BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Carol Liu, Chair
2013-2014 Regular Session
BILL NO: SB 546
AUTHOR: Wright
INTRODUCED: February 22, 2013
FISCAL COMM: No HEARING DATE: May 8, 2013
URGENCY: No CONSULTANT:Lenin Del Castillo
SUBJECT : Education Employment Notices.
SUMMARY
This bill renames the documents that are required during
layoff proceedings for school district employees.
BACKGROUND
Existing law requires school districts to provide preliminary
notification that his or her services will not be required
for the ensuing year no later than March 15th and final
notification for termination of his or her services by May
15th. The "reductions in force" process begins when a school
district issues an "accusation" to an employee, also known as
a pink slip. If the employee wants to challenge the layoff
notice, the employee must file a "notice of defense."
(Education Code § 44949 and Chapter 5 of Title 2 of Division
3 of the Government Code (commencing with § 11500))
Existing law allows employees that receive a preliminary
layoff notice to request a hearing to determine if there is
cause for not reemploying him or her for the ensuing year.
The hearing shall be conducted by an administrative law judge
who shall prepare a proposed decision, containing findings of
fact and a determination as to whether the charges sustained
by the evidence are related to the welfare of the schools and
students. Copies of the proposed decision, which is not
binding on the governing board, shall be submitted to the
governing board and to the employee on or before May 7th.
ANALYSIS
This bill:
1) Changes the names of the following documents that are
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required during employee layoff proceedings:
a "Notice of defense" to "notice of
participation."
b) "Accusation" to "District Statement of
Reduction in Force."
1) Provides that in a hearing involving a reduction in
force, a "District Statement of Reduction in Force"
shall have the same meaning as an "accusation" and
specifies that if conflicts exist as a result of the
characterization of an "accusation" as an "District
Statement of Reduction in Force," all provisions of the
Education Code shall prevail over conflicting
provisions, as specified. The respondent's responsive
pleading shall be entitled "Notice of Participation in
Reduction in Force Hearing."
STAFF COMMENTS
1) Need for the bill . According to the author's office,
over the past several years school districts have
experienced budget cuts and as a result, have had to
make reductions in the teacher workforce. The forms
currently required for school districts during layoff
proceedings have titles that may be inappropriate for
certificated employees who are losing their jobs due to
budget cuts or lack of school funding. According to the
author's office, employees that receive their pink slips
or "accusations" may believe they are losing their jobs
because they have committed some type of offense. SB
546 would re-label these documents with more appropriate
titles and replace "notice of defense" with "notice of
participation" and "accusation" with "district statement
of reduction in force."
2) Related legislation .
SB 559 (Huff) makes various changes to the statutes
governing staffing notification deadlines pertaining to
layoffs for certificated employees. SB 559 is pending
before this Committee.
SUPPORT
Los Angeles Unified School District (sponsor)
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California Teachers Association
OPPOSITION
None on file.