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H0597..........................................................by EDUCATION
SCHOOL EMPLOYEES - NONCERTIFIED - Amends existing law to delete the
existing grievance procedure for noncertificated employees of school
districts and to substitute a problem-solving procedure for such employees;
and to delete the requirement that noncertificated employees shall review
and sign entries made to their personnel files.
02/17 House intro - 1st rdg - to printing
02/18 Rpt prt - to Educ
H0597
|||| LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO ||||
Fifty-fifth Legislature Second Regular Session - 2000
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
HOUSE BILL NO. 597
BY EDUCATION COMMITTEE
1 AN ACT
2 RELATING TO SCHOOL DISTRICT TRUSTEES AND NONCERTIFICATED PERSONNEL; AMENDING
3 SECTION 33-517, IDAHO CODE, TO REMOVE THE POWER OF BOARDS OF TRUSTEES TO
4 PROVIDE A GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE FOR NONCERTIFICATED EMPLOYEES AND TO DELETE
5 THE PRESCRIBED GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE IN THE EVENT A SCHOOL DISTRICT DOES NOT
6 PROVIDE A PROCEDURE, TO AUTHORIZE BOARDS OF TRUSTEES TO PROVIDE A PROBLEM-
7 SOLVING PROCEDURE FOR NONCERTIFICATED EMPLOYEES AND TO PRESCRIBE MINIMUM
8 STANDARDS FOR SUCH A PROCEDURE, TO PROVIDE PROTECTION FOR EMPLOYEES UTI-
9 LIZING THE PROBLEM-SOLVING PROCEDURE AND TO DELETE THE REQUIREMENT THAT A
10 NONCERTIFICATED EMPLOYEE SHALL REVIEW AND SIGN ENTRIES MADE TO HIS PERSON-
11 NEL FILE.
12 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho:
13 SECTION 1. That Section 33-517, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
14 amended to read as follows:
15 33-517. NONCERTIFICATED PERSONNEL. The board of trustees of each school
16 district including any specially chartered district, shall have the following
17 powers and duties:
18 (1) To provide that hiring and evaluation procedures for noncertificated
19 personnel shall be in writing and shall be available for any noncertificated
20 employee's review at anytime. Job descriptions for all noncertificated employ-
21 ees shall be written and shall be made available to employees of the district
22 or other people seeking employment.
23 (2) To provide a grievance procedure for noncertificated employees of the
24 district which meets the minimum standards of paragraphs (a) through (i) of
25 this subsection. In the event a grievance procedure is not provided, the fol-
26 lowing grievance procedure shall apply.
27 (a) A grievance shall be defined as a written allegation of unfair treat-
28 ment or a violation of school district policy. A noncertificated employee
29 of the district may file a grievance about any matter related to his
30 employment, provided that neither the rate of salary or wage of the
31 employee nor the decision to terminate an employee for cause during the
32 initial one hundred eighty (180) days of employment shall be a proper sub-
33 ject for consideration under the grievance procedure provided in this sec-
34 tion.
35 (b) If a noncertificated employee files a grievance, the employee shall
36 submit the grievance in writing to his or her immediate supervisor within
37 six (6) working days of the incident giving rise to the grievance. The
38 grievance shall state the nature of the grievance and the remedy sought.
39 Within six (6) working days of receipt of the grievance, the immediate
40 supervisor shall provide a written response to the employee.
41 (c) If the noncertificated employee is not satisfied with the response of
42 the immediate supervisor or if there is no response within the time lines,
43 the employee may appeal the grievance to the superintendent of the dis-
2
1 trict or the superintendent's designee within five (5) working days of the
2 receipt of the response as set out in subsection (2)(b) of this section or
3 within five (5) working days from the date the supervisor last had to
4 respond if the noncertificated employee received no written response.
5 Within six (6) working days of an appeal, the superintendent or his desig-
6 nee shall communicate with the noncertificated employee in an effort to
7 resolve the appeal. Within five (5) working days of the communication, the
8 superintendent or his designee shall provide a written response to the
9 noncertificated employee.
10 (d) If the noncertificated employee is not satisfied with the response of
11 the superintendent or his designee, or if there is no response by the
12 superintendent or his designee within the time frame provided in subsec-
13 tion (2)(c) of this section, the noncertificated employee may request a
14 review of the grievance by a hearing panel within five (5) working days
15 from receipt of the response provided in subsection (2)(c) of this section
16 if the employee received a written response, or five (5) working days from
17 the date the superintendent last had to respond if the noncertificated
18 employee received no written response. Within ten (10) working days of
19 receipt of an appeal, the board of trustees shall convene a panel consist-
20 ing of three (3) persons; one (1) designated by the board of trustees, one
21 (1) designated by the employee, and one (1) agreed upon by the two (2)
22 appointed members for the purpose of reviewing the appeal. Within five (5)
23 working days following completion of the review, the panel shall submit
24 its decision in writing to the noncertificated employee, the superintend-
25 ent, and the board of trustees.
26 (e) The panel's decision shall be the final and conclusive resolution of
27 the grievance unless the board of trustees overturns the panel's decision
28 by resolution at the board of trustees' next regularly scheduled public
29 meeting or unless within forty-two (42) calendar days of the filing of the
30 board's decision, either party appeals to the district court in the county
31 where the school district is located. Upon appeal of a decision of the
32 board of trustees, the district court may affirm or set aside and remand
33 the matter to the board of trustees upon the following grounds, and shall
34 not set the same aside on any other grounds:
35 (i) That the findings of fact are not based on any substantial,
36 competent evidence;
37 (ii) That the board of trustees has acted without jurisdiction or in
38 excess of its powers;
39 (iii) That the findings by the board of trustees as a matter of law
40 do not support the decision.
41 (f) A noncertificated employee filing a grievance pursuant to this sec-
42 tion shall be entitled to a representative of the employee's choice at
43 each step of the grievance procedure provided in this section. The super-
44 visor, superintendent, or the superintendent's designee shall be entitled
45 to a representative at each step of the grievance procedure.
46 (g) The time lines of the grievance procedure established in this section
47 may be waived or modified by mutual agreement.
48 (h) Utilization of the grievance procedure established pursuant to this
49 section shall not constitute a waiver of any right of appeal available
50 pursuant to law or regulation.
51 (i) problem-solving procedure for noncertificated employees of the dis-
52 trict. The problem-solving procedure shall, at a minimum, afford an
53 employee an opportunity to meet with the employee's immediate supervisor
54 to discuss and attempt to resolve problems relating to employee perfor-
55 mance evaluations, disciplinary demotions, suspensions or terminations or
3
1 unlawful harassment or discrimination. If the problems are not resolved in
2 the meeting with the employee's immediate supervisor, the problem-solving
3 procedure shall afford the employee an opportunity for informal review of
4 the issues by the board of trustees of the school district or by the
5 board's designee. Neither the board nor any member of the administration
6 shall take reprisals affecting the employment status of any party in
7 interest discipline or otherwise prejudice an employee in his employment
8 for utilizing the problem-solving procedures adopted by the board. Utili-
9 zation of the problem-solving procedure by an employee shall not consti-
10 tute a waiver of any right available to an employee pursuant to other
11 laws.
12 (j3) A noncertificated employee of a school district shall be required to
13 review and sign any entries made to his personnel file. At reasonable times
14 and places, may, during regular business hours and in the presence of an
15 appropriate district official, a noncertificated employee may inspect docu-
16 ments contained in his official personnel file.
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
RS 09860
This proposal amends current law relating to grievance procedures for
non-certificated personnel of a school district. This legislation clarifies the
grounds for filing a grievance and will allow the school district to simplify the
problem solving process. Basic minimum standards must be utilized by the school
district to afford the employee reasonable opportunity for problem review and due
process before the school district Board of Trustees.
FISCAL IMPACT
No adverse fiscal impact, but cost savings may be achieved through a simplified
procedure.
Contact
Name: Ken Schow, Deputy Superintendent School District 91,
(Idaho Falls)
Phone: 208-535-7506
Bill Roden:
208-336-7930
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE/FISCAL NOTE H 597