BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 2240
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 30, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Joan Buchanan, Chair
AB 2240 (Grove) - As Amended: March 28, 2014
SUBJECT : Elementary and secondary education: school employees.
SUMMARY : Requires district superintendents to make teacher
transfer decisions in the best interest of pupils; and,
specifies that a school district may deviate from terminating or
reappointing a certificated employee in order of seniority to
achieve compliance with constitutional requirements related to
equal protection of the law as it applies to pupils.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires the superintendent of each school district to,
subject to the approval of the governing board of the school
district, transfer a teacher from one school to another school
at which the teacher is certificated to serve within the
school district when the superintendent concludes that the
transfer is in the best interest of pupils; and, specifies
Legislative intent that if the amendments made to this section
by this act conflict with the terms of a collective bargaining
agreement entered into between a public employer and an
exclusive bargaining representative, pursuant to Chapter 10.7
(commencing with Section 3540) of Division 4 of Title 1 of the
Government Code, the amendments shall not apply to the public
employers or public employees subject to that collective
bargaining agreement.
2)Specifies that a school district may deviate from terminating
a certificated employee in order of seniority for purposes of
maintaining or achieving compliance with constitutional
requirements related to equal protection of the law as it
applies to pupils; and, specifies that these amendments are
declaratory of existing law.
3)Specifies that a school district may deviate from reappointing
a certificated employee in order of seniority for purposes of
maintaining or achieving compliance with constitutional
requirements related to equal protection of the law as it
applies to pupils; and, specifies that these amendments are
declaratory of existing law.
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4)Specifies that a school district may deviate from reappointing
a probationary employee in order of seniority for purposes of
maintaining or achieving compliance with constitutional
requirements related to equal protection of the law as it
applies to pupils; and, specifies that these amendments are
declaratory of existing law.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires the superintendent of each school district to, in
addition to other powers and duties granted to or imposed upon
him or her, subject to the approval of the governing board of
the school district, assign all employees of school the
district employed in positions requiring certification
qualifications, to the positions in which they are to serve.
This power to assign includes the power to transfer a teacher
from one school to another school at which the teacher is
certificated to serve within the school district when the
superintendent concludes that the transfer is in the best
interest of the school district. (Education Code (EC) 35035)
2)Authorizes a school district to deviate from terminating a
certificated employee in order of seniority for either of the
following reasons:
a) The district demonstrates a specific need for personnel
to teach a specific course or course of study, or to
provide services authorized by a services credential with a
specialization in either pupil personnel services or health
for a school nurse, and that the certificated employee has
special training and experience necessary to teach that
course or course of study or to provide those services,
which others with more seniority do not possess.
b) For purposes of maintaining or achieving compliance with
constitutional requirements related to equal protection of
the laws. (EC 44955)
3)Authorizes a school district to deviate from reappointing a
certificated employee in order of seniority for either of the
following reasons:
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a) The district demonstrates a specific need for personnel
to teach a specific course or course of study, or to
provide services authorized by a services credential with a
specialization in either pupil personnel services or health
for a school nurse, and that the employee has special
training and experience necessary to teach that course or
course of study, or to provide those services, which others
with more seniority do not possess.
b) For purposes of maintaining or achieving compliance with
constitutional requirements related to equal protection of
the laws. (EC 44956)
4)Authorizes a school district to deviate from reappointing a
probationary employee in order of seniority for either of the
following reasons:
a) The district demonstrates a specific need for personnel
to teach a specific course or course of study, or to
provide services authorized by a services credential with a
specialization in either pupil personnel services or health
for a school nurse, and that the employee has special
training and experience necessary to teach that course or
course of study, or to provide those services, which others
with more seniority do not possess.
b) For purposes of maintaining or achieving compliance with
constitutional requirements related to equal protection of
the laws. (EC 44957)
FISCAL EFFECT : This bill is keyed non-fiscal.
COMMENTS : This bill requires district superintendents to make
teacher transfer decisions in the best interest of pupils. This
bill further authorizes a school district to deviate from
terminating or reappointing a certificated employee in order of
seniority to achieve compliance with constitutional requirements
related to equal protection of the law as it applies to pupils.
According to the author, "The purpose of AB 2240 is to initiate
a paradigm shift within the Education Code - making the code
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"student-centric" wherever possible, and especially in the area
of personnel decisions. This bill enacts two minor, but
important changes. First, it requires a superintendent, when
making decisions related to teacher assignment or transfer, to
make those decisions in the best interest of students. Second,
this bill clarifies, under seniority-based reduction in force
lay-offs, that the exception to seniority necessary to maintain
or achieve compliance the constitutional requirement for equal
protection of the law is equal protection as it applies to
students."
The author further states, "This bill will not remedy all
disparities that occur due to the statutory construction that
leads students in our most vulnerable communities to
all-to-often be served by our most unstable schools. Indeed,
this bill makes very minor changes to begin to address the issue
of equitable access to quality education - as stated, the goal
if this bill is to alter the Education Code to make it
student-centric; words have meaning, and wherever possible the
words of the Education Code should make it unmistakably clear
that our public schools are designed to serve the needs of
students first."
Skipping and Equal Protection . According to a 2012 survey and
report by the Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO) entitled A
Review of the Teacher Layoff Process in California, "The
majority of districts in our survey report developing criteria
to "skip" junior teachers with specialized credentials or
experience. State law allows school districts to retain certain
junior employees if the district can prove certain types of
trained and experienced teachers meet a specific need within the
district. The most common types of teachers protected under this
skipping criteria are special education teachers and language
specialists. Whereas almost all survey respondents develop
tie-breaking criteria (94 percent), about two-thirds of survey
respondents deviated from seniority to skip junior employees."
The LAO also states, "Chapter 498, Statutes of 1983 (SB
813, Hart), amended the original 1976 teacher layoff
statute to allow districts to deviate from seniority-based
layoffs "for purposes of maintaining and achieving
compliance with constitutional requirements related to
equal protection of the laws." When this clause was added,
the provision was intended primarily to "ensure that the
teaching force reflects the multicultural makeup of the
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state." Since Proposition 209 (approved by voters in 1996)
constitutionally banned discrimination against or
preferential treatment of any individual or group on the
basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in
public employment-including public education employment-a
district no longer can skip certain teachers during the
layoff process in an effort to maintain cultural diversity.
Districts recently have begun to use the equal protection
provision to skip certain teachers employed at certain
schools serving disadvantaged students. In some instances,
seniority-based layoffs result in some schools laying off a
significant proportion of their teachers. Some public
advocates have raised concern that such high proportions of
layoffs in these schools, coupled with other educational
disadvantages, cause major disruption for students and the
quality and continuity of their education
program-threatening students' equal protection of the
laws."
Further the LAO states, "Of the districts we surveyed, very
few report exploring their discretion to deviate from
seniority for the purpose of equal protection of the laws.
Only five districts reported having used this discretion in
developing criteria to break ties amongst employees with
the same start date. Another four reported developing
skipping criteria for this purpose. For layoffs operative
in the 2012-13, one district to date has ventured in this
direction. San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD)
recently conducted their first round of layoff
determinations and used the equal protection clause to
protect junior teachers in 14 schools they classify as
having high-need students with low academic performance."
This bill would clarify the intent of the equal protection
clause in the teacher layoff process and specify that districts
may deviate from laying off teachers based on seniority if it
would maintain equal protection as it applies to pupils.
Essentially, clarifying that all school districts could choose
during a layoff procedure, to skip particular schools that would
be disproportionately affected by layoffs.
In light of the historical background laid out by the LAO, it
appears that the equal protection clause was not originally
established to related to the equal protection of pupils.
Therefore, the committee may wish to consider deleting the
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language in the bill specifying that these changes are
declaratory of existing law.
Bargaining Implications . This bill specifies that the changes
made regarding a superintendent's power to assign teachers in
the best interest of students, shall not apply to districts with
collective bargaining agreements that are in conflict with the
change. Therefore, districts with collective bargaining
agreements will largely be untouched by this change. It could
however, change the practices of teacher transfers in districts
without a collective bargaining agreement. It is unclear,
however, how this would change existing practice in those
districts without a collective bargaining agreement, since one
could argue that all teacher transfers are ultimately in the
best interest of pupils. The committee may wish to consider
deleting this provision from the bill to avoid any confusion.
Arguments in Opposition : According to the California Teachers
Association (CTA), "CTA believes that the seniority system
should be encouraged. The seniority system has demonstrated its
equity and validity in protecting the rights of all employees.
All personnel begin vesting in the system from the first day of
service, and modification of the seniority system imperils job
security for all employees. Equally important is the fact that
numerous academic studies support the common-sense notion that
experienced teachers are able to produce better results in the
classroom than inexperienced teachers. As in all professions,
skill improves over time. The Legislature has recognized this in
the Quality Education Investment Act by mandating that QEIA
schools be staffed with a mix of experienced and new teachers so
that the experience level at QEIA schools matches or exceeds
that of the district as a whole. Many consistently bemoan the
assignment of new and inexperienced teachers to the lowest
performing schools in greater numbers, while experienced
teachers migrate to higher performing schools. With this in
mind, it is a contradiction to take steps in policy to preserve
the jobs of less experienced teachers and instead lay off more
experienced teachers."
Previous Legislation : SB 955 (Huff) which died in the Senate
Rules Committee in 2010, would have made various changes to
statutes governing staffing notification deadlines, layoff and
dismissal procedures, and reemployment preferences pertaining to
certificated educators.
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SB 1285 (Steinberg) which died in the Assembly Rules Committee
in 2010, would have specified that the equal protection clause
applied to both teachers and students and made various changes
to the procedures school districts must follow when hiring,
terminating and reappointing teachers; required the
Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI) to force school
districts to comply with teacher termination rules in low
performing schools; and, required the county superintendent of
schools (CSS) to compare the percentage of first and second year
teachers at low performing schools with the rest of the
district.
SB 1655 (Scott), Chapter 518 of 2006, prohibits the voluntary
transfer of a teacher to a school ranked in deciles 1 through 3
on the Academic Performance Index (API), if the principal of the
receiving school refuses to accept the transfer and prohibits a
school district from giving priority to a teacher who requests
to be transferred over other qualified applicants, as specified.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
None on file.
Opposition
California Teachers Association
Analysis Prepared by : Chelsea Kelley / ED. / (916) 319-2087