BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 1225
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Date of Hearing: August 3, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Lorena Gonzalez, Chair
SB 1225
(Mendoza) - As Amended May 31, 2016
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: YesReimbursable:
Yes
SUMMARY:
This bill creates the Teachers Bill of Rights Act and requires
the principal of each school to ensure a conspicuous notice of
specified teacher rights is posted in a common area of
administrative offices. Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires the first line of the notice to only include the
words "Every California teacher has the right to the
following".
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2)Requires specific wording, and placement of wording, for the
notice, for example 10 bulleted categories that address the
following: health and safety requirements, overall teaching
environment, the principal as the master teacher, access to
basic supplies, input on curriculum, adequate class sizes,
collective bargaining rights, competitive salary and benefits,
access to quality professional development, fair evaluations,
and due process rights.
3)Specifies the rights delineated in the bill are declaratory of
existing law.
FISCAL EFFECT:
1)Unknown one-time state-mandated costs, likely in the hundreds
of thousands of dollars, for each school to produce and post
the notice in administrative areas. There are approximately
12,000 schools statewide that would need to produce and post
the notice. Assuming a cost of $50 per site, statewide costs
would be $600,000. Additional costs could be incurred in the
out-years to the extent the notice needs to be updated.
2)Unknown, potentially significant, state cost pressure to the
extent the rights provided in the notice are not declaratory
of existing law and require districts to provide additional
services and benefits.
COMMENTS:
1)Purpose. According to the author's office, there is a
Firefighters Procedural Bill of Rights and a Peace Officers
Procedural Bill of Rights in the Government Code. The author
is proposing to establish a Teachers Bill of Rights to address
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recruitment and retention of teachers and make it possible for
teachers to perform their duties comfortably.
2)Opposition. The California Association of School Business
Officials (CASBO) is opposed to this bill unless amended.
CASBO is concerned that the tone of the bill makes the
assumption that school districts and principals do not have
the best interest of their staff in mind. This language is
potentially harmful, failing to recognize the significant
efforts underway as school districts rebuild services and
programs that were affected by the Great Recession.
The bill also assumes that a school site controls specific
rights that are actually collectively bargained between the
school district and the representing bargaining units. CASBO
notes there are several rights listed in the bill that are
linked to adequate funding for instructional materials,
professional development, compensation, and class size
reduction. School sites do not control the level of funding
that will be appropriated to their site, as the public
education finance system is based largely on state funding
appropriated through Proposition 98 and distributed on a new
funding formula named the Local Control Funding Formula.
School districts and their local governing school boards are
held accountable for the prioritization of funding to meet
8-statewide priorities and their own locally established
goals. CASBO understands the intent of the author but believes
more time is needed to develop language that will foster a
collaborative and empowered educational system.
Analysis Prepared by:Misty Feusahrens / APPR. / (916)
319-2081
SB 1225
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