BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Senator Carol Liu, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: SB 1225
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|Author: |Mendoza |
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|Version: |April 6, 2016 Hearing |
| |Date: April 13, 2016 |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes |
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|Consultant:|Lenin Del Castillo |
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Subject: Teachers: Teacher Bill of Rights Act
SUMMARY
This bill requires the principal of each school to post a
"teacher bill of rights" notice that describes certain teacher
rights and protections, as specified, in a common area of the
school's administrative offices and in each classroom.
BACKGROUND
Existing law specifies numerous rights and protections for
teachers employed by school districts, including the following:
1) Requirement for the State Board of Education, at the
request of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, to
adopt policies directed toward creating a school
environment in grades K-12 that is free from discriminatory
attitudes and practices and acts of hate violence.
(Education Code § 233)
2) Provision that allows criteria for effective school
principal evaluations to be based upon the California
Professional Standards for Educational Leaders, which
identifies a school administrator as being an educational
leader who promotes the success of all pupils through
leadership that fosters specified criteria, including a
shared vision, effective teaching and learning, and
management and safety. (Education Code § 44671)
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3) Provision that allows the governing board of a school
district to include relevant technology-based materials
when adopting instructional materials.
(Education Code § 60052)
4) Provisions regarding collective bargaining, as specified.
(Chapter 10.7 of Division 4 of Title 1 of the Government
Code)
5) Provisions regarding discipline and due process.
(Chapter 4 of Part 25 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the
Education Code)
ANALYSIS
This bill:
6) Provides the following findings and declarations of the
Legislature:
a) The rights and protections provided to
teachers under state law constitute a matter of
statewide concern.
b) Effective teaching depends upon the
maintenance of stable employer-employee relations and
stable relations among teachers, colleagues, and
pupils.
c) In order to assure that stable
relations are continued throughout the state and to
further ensure that effective services are provided to
all pupils throughout the state, it is necessary that
this chapter apply to all teachers, wherever situated,
within the state.
7) Specifies that "teacher" means a certificated employee of a
school district.
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8) Requires the principal of each school to ensure that a
conspicuous notice, as specified, that is accessible to all
teachers is posted in a common area of the administrative
offices and in each classroom.
9) Requires that the first line of the notice include only the
words, "Every California teacher has the right to the
following."
10) Requires that under the first line, the notice read as
follows:
a) "A safe and healthy school
environment", with the following bulleted
notifications below:
i) "A school environment that
facilitates a constructive working relationship
between teachers and administrators, as described
in Section 44681 of the Education Code.
ii) A school environment that is free from
discriminatory attitudes and practices and acts
of hate violence, as described in Section 233 of
the Education Code.
iii) A school environment that promotes
overall cleanliness on school grounds,
buildings, common areas, and individual rooms,
as described in Section 17002 of the Education
Code.
iv) No parent, guardian, nor other person
shall disrupt classwork or extracurricular
activities where a school employee is required to
be in the course of his or her duties, as
prohibited pursuant to Section 44811 of the
Education Code.
v) If a teacher's rights are
not being met, a teacher may safely disclose this
information to a government or law enforcement
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agency without fear of repercussion, as provided
for pursuant to Section 1102.5 of the Labor
Code."
b) "A principal as a master teacher to
help lead and prepare teachers", with the following
bulleted notification below:
i) "A principal who provides
leadership that fosters effective teaching and
learning and also advocates for practices to
improve instructional strategies, as described in
Section 44671 of the Education Code."
c) "Have access to basic school supplies,
a sufficient number of books, and technology", with
the following bulleted notifications below:
i) "The governing board of a
school district shall provide for the payment of
the actual and necessary expenses, including
traveling expenses, of any employee of the school
district incurred in the course of performing
services for the school district, as required
pursuant to Section 44032 of the Education Code.
ii) A sufficient number of textbooks or
instructional materials shall be provided within
two months of the beginning of the year, as
required pursuant to Section 60119 of the
Education Code.
iii) The governing board of a school
district may include relevant technology-based
materials when adopting instructional materials,
as authorized pursuant to Section 60052 of the
Education Code."
d) "Have the ability to provide input on
curriculum", with the following bulleted notification
below:
i) "Teachers shall play
integral role in the development and modification
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of academic content standards, as specified for
in Sections 60605.4, 60605.8, and 60605.11 of the
Education Code."
e) "Freedom to teach what is best for
pupils, including the use of realia", with the
following bulleted notification below:
i) "The governing board of a
school district shall allow for substantial
teacher involvement during the selection of
instructional materials, as required pursuant to
Section 60002 of the Education Code."
f) "Adequate class sizes that allow
teachers time to focus on every pupil", with the
following bulleted notification below:
i) "Each school district shall
ensure that it is meeting its class size
requirements at each schoolsite, as specified in
Section 42238.02 of the Education Code."
g) "Competitive salaries and benefits",
with the following bulleted notification below:
i) "Teachers have the right to
collectively bargain, as provided for in Chapter
10.7 (commencing with Section 3540) of Division 4
of Title 1 of the Government Code."
h) "Access to quality professional
development opportunities", which shall include the
following bulleted notification below:
i) "Teachers shall be made
aware of quality professional development
opportunities, as described in Article 3.1
(commencing with Section 44470) of Chapter 3 of
Part 25 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Education
Code."
i) "Evaluations that are fair, balanced,
and accurate", which shall include the following
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notification below:
i) "In the development and
adoption of guidelines and procedures for teacher
evaluations, the governing board of the school
district shall avail itself of the advice of the
certificated instructional personnel in the
school district's organization of certificated
personnel, as required by Section 44661.5 of the
Education Code."
j) "Strict adherence to due process when
discipline is sought by the principal or school
district", which shall include the following bulleted
notification below:
i) "Teachers shall be given
due process when being disciplined by the
principal or school districts, as required
pursuant to Article 3 (commencing with Section
44930) of Chapter 4 of part 25 of Division 3 of
Title 2 of the Education Code."
11) Provides that the bill's provisions are declaratory of
existing law and that nothing shall be construed to
establish any right not otherwise provided for in state or
federal law.
STAFF COMMENTS
1) Need for the bill. According to the author's office, "in
California, there are over 300,000 teachers who are at the
forefront of preparing our children for the future.
However, in the last decade, there has been a 70 percent
drop in the number of people preparing to become California
teachers. Last year, 22,000 new credentialed teachers were
needed, but only 15,000 were acquired. According to the
California Teachers Association, another issue adding to
the teacher shortage is that nearly 1 in 3 teachers leave
the profession within seven years, 13 percent of teachers
leave the profession by the end of their second year, and
every year, 10 percent of teachers in high-poverty schools
transfer to other schools. SB 1225 addresses the teacher
shortage crisis by establishing a Teacher Bill of Rights to
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ensure California's teachers are provided a thriving
environment to deliver the optimal educational learning
experience to our students."
2) Mandated costs. The bill's requirement for the principal
of each school to ensure that the notice is posted in a
common area of the administrative offices and in each
classroom would impose a higher level of service on school
districts and likely result in state-reimbursable mandated
costs.
3) Is the bill necessary? While a "teacher bill of rights"
does not currently exist, the notice that this bill
proposes merely cross-references sections of law that
already exist in statute. To the extent that the purpose
of the notice is to serve as a reminder of the relevant
statutory provisions for school teachers and
administrators, the Committee may wish to consider whether
this is necessary, especially since it would likely result
in a state-reimbursable mandate.
4) Learning Policy Institute Report. The Learning Policy
Institute (LPI) recently released a report, "Addressing
California's Emerging Teacher Shortage: An Analysis of
Sources and Solutions." In this report, the LPI included
the following summary: "After many years of teacher
layoffs in California, school districts around the state
are hiring again. With the influx of new K-12 funding,
districts are looking to lower student-teacher ratios and
reinstate classes and programs that were reduced or
eliminated during the Great Recession. However, mounting
evidence indicates that teacher supply has not kept pace
with the increased demand." The report included the
following findings:
a) Enrollment in educator preparation programs has
dropped by more than 70 percent over the last decade.
b) In 2014-15, provisional and short-term permits
nearly tripled from the number issued two years
earlier, growing from about 850 to more than 2,400.
c) The number of teachers hired on substandard
permits and credentials nearly doubled in the last two
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years, to more than 7,700 comprising a third of all
the new credentials issued in 2014-15.
d) Estimated teacher hires for the 2015-16 school
year increased by 25 percent from the previous year
while enrollment in the University of California and
the California State University teacher education
programs increased by only about 3.8 percent.
SUPPORT
None received.
OPPOSITION
None received.
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