Bill Text: CA SB1225 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Teachers: Teacher Bill of Rights Act.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Failed) 2016-11-30 - From Assembly without further action. [SB1225 Detail]

Download: California-2015-SB1225-Introduced.html

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BILL NUMBER: SB 1225	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Senator Mendoza

                        FEBRUARY 18, 2016

   An act to amend Section 44955 of the Education Code, relating to
school employees.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 1225, as introduced, Mendoza. School employees: reduction in
work force.
   Under existing law, when school employees are terminated pursuant
to a reduction in workforce, a school district is required to
terminate the employees in order of seniority. Existing law
authorizes a school district to deviate from the order of seniority
for those purposes for specified reasons.
   This bill would make various nonsubstantive, clarifying changes to
those provisions.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  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  no   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   a  school year the average
daily attendance in all of the schools of a  school 
district for the first six months  in which  
that  school is in session shall have declined below the
corresponding period of either of the previous two school years,
 whenever   if  the governing board  of
a school district  determines that attendance in a  school
 district will decline in the following year as a result of the
termination of an interdistrict tuition agreement as  defined
  described  in Section 46304,  whenever
  if  a particular kind of service is to be reduced
or discontinued not later than the beginning of the following school
year, or  whenever   if  the amendment of
state law requires the modification of curriculum, and  when
in the opinion of   if  the governing board of the
 school  district  determines  it  shall
have become  necessary by reason of any of these conditions
to decrease the number of permanent employees in the  school
 district, the governing board  of a school district 
may terminate the services of not more than a corresponding
percentage of the certificated employees of the  school 
district, permanent as well as probationary, at the close of the
school year. Except as otherwise provided by statute, the services of
 no   a  permanent employee  may
  shall not  be terminated under  the
provisions of  this section while  any 
 a  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
  subdivision  for a newly formed or reorganized
school district, each school of the  sch   ool 
district shall be deemed to have been a school of the newly formed or
reorganized  school  district for both of the two previous
school years. 
    As 
    (3)     As  between employees who
first rendered paid service to the  school  district on the
same date, the governing board  of the school district 
shall determine the order of termination solely on the basis of needs
of the  school  district and the  students thereof.
  pupils of the school district.  Upon the request
of  any   an  employee whose order of
termination is so determined, the governing board  of the school
district  shall furnish in  writing  
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   The  requirement that
the governing board  of the school district  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
  the  requirement.
   (c)  (1)    Notice of  such 
 the  termination of services shall be given before 
the 15th of May in the manner prescribed in   May 15
pursuant to  Section 44949, and services of  such
  those  employees shall be terminated in the
inverse of the order in which they were employed, as determined by
the  governing  board  of the school district  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 school year. 
    The 
    (2)    The  governing board  of
the school district  shall make assignments and reassignments in
 such  a manner that employees shall be retained to
render any service  which  their seniority and
qualifications entitle them to render. However,  prior to
  before  assigning or reassigning  any
  a  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  of the school district  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  school  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   services
that  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.