California Assembly Bill AB2417 Introduced / Bill

 BILL NUMBER: AB 2417INTRODUCED BILL TEXT INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Block FEBRUARY 24, 2012 An act to amend Sections 44949 and 44955 of the Education Code, relating to school employees, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 2417, as introduced, Block. San Diego Unified School District: certificated school employees: layoff: notice. Existing law requires specified school district officials to give a preliminary notice to the governing board and certificated employees when it is recommended that a notice be given to employees that their services are to be terminated pursuant to a reduction in the workforce for the next school year and the reasons for that reduction. Existing law requires that this preliminary notice be given by March 15. Existing law requires the final notice that an employee's services will be terminated for the next year pursuant to a reduction in the workforce to be given to the employee by May 15. This bill would extend the deadlines for the notices described above for the 2011-12 fiscal year for the San Diego Unified School District to June 15 and August 15, respectively. The bill would also make a conforming change and technical, nonsubstantive changes. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the San Diego Unified School District. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute. Vote: 2/3. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following: (a) According to the San Diego Unified School District, the May revision of the proposed budget and the annual Budget Act provide more predictive information for purposes of the district's budgetary and personnel decisions than the January budget proposed by the Governor. The San Diego Unified School District expects this to be the case again this year. (b) Existing law requires school districts to issue preliminary reduction in force notices by March 15 and final reduction in force notices by May 15 of each year. (c) As a result of this law and in order to guarantee that it will remain fiscally solvent, for the past five years, the San Diego Unified School District has relied on the January budget proposed by the Governor to determine the number of layoff notices that it must give to its employees. This results in hundreds of teachers receiving notices that are later rescinded when more accurate information is available in May when the proposed budget is revised and later when the annual Budget Act is enacted. (d) Given the evidence that the existing statutory deadlines hurt its schools, the San Diego Unified School District and the bargaining unit of its certificated employees have determined that for the 2011-12 fiscal year it will be more productive for the schools, pupils, and teachers of the district if the deadlines for giving notice to certificated employees that the school district may terminate their services are extended by three months. (e) Because of its particular circumstances, the San Diego Unified School District and the bargaining unit of its certificated employees anticipate that this act will result in fewer layoffs and greater stability for the district's pupils and schools. SEC. 2. Section 44949 of the Education Code is amended to read: 44949. (a)  (1)     (A)   No later than March 15 and before an employee is given notice by the governing board that his or her services will not be required for the  ensuing   next school  year for the reasons specified in Section 44955, the governing board and the employee shall be given written notice by the superintendent of the district or his or her designee, or in the case of a district  which   that  has no superintendent by the clerk or secretary of the governing board, that it has been recommended that the notice be given to the employee, and stating the reasons  therefor   for that notice  .  Until   (B) Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), subdivision (c), and any other law, for the 2011-12 fiscal year the deadline specified in subparagraph (A) shall be extended to June 15 for the San Diego Unified School District and the deadline specified in subdivision (c) shall be extended to August 7.   (2)     Until  the employee has requested a hearing as provided in subdivision (b) or has waived his or her right to a hearing, the notice and the reasons therefor shall be confidential and shall not be divulged by any person, except as may be necessary in the performance of duties.  However, the   The  violation of this requirement of confidentiality, in and of itself, shall not in any manner be construed as affecting the validity of any hearing conducted pursuant to this section. (b) The employee may request a hearing to determine if there is cause for not reemploying him or her for the  ensuing   next school  year. A request for a hearing shall be in writing and shall be delivered to the person who sent the notice pursuant to subdivision (a), on or before a date specified in that subdivision, which shall not be less than seven days after the date on which the notice is served upon the employee. If an employee fails to request a hearing on or before the date specified, his or her failure to do so shall constitute his or her waiver of his or her right to a hearing. The notice provided for in subdivision (a) shall advise the employee of the provisions of this subdivision. (c)  In the event   If  a hearing is requested by the employee, the proceeding shall be conducted and a decision made in accordance with Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 11500) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code  ,  and the governing board shall have all the power granted to an agency  therein   in that chapter  , except that all of the following shall apply: (1) The respondent shall file his or her notice of defense, if any, within five days after service upon him or her of the accusation  ,  and he or she shall be notified of this five-day period for filing in the accusation. (2) The discovery authorized by Section 11507.6 of the Government Code shall be available only if request is made therefor within 15 days after service of the accusation, and the notice required by Section 11505 of the Government Code shall so indicate. (3) The hearing shall be conducted by an administrative law judge who shall prepare a proposed decision, containing findings of fact and a determination as to whether the charges sustained by the evidence are related to the welfare of the schools and the pupils  thereof   of the schools  . The proposed decision shall be prepared for the governing board and shall contain a determination as to the sufficiency of the cause and a recommendation as to disposition.  However, the   The  governing board shall make the final determination as to the sufficiency of the cause and disposition. None of the findings, recommendations, or determinations contained in the proposed decision prepared by the administrative law judge shall be binding on the governing board. Nonsubstantive procedural errors committed by the school district or governing board of the school district shall not constitute cause for dismissing the charges unless the errors are prejudicial errors. Copies of the proposed decision shall be submitted to the governing board and to the employee on or before May 7 of the year in which the proceeding is commenced. All expenses of the hearing, including the cost of the administrative law judge, shall be paid by the governing board from the district funds. The  governing  board may adopt from time to time such rules and procedures not inconsistent with provisions of this section as may be necessary to effectuate this section. (d) Any notice or request shall be deemed sufficient when it is delivered in person to the employee to whom it is directed, or when it is deposited in the United States registered mail, postage prepaid and addressed to the last known address of the employee. (e) If after request for hearing pursuant to subdivision (b) any continuance is granted pursuant to Section 11524 of the Government Code, the dates prescribed in subdivision (c) which occur on or after the date of granting the continuance and the date prescribed in subdivision (c) of Section 44955 which occurs after the date of granting the continuance shall be extended for a period of time equal to the continuance. SEC. 3. Section 44955 of the Education Code is amended to read: 44955. (a)  No   A  permanent employee shall  not  be deprived of his or her position for causes other than those specified in Sections 44907 and 44923, and Sections 44932 to 44947, inclusive, and a probationary employee shall not be deprived of his or her position for cause other than as specified in Sections 44948 to 44949, inclusive. (b)  Whenever   (1)     If  in any school year the average daily attendance in all of the schools of a district for the first six months in which school is in session shall have declined below the corresponding period of either of the previous two school years,  whenever   if  the governing board determines that attendance in a district will decline in the  following   next school  year as a result of the termination of an interdistrict tuition agreement as defined in Section 46304,  whenever   if  a particular kind of service is to be reduced or discontinued not later than the beginning of the  following   next  school year, or  whenever   if  the amendment of state law requires the modification of curriculum, and  when   if  in the opinion of the governing board of the district it shall have become necessary by reason of any of these conditions to decrease the number of permanent employees in the district, the governing board may terminate the services of not more than a corresponding percentage of the certificated employees of the district, permanent as well as probationary, at the close of the school year. Except as otherwise provided by  statute   law  , the services of  no   a  permanent employee  may   shall not  be terminated under  the provisions of  this section while any probationary employee, or any other employee with less seniority, is retained to render a service  which said  that the  permanent employee is certificated and competent to render.  In   (2)     In  computing a decline in average daily attendance for purposes of this section for a newly formed or reorganized school district, each school of the district shall be deemed to have been a school of the newly formed or reorganized district for both of the two previous school years.  As   (3)    As  between employees who first rendered paid service to the district on the same date, the governing board shall determine the order of termination solely on the basis of needs of the district and the  students thereof   pupils of the district  . Upon the request of any employee whose order of termination is so determined, the governing board shall furnish in writing no later than five days  prior to   before  the commencement of the hearing held in accordance with Section 44949, a statement of the specific criteria used in determining the order of termination and the application of the criteria in ranking each employee relative to the other employees in the group. This requirement that the governing board provide, on request, a written statement of reasons for determining the order of termination shall not be interpreted to give affected employees any legal right or interest that would not exist without such a requirement. (c)  (1)     (A)    Notice of  such  termination of services shall be given before the 15th of May in the manner prescribed in Section 44949, and services of  such   these  employees shall be terminated in the inverse of the order in which they were employed, as determined by the  governing  board in accordance with the provisions of Sections 44844 and 44845.  In the event that   If  a permanent or probationary employee is not given the notices and a right to a hearing as provided for in Section 44949, he or she shall be deemed reemployed for the  ensuing   next  school year.  The   (B) Notwithstanding subparagraph (A) and any other law, for the 2011-12 fiscal year, the San Diego Unified School District shall give the notice of termination of services before August 15.   (2)     The  governing board shall make assignments and reassignments in  such  a manner that employees shall be retained to render any service  which   that  their seniority and qualifications entitle them to render.  However, prior to   Before  assigning or reassigning any certificated employee to teach a subject  which   that  he or she has not previously taught, and for which he or she does not have a teaching credential or  which   that  is not within the employee's major area of postsecondary study or the equivalent thereof, the governing board shall require the employee to pass a subject matter competency test in the appropriate subject. (d) Notwithstanding subdivision (b), a school district may deviate from terminating a certificated employee in order of seniority for either of the following reasons: (1) 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. (2) For purposes of maintaining or achieving compliance with constitutional requirements related to equal protection of the laws. SEC. 4. The Legislature finds and declares that a special law is necessary and that a general law cannot be made applicable within the meaning of Section 16 of Article IV of the California Constitution because of the unique situation of the San Diego Unified School District, as described in Section 1 of this act. SEC. 5. This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are: In order to allow the San Diego Unified School District to make more informed budgetary and personnel decisions by extending for the 2011-12 fiscal year the deadlines for the notice given by the San Diego Unified School District to its certificated employees in anticipation of the termination of employee services, it is necessary that this act take effect immediately.