Pocket Guide to K-12 Certificated Employee Classification and Dismissal

By Dale Brodsky
1st edition, 2004

$15 each

Pocket Guide to K-12 Certificated Employee Classification and Dismissal (Additions and Corrections)
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The purpose of this Pocket Guide is to help certificated K-12 employees and their representatives, and public school employers — including governing board members, human resources personnel, administrators, and their legal representatives — navigate the often-convoluted web of laws, cases, and regulations that govern or affect classification and job security rights of public school employees.

The guide cover such important topics as dismissal, suspension, leaves of absence, layoffs, pre-hearing and hearing procedures, the Commission on Professional Competence, the Commission on Teacher Credentialing, the credential revocation process, and more.

Author Dale Brodsky is an attorney with the law firm of Beeson,Tayer & Bodine, headquartered in Oakland, California. She practices exclusively in the area of education law representing certificated employees in employment-related matter. Brodsky is a former associate editor of CPER, where she covered Public Schools.

 

Contents

I. Introduction	1
A. A Brief History of Certificated Employees' Job Security Rights	1
II. Classification	4
A. Generally	4
B. Permanent Employees	6
C. Probationary Employees	8
D. Employees in Categorically Funded Positions	10
E. Temporary Employees	11
F. Employees Serving in Internship Programs	14
G. Substitute Employees	16
H. Teachers Holding Provisional Credentials	17
III. Dismissal of Non-Permanent Employees	19
A. Probationary Employees	19
B. Employees in Categorically Funded Positions	24
C. Temporary Employees	24
D. Substitute Employees	26
E. Employees Serving in Internship Programs	27
F. Teachers Holding Provisional Credentials	28
IV. Abandonment of Employment and Resignation	29
A. Abandonment	29
B. Resignation	30
C. Abandonment and/or Resignation Problems	32
D. Resignation in Lieu of Non-Reelection	32
V. Suspensions and Leaves of Absence	34
A. Generally	34
B. Immediate Suspension Permitted	34
C. Leave of Absence When Criminal Charges Are Filed	36
D. Suspension and Leave on Account of Mental Illness	37
VI. Layoffs	41
A. Grounds for Layoffs	41
B. Employees Subject to Layoff Procedures	42
C. Timing and Process	43
D. Selections for Layoff	44
E. Preferred Right of Reemployment	46
F. Status During Layoff	48
G. Return to Work After Layoff	49
H. Dismissal and Non-Reelection During Layoff	50
VII. Dismissal and Suspension of Permanent Employees	51
A. Statutory Authority Preempts Collective Bargaining Agreement	51
B. Automatic Dismissal Permitted in Limited Circumstances	52
C. Just Cause for Dismissal Under Sec. 44932	53
VIII. Pre-Hearing Procedures for Dismissal and Suspension	60
A. Notice of Intention to Dismiss	60
B. Time Limits, Generally	60
C. Statement of Charges	61
D. Prior Written Notice of Charges Required in Cases of Unprofessional Conduct and Unsatisfactory Performance	62
E. Notice Not Required for Charges Other Than Unsatisfactory Performance and Unprofessional Conduct	62
F. Employee's Demand for a Hearing	63
IX. Hearing Procedures	64
A. Generally	64
B. Accusation Initiates the Hearing Process	64
C. Notice of Defense	66
D. Timing of Hearing	67
E. Commission on Professional Competence	68
F. Discovery	70
G. Pre-Hearing and Settlement Conferences	72
H. Standard of Proof and Admissibility of Evidence	73
I. The Four-Year Rule	75
J. Hearing Costs	76
K. Remedies When the Employee Prevails	76
L. Remedies When the District Prevails	77
X. Judicial Review of Commission on Professional Competence Decisions	78
A. Review by Administrative Mandamus	78
B. Standard of Judicial Review	79
XI. Reporting Requirements of the Commission on Teacher Credentialing	80
A. Overview of CTC	80
B. Mandatory Reporting by School Districts	81
C. Employment While Action Is Pending	84
XII. The Credential Revocation Process	85
A. The Committee on Credentials	85
B. The Committee's Investigatory Process	85
C. CTC's Limited Right to Initiate an Investigation	87
D. Initial Review	88
E. Formal Review	89
F. Results of the Investigation	92
G. Review by the Full Commission	93
XIII. Grounds for Credential Revocation	94
A. Generally	94
B. Discretionary Grounds for Revocation	94
C. Mandatory Grounds for Immediate Revocation	96
D. Effect of Deferred Entry of Judgment (Previously Known as 'Diversion')	98
E. Procedures for Certificated Employees With a Communicable Disease or Mental Illness	99
F. County Boards of Education	100