BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1452
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Date of Hearing: May 13, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Patrick O'Donnell, Chair
AB 1452
(Hadley) - As Introduced February 27, 2015
SUBJECT: Certificated employees: personnel files:
expungement: egregious misconduct
SUMMARY: Prohibits school districts, county offices of
education and charter schools from expunging from an employee's
personnel file, credible complaints of, substantiated
investigations into, or disciple for, egregious misconduct, as
defined in Education Code Section 44932.
EXISTING LAW specifies school districts, county offices of
education, and charter schools are prohibited from entering into
an agreement that would authorize expunging from a school
employee's personnel file credible complaints of, substantiated
investigations into, or discipline for, egregious misconduct
(sex offenses; controlled substance offenses; and, child abuse
and neglect offenses, as specified). This prohibition does not
preclude any agreement to remove documents containing
allegations that have been the subject of a hearing before an
arbitrator, school board, personnel commission, Commission on
Professional Competence, or administrative law judge, in which
the employee prevailed, the allegations were determined to be
false, not credible, or unsubstantiated, or a determination was
made that the discipline was not warranted. (Education Code
44939.5)
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FISCAL EFFECT: This bill is keyed non-fiscal.
COMMENTS: Existing law specifies that school districts, county
offices of education (COEs), and charter schools are prohibited
from entering an agreement that would authorize expunging
complaints of egregious misconduct from a personnel file.
Egregious misconduct is defined as sex offenses; controlled
substance offenses; and, child abuse and neglect offenses, as
specified. This bill expressly prohibits expunging complaints
of egregious misconduct from a personnel file.
AB 215 (Buchanan), Chapter 55 from 2014 created the prohibition
in existing law with the understanding that some school
districts had collective bargaining agreements that contained
language requiring the removal of all complaints from an
employee's personnel file, regardless of the nature, after a
specified amount of time. This bill closes a small loophole,
that could allow a district to purge personnel files of
egregious misconduct complaints as a district policy, without
such a collective bargaining agreement. While Legislative intent
appears to be clear in this area, prohibiting employers from
purging personnel files of egregious misconduct complaints is
consistent with Legislative intent to prohibit an employer from
entering an agreement that would require the purging of those
same documents.
According to author, this bill would prohibit a school district,
administrator or charter school from purging credible
substantiated cases of abuse or neglect where the district has
made a decision not to discipline a teacher based on an
accusation of egregious or immoral acts. This will preserve an
important record for current and future administrators to
determine if there is a pattern of behavior that suggests
children may be at risk. This will also allow prosecutors to
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build a more solid case when a teacher is accused of new acts of
egregious or immoral behavior. By the same token, the absence of
such accusations in an employee's personnel record would also be
a more meaningful fact in establishing the possible innocence of
an accused employee, if parents, administrators and courts can
rely upon such records not to have been previously expunged.
Related Legislation: AB 215 (Buchanan), Chapter 55 from 2014,
made various changes to the dismissal process for certificated
employees.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
EdVoice
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by:Chelsea Kelley / ED. / (916) 319-2087
AB 1452
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