BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1225|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 1225
Author: Mendoza (D)
Amended: 5/31/16
Vote: 21
SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE: 7-2, 4/13/16
AYES: Liu, Block, Hancock, Leyva, Mendoza, Monning, Pan
NOES: Huff, Vidak
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 5-2, 5/27/16
AYES: Lara, Beall, Hill, McGuire, Mendoza
NOES: Bates, Nielsen
SUBJECT: Teachers: Teacher Bill of Rights Act
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This bill requires the principal of each school to post
a "teacher bill of rights" with bulleted notifications regarding
teachers, as specified, in a common area of the school's
administrative offices.
ANALYSIS: Existing law specifies numerous provisions regarding
teachers employed by school districts, including the following:
1)Requirements 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)Provisions that allow criteria for effective school principal
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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)
3)Provisions 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)
This bill:
1)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.
2)Specifies that "teacher" means a certificated employee of a
school district.
3)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.
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4)Requires that the first line of the notice include only the
words, "Every California teacher has the right to the
following."
5)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 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:
"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
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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:
"Teachers shall play integral role in the development and
modification 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:
"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:
"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:
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"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:
"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 notification below:
"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:
"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."
6)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.
Comments
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
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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 ensure California's teachers are provided a
thriving environment to deliver the optimal educational learning
experience to our students."
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, it is unclear why this measure is
necessary especially since it is likely to impose a
state-reimbursable mandate.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: Yes
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
Mandate costs: Unknown, potentially significant reimbursable
state mandate costs to the extent the Commission on State
Mandates determined this bill to impose a higher level of
service upon school districts. Costs for each school to
create and post the notice in a common area of the school's
administrative offices could reach the mid hundreds of
thousands. Ongoing costs to maintain compliance would be less
as long as laws referenced in the notice do not change. To
the extent these costs are determined to be reimbursable, it
could create pressure to increase the K-12 mandate block
grant. (Proposition 98)
Cost pressures: Unknown, potentially significant cost
pressures to provide funding for new rights that could be
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construed to be established by this bill for the parts of the
notice that conflict with existing law.
SUPPORT: (Verified5/27/16)
California Teachers Association
OPPOSITION: (Verified5/27/16)
California Association of School Business Officials
Prepared by:Lenin DelCastillo / ED. / (916) 651-4105
5/31/16 20:45:34
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