BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2219
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 21, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Julia Brownley, Chair
AB 2219 (Fuentes) - As Amended: April 5, 2010
SUBJECT : School employees.
SUMMARY : Requires the state or the governing board to pay for
the expenses of a hearing or administrative law judge, if the
Commission on Professional Competences (CPC) determines that a
school employee should be dismissed or suspended.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Specifies that if the CPC determines that the employee should
be dismissed or suspended, either the state or the governing
board shall pay the expenses of the hearing, including the
cost of the administrative law judge.
2)Deletes the requirement that the employee, having paid a
portion of the expenses of the hearing, including the cost of
the administrative law judge, shall be entitled to
reimbursement from the governing board for the expenses, or
the governing board, having paid its portion and the
employee's portion of the expenses of the hearing, including
the cost of the administrative law judge, shall be entitled to
reimbursement from the employee for that portion of the
expenses.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Specifies that if the CPC determines that the employee should
be dismissed or suspended, the governing board and the
employee shall share equally the expenses of the hearing,
including the cost of the administrative law judge.
(Education code 44944)
2)Specifies that either the employee, having paid a portion of
the expenses of the hearing, including the cost of the
administrative law judge, shall be entitled to reimbursement
from the governing board for the expenses, or the governing
board, having paid its portion and the employee's portion of
the expenses of the hearing, including the cost of the
administrative law judge, shall be entitled to reimbursement
from the employee for that portion of the expenses.
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(Education code 44944)
3)Requires the state to pay any costs incurred if service on a
CPC occurs during summer recess or vacation periods, the
reasonable expenses related to travel, meals, lodging, and the
cost of the substitute. (Education code 44944)
4)Specifies that if the CPC determines that the employee should
not be dismissed or suspended, the governing board shall pay
the expenses of the hearing, including the cost of the
administrative law judge. (Education code 44944)
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : Background on Commission on Professional Competence .
When a school district governing board dismisses or suspends a
permanent teacher, the teacher may request a hearing. Hearings
to determine whether permanent teachers should be dismissed or
suspended are held before the CPC. The CPC is a three-member
administrative body consisting of one credentialed employee
chosen by the school board, a second credentialed employee
chosen by the teacher facing dismissal or suspension, and an
administrative law judge of the Office of Administrative
Hearings who is the chairperson and a voting member of the CPC.
The administrative law judge is responsible for assuring that
the legal rights of the parties are protected at the hearing.
The CPC's decision is deemed to be the final decision of the
district's governing board. Existing law requires the costs
associated with a CPC to be shared by the school district and
the teacher, when the CPC determines that the teacher should be
dismissed or suspended. This bill requires either the state or
the school district to pay the costs associated with a CPC if
the commission determines that the employee should be dismissed
or suspended.
California Supreme Court Decision . In 1999, the California
Supreme Court found that "Education Code section 44944,
subdivision (e), provides that whenever a teacher exercises his
or her constitutional right to request a hearing regarding a
threatened suspension or dismissal, but ultimately does not
prevail at the hearing, the teacher is required to pay to the
state one-half the cost of the administrative law judge. This
cost is imposed in every case in which the teacher ultimately is
suspended or dismissed, even if the teacher reasonably and in
good faith has challenged the district's disciplinary action,
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and even if the teacher has prevailed on some of the district's
charges. A teacher also is liable for this cost where the
hearing results in a decision that the teacher should not be
suspended or dismissed but where the favorable decision at the
administrative hearing ultimately is reversed on judicial
review.
We agree with the trial court and Court of Appeal that this cost
provision is unconstitutional. The imposition upon such a
teacher of the open-ended cost of the adjudicator conflicts with
the centuries-old common law tradition that the salaries of
judges are to be borne by the state, and not by the litigants.
By its terms, the cost provision at issue in the present case -
which is not limited to frivolous hearing requests but applies
whenever the teacher ultimately is suspended or dismissed,
without regard to the reasonableness of the teacher's position -
advances no legitimate governmental interest. Furthermore, the
state interest that is claimed to be advanced by this cost
provision does not justify the risk of error posed by the
provision, because substitute procedures limiting the imposition
of costs to teachers engaging in frivolous tactics would
conserve public resources while safeguarding the substantial
liberty and property interests at stake in these proceedings."
Existing Practice . According to Los Angeles Unified School
District (LAUSD), the sponsor of the bill, since the 1999
California Supreme Court decision, the district has been billed
for 100% of the costs associated with the CPC when the
commission determines that the employee should be dismissed or
suspended and the district is unable to seek reimbursement from
the teacher as specified in existing law. This bill seeks to
clarify existing law to reflect the court's decision and require
that either the state pay or the district pay for the costs
associated with the CPC when the commission determines that the
employee should be dismissed or suspended.
Historical Costs of CPCs . According to LAUSD, 356 CPC's have
been utilized to review teacher suspension and dismissal cases
state-wide between 1990 and 2010. This breaks down to 225 cases
from 1990-2000 and 131 cases from 2000-2010. This equates to
approximately 18 CPC's per year state-wide. The total costs
associated with a CPC can range from $15,000 to $22,000 per
case.
Committee Amendments : The bill specifies that either the state
AB 2219
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or the district pay the CPC costs. This language is unclear,
and does not plainly determine which agency shall pay the
associated costs. Staff recommends, to create consistency with
existing law, the bill be amended to specify that the state and
the district share equally the cost of the CPC when the
commission determines that the employee should be dismissed or
suspended.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
None on file.
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Chelsea Kelley / ED. / (916) 319-2087