:
44955. (a) No A permanent employee
shall not be deprived of his or her position for causes
other than those specified in Sections 44907 and 44923, and Sections
44932 to 44947, inclusive, and no a
probationary employee shall not be deprived of his or her
position for cause other than as specified in Sections 44948 to
44949, inclusive.
(b) (1) Whenever in any school year the
average daily attendance in all of the schools of a district for the
first six months in which school is in session shall have
has declined below the corresponding period of
either of the previous two school years, whenever the governing board
determines that attendance in a district will decline in the
following year as a result of the termination of an interdistrict
tuition agreement as defined described
in Section 46304, whenever a particular kind of service is to be
reduced or discontinued not later than the beginning of the following
school year, or whenever the amendment of state law requires the
modification of curriculum, and when in the opinion of the governing
board of the district it shall have has
become necessary by reason of any of these conditions to decrease
the number of permanent employees in the district, the governing
board may terminate the services of not more than a corresponding
percentage of the certificated employees of the district, permanent
as well as probationary, at the close of the school year. Except as
otherwise provided by statute, the services of no
a permanent employee may shall not
be terminated under the provisions of this section while any
probationary employee, or any other employee with less seniority, is
retained to render a service which said that
the permanent employee is certificated and competent to render.
In
(2) In computing a decline in
average daily attendance for purposes of this section for a newly
formed or reorganized school district, each school of the district
shall be deemed to have been a school of the newly formed or
reorganized district for both of the two previous school years.
As
(3) As between employees who
first rendered paid service to the district on the same date, the
governing board shall determine the order of termination solely on
the basis of needs of the district and the students thereof
pupils, including distinctions based upon performance
evaluations . Upon the request of any employee whose order of
termination is so determined, the governing board shall furnish in
writing no later than five days prior to the commencement of the
hearing held in accordance with Section 44949, a statement of the
specific criteria used in determining the order of termination and
the application of the criteria in ranking each employee relative to
the other employees in the group. This requirement that the governing
board provide, on request, a written statement of reasons for
determining the order of termination shall not be interpreted to give
affected employees any legal right or interest that would not exist
without such a requirement.
(c) Notice of such termination of services
shall be given before the 15th of May 15
in the manner prescribed in Section 44949, and services of
such employees shall be terminated in the inverse
of the order in which they were employed, as determined by the board
in accordance with the provisions of Sections
44844 and 44845. In the event that a permanent or probationary
employee is not given the notices and a right to a hearing as
provided for in Section 44949, he or she shall be deemed reemployed
for the ensuing school year.
The governing board shall make assignments and reassignments in
such a manner that employees shall be retained to render any service
which their seniority and qualifications entitle them to render.
However, prior to assigning or reassigning any certificated employee
to teach a subject which he or she has not previously taught, and for
which he or she does not have a teaching credential or which is not
within the employee's major area of postsecondary study or the
equivalent thereof, the governing board shall require the employee to
pass a subject matter competency test in the appropriate subject.
(d) Notwithstanding subdivision (b), a nd except
as specified in subdivision (e), a school district may deviate
from terminating a certificated employee in order of seniority for
either any of the following reasons:
(1) The district demonstrates a specific need for personnel to
teach a specific course or course of study, or to provide services
authorized by a services credential with a specialization in either
pupil personnel services or health for a school nurse, and that the
certificated employee has special training and experience necessary
to teach that course or course of study or to provide those services,
which others with more seniority do not possess.
(2) For purposes of maintaining or achieving compliance with
constitutional requirements related to equal protection of the laws
as it applies to pupils .
(3) On the basis of performance evaluations, if pursuant to a
process whereby employees with superior evaluations are retained over
those with inferior evaluations. The governing board may exercise
its discretion in developing the process, which shall be applied
uniformly to the entire class that is subject to the reduction in
force.
(4) On the basis that the employee is assigned to a schoolsite
that has been selected by the governing board for exemption from
certificated reductions in force, based upon the needs of the
educational program.
(e) A school district shall not deviate from terminating a
certificated employee in order of seniority if the employee has 18
months or less from his or her date of retirement, or is on medical
leave.
SEC. 6. Section 44955.1 is added to the Education Code, to read:
44955.1. Notwithstanding any other law, a school district, county
office of education, or charter school may assign, reassign, and
transfer teachers and administrators based on effectiveness and
subject matter needs without regard to years of service.
SEC. 7. Section 44955.2 is added to the Education Code, to read:
44955.2. A school district that deviates from the order of
seniority for purposes of terminating a certificated employee under
any provision of this chapter shall do so on the basis of one or more
of the items specified in subdivision (d) of Section 44955 and shall
not take into consideration whether an employee has exercised any of
the rights guaranteed under Chapter 10.7 (commencing with Section
3540) of Division 4 of Title 1 of the Government Code.
SEC. 8. Section 44956 of the Education Code is amended to read:
44956. (a) Any
A permanent employee whose services have been
terminated as provided in Section 44955 shall have the following
rights:
(1)
(a) For the period of 39 months from the date of
such the termination, any employee who
in the meantime has not attained the age of 65 years shall have the
preferred right to reappointment, in the order of original employment
as determined by the board in accordance with the
provisions of Sections 44831 to 44855, inclusive, if the
number of employees is increased or the discontinued service is
reestablished, with no requirements that were not imposed upon other
employees who continued in service; provided, that no probationary or
other employee with less seniority shall be employed to render a
service which said that the employee is
certificated and competent to render. However, prior to reappointing
any employee to teach a subject which he or she has not previously
taught, and for which he or she does not have a teaching credential
or which is not within the employee's major area of postsecondary
study or the equivalent thereof, the governing board shall require
the employee to pass a subject matter competency test in the
appropriate subject.
(2)
(b) The aforesaid right to reappointment may be waived
by the employee, without prejudice, for not more than one school
year, unless the board extends this right, but such
the waiver shall not deprive the employee of his
or her right to subsequent offers of reappointment.
(3)
(c) Notwithstanding paragraph (1)
subdivision (a) , a school district may deviate from
reappointing a certificated employee in order of seniority for either
of the following reasons:
(A)
(1) The district demonstrates a specific need for
personnel to teach a specific course or course of study, or to
provide services authorized by a services credential with a
specialization in either pupil personnel services or health for a
school nurse, and that the employee has special training and
experience necessary to teach that course or course of study, or to
provide those services, which others with more seniority do not
possess.
(B)
(2) For purposes of maintaining or achieving compliance
with constitutional requirements related to equal protection of the
laws as it applies to pupils .
(4)
(d) As to any such For an
employee who is reappointed, the period of his or her
absence shall be treated as a leave of absence and shall not be
considered as a break in the continuity of his or her
service, he or she shall retain the classification and
order of employment he or she had when his or her
services were terminated, and credit for prior service under
any state or district retirement system shall not be affected by
such the termination, but the period of
his or her absence shall not count as a part of the
service required for retirement.
(5)
(e) During the period of his an
employee's preferred right to reappointment, any such
the employee shall , in the
order of original employment, shall be offered prior
opportunity for substitute service during the absence of any other
employee who has been granted a leave of absence or who is
temporarily absent from duty; provided, that his or her
services may be terminated upon the return to duty of said
the other employee and that said
the substitute service shall not affect the
retention of his or her previous classification and
rights. If, in any school year the employee serves as a substitute in
any position requiring certification for any 21
days or more within a period of 60 schooldays, the compensation the
employee receives for substitute service in that 60-day period,
including his or her first 20 days of substitute service, shall
not be not less than the amount the employee
would receive if he or she were being reappointed.
(f) Notwithstanding subdivision (e), a school district may deviate
from the order of seniority in offering the opportunity for
substitute service for either of the following reasons:
(1) The district demonstrates a specific need for personnel to
teach a specific course or course of study, or to provide services
authorized by a services credential with a specialization in either
pupil personnel services or health for a school nurse, and the
employee has special training and experience, and has demonstrated
the competency necessary to teach in a specified grade level or
course of study, or to provide those services, that others with more
seniority do not possess or are not able to provide.
(2) For purposes of maintaining or achieving compliance with
constitutional requirements related to equal protection of the laws
as it applies to pupils.
(6)
(g) (1) During the period of the
employee's preferred right to reappointment, the governing board of
the district, if it is also the governing board of one or more other
districts, may assign him the employee
to service , which that he or she
is certificated and competent to render, in said
one of the other district or districts;
provided, that the districts. The compensation
he the employee receives
therefor may , in the discretion of the
governing board , may be the same as he
the employee would have received had he or she
been serving in the district from which his
the employee's services were terminated, that his
terminated. The employee's service in the
said other district or districts shall be counted
toward the period required for both state and local retirement
, as defined by Section 22102, as though rendered
in the district from which his the employee's
services were terminated, and that no permanent
terminated. The employee in said
shall not displace any other permanent employee in the
other district or districts shall be displaced by him
.
It
(2) It is the intent of this
subsection subdivision that the
employees of a school district, the governing board of which is also
the governing board of one or more other school districts, shall not
be at a disadvantage as compared with employees of a unified school
district.
(7)
(h) At any time prior to the completion of one year
after his the employee's return to
service, he the employee may continue or
make up, with interest, his or her own contributions to
any state or district retirement system , for the
period of his or her absence, but it shall not be
obligatory on the state or district to match such
the contributions.
(8) Should be become
(i) If the employee becomes
disabled or reach reaches retirement
age at any time before his or her return to service,
he the employee shall receive, in any
state or district retirement system of which he
the employee was a member, all benefits to which he
or she would have been entitled had such event
if the disability or retirement occurred at the
time of his or her termination of service, plus any
benefits he the employee may have
qualified for thereafter, as though still employed.
SEC. 9. If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this
act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local
agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant
to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of
the Government Code.