BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 691|
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 691
Author: Steinberg (D)
Amended: 8/30/10
Vote: 21
SENATE VOTES OF SB 1295 (STEINBERG) :
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE : 4-0, 5/4/10
AYES: Corbett, Harman, Hancock, Leno
NO VOTE RECORDED: Walters
SENATE FLOOR: 31-0, 5/13/10
AYES: Aanestad, Alquist, Ashburn, Cedillo, Cogdill,
Correa, Denham, DeSaulnier, Ducheny, Dutton, Florez,
Hancock, Harman, Hollingsworth, Huff, Kehoe, Leno,
Liu, Lowenthal, Negrete McLeod, Padilla, Pavley,
Price, Romero, Runner, Simitian, Steinberg,
Strickland, Walters, Wolk, Yee
NO VOTE RECORDED: Calderon, Corbett, Cox, Oropeza,
Wiggins, Wright, Wyland, Vacancy, Vacancy
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : Not available
SUBJECT : Education employment
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill requires school districts to ensure
the proportion of classroom teachers at a school ranked in
deciles one to three of the Academic Performance Index
CONTINUED
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(API) receiving layoff notices or ultimately laid off due
to a reduction in force (RIF) is not greater than the
proportion of classroom teachers receiving layoff notices
or laid off districtwide, as specified.
Assembly Amendments delete provisions of the bill dealing
with reporting crimes and insert new language relating to
education employment. This bill is now identical to the
August 2, 1010 version of SB 1285 (Steinberg), which is in
the Assembly Rules Committee.
ANALYSIS :
Existing Law
1.Requires that, when a reduction in the number of
certificated employees employed by a school district is
authorized for specified reasons, the layoffs occur in
order of employee seniority.
2.Provides certain exceptions to the above requirement,
including an exception for purposes of maintaining or
achieving compliance with constitutional requirements
related to equal protection of the laws.
3.Requires, for 39 months from the date of termination,
that any employee who in the meantime has not attained 65
years of age have the preferred right to reappointment,
in the order of original employment, as specified.
4.Provides certain exceptions to the above requirement,
including an exception for purposes of maintaining or
achieving compliance with constitutional requirements
relate to equal protection of the laws.
5.Requires, when a reduction in the number of certificated
employees employed by a school district is authorized for
specified reasons, the notice of the termination of the
services of an employee in the subsequent school year be
given by the governing board to the employee, in a
prescribed manner, prior to March 15 and before an
employee is given the described notice, to give written
notice to the governing board and the employee that it
has been recommended that the notice be given to the
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employee, and stating the reason therefore.
6.Authorizes an employee who is given notice to request a
hearing to determine if there is cause for not
reemploying him or her for the ensuing year.
7.Requires that an administrative law judge conduct the
hearing, and issue a proposed decision to the governing
board containing certain findings of fact and a
determination as to the sufficiency of cause for the
termination.
This bill requires school districts to ensure the
proportion of classroom teachers at a school ranked in
deciles one to three of the Academic Performance Index
(API) receiving layoff notices or ultimately laid off due
to a reduction in force (RIF) is not greater than the
proportion of classroom teachers receiving layoff notices
or laid off district wide, as specified. Specifically,
this bill:
1.Defines "classroom teacher" as certificated employees (a)
whose primary responsibility is to provide classroom
instruction or (b) who provide instructional support to
employees who provide classroom instruction, including
resource teachers, mentor teachers, content specialists,
instructional coaches, and special education teachers, as
specified.
2.Requires the decision proposed by the administrative law
judge (ALJ), as part of the March 15 certificated
employee layoff notice hearing, to include a
determination of whether the number of notices issued at
the employee's schoolsite ranked in deciles one to three
of the API exceed the district average as required under
the RIF process.
3.Requires the statement of specific criteria used to
determine seniority as part of the RIF process to include
data supporting the determination of layoff notices
issued for employees assigned to schools ranked in
deciles one to three of the API.
4.Specifies that a school district may deviate from using
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seniority to determine layoffs for the purposes of
maintaining or achieving compliance with constitutional
requirements related to equal protection laws, as it
applies to pupils and certificated employees.
Comments
According to the Superintendent of Public Instruction, 174
school districts and county offices of education (COEs),
17% of the 1,000 districts and COES in California, have
been identified as in danger of meeting their financial
obligations for the next two years based on the spring 2010
financial reporting period. This number represents a 38%
increase from the winter financial reporting period.
Many individuals attribute the increase in the number of
school districts and COEs having financial difficulty to
the reduction in GF/98 support and the loss of federal
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds to these
agencies. These two factors have caused districts and COEs
to make significant budget reductions. The majority of
school district expenditures, between 80% and 90%, are for
personnel costs, which has led to reductions in
administrative, classified, and certificated staff. For
example, the SPI reports more than 20,000 classroom
teachers received layoff notices in 2009-10.
These consequences, however, are not felt equally by
school. In response to a lawsuit filed by civil rights
attorneys, a superior court judge recently enjoined the Los
Angeles Unified School District from laying off wildly
disproportionate numbers of teachers at three district
middle schools. Because the district allowed new teachers
to aggregate in some of its lowest-performing schools, and
because state law generally requires districts to lay off
their least senior teachers first, these three schools with
mostly junior teachers faced losses of as much as 60
percent of their faculty, compared to 15 percent or less at
other district middle schools across town. Other
districts, including Sacramento City Unified, have seen
certain schools disproportionately impacted by layoffs.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
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According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, there
are potential GF/98 increased costs, of at least $4.5
million, to school districts as a result of issuing more
RIF notices. These costs are associated with hiring
additional substitute teachers and conducting longer
administrative hearings, as specified. This estimate may
increase or decrease depending on the size of the school
district and the increased number of layoff notices issued
as a result of implementing this bill.
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/30/10)
American Civil Liberties Union
Asian Pacific American Legal Center
California Association of Urban League Executives
California State NAACP
Greater Sacramento Urban League
Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay
Area
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa
MALDEF
PICO California
Public Advocates
Public Counsel Law Center
Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr./ Rainbow PUSH Coalition
School Employers Association
Southern Christian Leadership Conference
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office,
"An unprecedented budget shortfall has forced school
districts to release thousands of teachers and other
employees, with real consequences for children. These
consequences, however, are not felt equally by school. In
response to a lawsuit filed by civil rights attorneys, a
superior court judge recently enjoined the Los Angeles
Unified School District from laying off wildly
disproportionate numbers of teachers at three district
middle schools. Because the district allowed new teachers
to aggregate in some of its lowest-performing schools, and
because state law generally requires districts to lay off
their least senior teachers first, these three schools with
mostly junior teachers faced losses of as much as 60
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percent of their faculty, compared to 15 percent or less at
other district middle schools across town. Other
districts, including Sacramento City Unified, have seen
certain schools disproportionately impacted by layoffs."
CPM:cm 8/31/10 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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