BILL NUMBER: SB 381 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Senator Huff
FEBRUARY 24, 2015
An act to amend Section 44955 of the Education Code, relating to
school employees.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 381, as introduced, Huff. School employees: reduction in
workforce: deviation from order of seniority.
Under existing law, when school employees are terminated pursuant
to a reduction in workforce, a school district is required to
terminate the employees in order of seniority. Existing law
authorizes a school district to deviate from the order of seniority
for those purposes for specified reasons, including the school
district demonstrating a specified need for personnel to teach a
specific course or course of study and the certificated employee
having special training and experience necessary to teach that course
or course of study, which others with more seniority do not possess.
This bill would authorize that the course or course of study, that
may allow a school district to deviate from terminating school
employees in order of seniority, include career technical education
and career pathway programs, and would further authorize that a
school district may deviate from the order of seniority to comply
with the school district's local control and accountability plan, as
specified.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. 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) Whenever (1) If
in any a school year the average
daily attendance in all of the schools of a school
district for the first six months in which
that school is in session shall have declined below the
corresponding period of either of the previous two school years,
whenever if the governing board of
a school district determines that attendance in a
the school 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 if a
particular kind of service is to be reduced or discontinued not later
than the beginning of the following school year, or
whenever if the amendment of state law requires
the modification of curriculum, and when in the opinion of
if the governing board of the school
district determines it shall have become
necessary by reason of any of these conditions to decrease
the number of permanent employees in the school district,
the governing board of the school district may terminate
the services of not more than a corresponding percentage of the
certificated employees of the school 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 a 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
subdivision for a newly formed or reorganized
school district, each school of the school district shall
be deemed to have been a school of the newly formed or reorganized
school district for both of the two previous school years.
As
(3) As between employees who
first rendered paid service to the school district on the
same date, the governing board of the school district
shall determine the order of termination solely on the basis of needs
of the school district and the students thereof.
pupils of the school district. Upon the request
of any an employee whose order of
termination is so determined, the governing board of the school
district shall furnish in writing
writing, no later than five days prior to
before 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 The requirement that
the governing board of the school district 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
the requirement.
(c) (1) Notice of such
the termination of services shall be given before
the 15th of May in the manner prescribed in May 15
pursuant to Section 44949, and the services of
such those employees shall be
terminated in the inverse of the order in which they were employed,
as determined by the governing board of the school
district in accordance with the provisions of
Sections 44844 and 44845. In the event that
If 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
(2) The governing board of
the school district 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
before assigning or reassigning any
a certificated employee to teach a subject
which that he or she has not previously
taught, and for which he or she does not have a teaching credential
or which that is not within the
employee's major area of postsecondary study or the equivalent
thereof, the governing board of the school district shall
require the employee to pass a subject matter competency test in the
appropriate subject.
(d) Notwithstanding subdivision (b), a school district may deviate
from terminating a certificated employee in order of seniority for
either of the following reasons:
(1) The school district demonstrates a specific need
for personnel to teach a specific course or course of study,
including, but not limited to, career technical education or career
pathway programs, 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 that 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.
(3) For purposes of maintaining or achieving compliance with the
school district's local control and accountability plan.