BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 753
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Date of Hearing: April 22, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Jimmy Gomez, Chair
AB
753 (Medina) - As Introduced February 25, 2015
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: YesReimbursable:
Yes
SUMMARY: This bill extends permanent employee status to all
nonsupervisory, non-management employees who work in positions
requiring certification in school districts and county offices
of education (COEs) starting July 1, 2017. Specifically, this
bill:
AB 753
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1)For school districts and COEs with 250 or less average daily
attendance (ADA), permanent status is granted to an employee
that has been employed by the district or COE for three
consecutive years and is reelected for the fourth year.
2)For school districts and COEs with 250 or more ADA, permanent
status is granted to an employee that has been employed by the
district or COE for two consecutive years and is reelected for
the third year.
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown, potentially significant GF/Proposition
98 costs to school districts and COEs, starting in 2017, to the
extent permanent employees seek due process related to
dismissal. Costs associated with due process hearings or other
dismissal proceedings can range from $10,000 to over $100,000
per case, depending on the scope. 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.
COMMENTS:
1)Purpose. Existing law states that certificated employees, in
teaching positions, at COEs with more than 250 ADA can achieve
permanent status after a probationary period. This means that
certificated employees in nonteaching positions do not have
the right to attain permanent status. This policy affects
groups of certificated employees at COEs such as school
psychologists, counselors and school nurses, among others.
The California Teachers Association, is sponsoring this bill
in response to a court decision in 1985 which held that only
certificated employees in teaching positions at COEs with more
AB 753
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than 250 ADA can attain permanent employee status. The
Neumarkel v. Allard 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.
2)Background. Existing law allows for dismissal of probationary
employees for unsatisfactory performance or cause.
"Probationary employees" have statutory timelines for notice
of dismissal and the ability to appeal. "Permanent employee"
status guarantees more extensive due process rights if the
employee is 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. According to the Legislative
Analyst's Office, 100 dismissal hearings were heard in the
entire state between 1996 and 2005.
3)Opposition. The Association of California School
Administrators oppose this bill, citing concerns that
expanding the rights of permanent teachers to all certificated
employees will be costly and time prohibitive. They note that
flexibility has been allowed to address the changing needs of
student populations. Expanding the definition of who
qualifies for permanent status to all certificated employees
significantly limits this flexibility.
4)Prior legislation.
a) AB 1619 (Gonzalez) of 2014, proposed to extend permanent
status to nonsupervisory certificated employees at COEs,
both below and above 250 ADA and both teaching and
non-teaching positions; school district ROC/P instructors
and nonsupervisory certificated employees at school
districts, with an ADA of 250 or less. This bill failed
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passage in the Senate Education Committee.
b) AB 165 (Cohn) of 2001, would have required COEs with 250
or more 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.
This bill was held on the Suspense File in this committee
Analysis Prepared by:Misty Feusahrens / APPR. / (916)
319-2081