BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Senator Carol Liu, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: AB 1339
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|Author: |Santiago |
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|Version: |April 6, 2015 Hearing |
| |Date: July 15, 2015 |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |No |
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|Consultant: |Lenin Del Castillo |
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Subject: School district employees: merit system:
appointments
SUMMARY
This bill extends the exemption from the requirement that a
merit system school district fill classified employee vacancies
with applicants from the first three ranks on an eligibility
list until December 31, 2020.
BACKGROUND
Existing law:
1)Allows an appointment to be made from other than the first
three ranks of eligible applicants on the eligibility list if
one or more of the following are required for successful job
performance of a position to be filled:
a) The ability to speak, read, or write a language in
addition to English.
b) A valid driver's license.
c) Specialized licenses, certifications, knowledge, or
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ability, as determined by the school district personnel
commission that cannot reasonably be acquired during the
probationary period.
d) A specific gender, if it is a bona fide occupational
qualification.
1)Requires that the recruitment bulletin announcing the
examination indicate the special requirements that may be
necessary for filling one or more of the positions in the
classification.
2)Requires that, if a position is to be filled using the
authority of this section, the appointment be made from among
the highest three ranks of eligible candidates on the
appropriate eligibility list who meet the special requirements
of the position and who are ready and willing to accept the
position.
3)Requires that, if there are insufficient applicants who meet
the special requirements, an employee who meets the special
requirements may receive provisional appointments that may
accumulate to a total of 90 working days. This provision
applies only to the following classifications:
a) Principal financial analyst.
b) Principal administrative analyst.
c) Senior administrative analyst.
d) Senior administrative assistant.
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e) Senior financial analyst.
f) Information technology electronic communications
technician.
g) Information technology solution technician.
h) Senior human resource specialist.
i) Any classifications that have been designated as
management or confidential.
1)Requires a school district that makes an appointment pursuant
to this section to study the effectiveness of the selection
method, the vacancy rates for each class, and the length of
time to hire for each class, and submit a report on its
findings to any affected labor union.
2)Provides that these provisions shall become inoperative on
December 31, 2015.
ANALYSIS
This bill applies only to the Los Angeles Unified School
District (LAUSD). Specifically, this bill:
1)Extends until December 31, 2020, the provisions in current law
that authorize a school district with a student population of
over 400,000 to fill a classified vacancy with an applicant
who is not among the first three ranks of an eligibility list
if the position requires a person of a specific gender or
requires specialized licenses, certifications, knowledge, or
ability which cannot reasonably be acquired during the
probationary period.
2)Removes "information technology solution technician" from the
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list of classifications subject to this exemption.
STAFF COMMENTS
1)Need for the bill. According to the author's office, by
providing flexibility in the appointments process, this bill
will help the LAUSD simplify and expedite the hiring process
and ensure vacant positions are filled with qualified
personnel without affecting the merit system.
2)Merit systems. Current law establishes a system of classified
personnel management, known as the merit system, which has
been adopted by nearly 100 school districts in California,
including the LAUSD which adopted the merit system in 1936.
In a merit system district, a personnel commission establishes
guidelines that the district governing board must follow in
the hiring, retention, and promotion of classified employees.
The commission is comprised of one commissioner selected by
the exclusive representative of the classified employees, one
commissioner selected by the school district, and a third
commissioner selected by the other two.
Vacancies in the classified service are filled from applicants
on eligibility lists, except for vacancies filled by transfer,
demotion, reinstatement, and reemployment in accordance with
rules of the commission. An applicant's place on an
eligibility list is determined by his or her performance on a
competitive examination. All eligible applicants with the
same score are considered as having the same rank, and
positions generally are filled by applicants from the first
three ranks on an eligibility list.
3)History of the exemption. Current law, until January 1, 2015,
authorizes the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) to
fill vacancies in specified job classifications from ranks
other than the top three ranks of an employment list if
specialized licenses, certifications, knowledge, ability or a
specific gender is required. The unique selection process
established for LAUSD was originally authorized by AB 424
(Richman, Chapter 881, Statutes of 2003). The original
exemption expired on January 1, 2006, and was extended to
January 1, 2007, by AB 1772 (Assembly Public Employees
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Retirement and Social Security Committee, Chapter 547,
Statutes of 2005). AB 5480 (Smyth, Chapter 528, Statutes of
2007) extended the expiration date again to January 1, 2012,
and limited its application to 16 specified positions. AB
2125 (Hall, Chapter 56, Statutes of 2012) extended the
exemption from the requirement to appoint from the first three
ranks to December 31, 2015 and applied it to nine positions.
AB 415 (Karnette, Chapter 186, Statutes of 2008) added "any
classifications that have been designated as management" to
the listed classifications. AB 1293 (Hall, Chapter 145,
Statutes of 2009) added nine additional positions to which the
exemption applied.
SUPPORT
Los Angeles Unified School District (sponsor)
OPPOSITION
None received.
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