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S1394..........................................................by EDUCATION
SCHOOL DISTRICTS - NONCERTIFICATED EMPLOYEES - Amends existing law relating
to noncertificated personnel employed by a school district to provide for
an evaluation of each noncertificated employee before January 15 of each
school year; to provide a probationary period for an employee with at least
180 days of employment whose job performance is found to be unsatisfactory;
to provide for supervisory assistance during the probationary period; to
revise the grievance procedure to include an informal review before the
board upon request of an employee; to provide for written notice by May 15
of each year of employment status for the following school year; and to
require each board of trustees to establish a process for meeting and
conferring on terms and conditions of employment upon request of a majority
of noncertificated employees.
02/13 Senate intro - 1st rdg - to printing
02/14 Rpt prt - to Educ
]]]] LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO ]]]]
Fifty-eighth Legislature Second Regular Session - 2006
IN THE SENATE
SENATE BILL NO. 1394
BY EDUCATION COMMITTEE
1 AN ACT
2 RELATING TO NONCERTIFICATED PERSONNEL EMPLOYED BY A SCHOOL DISTRICT; AMENDING
3 SECTION 33-517, IDAHO CODE, TO PROVIDE FOR AN EVALUATION OF EACH NONCERTI-
4 FICATED EMPLOYEE BEFORE JANUARY 15 OF EACH SCHOOL YEAR, TO PROVIDE A PRO-
5 BATIONARY PERIOD FOR AN EMPLOYEE WITH AT LEAST ONE HUNDRED EIGHTY DAYS OF
6 EMPLOYMENT WHOSE JOB PERFORMANCE IS FOUND TO BE UNSATISFACTORY, TO PROVIDE
7 FOR SUPERVISORY ASSISTANCE DURING THE PROBATIONARY PERIOD, TO REVISE THE
8 GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE TO INCLUDE AN INFORMAL REVIEW BEFORE THE BOARD UPON
9 REQUEST OF AN EMPLOYEE, TO PROVIDE FOR WRITTEN NOTICE BY MAY 15 OF EACH
10 YEAR OF EMPLOYMENT STATUS FOR THE FOLLOWING SCHOOL YEAR, TO REQUIRE EACH
11 BOARD OF TRUSTEES TO ESTABLISH A PROCESS FOR MEETING AND CONFERRING ON
12 TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT UPON REQUEST OF A MAJORITY OF NONCERTI-
13 FICATED EMPLOYEES, TO PROVIDE PROPER TERMINOLOGY, TO REFORMAT THE SECTION
14 AND TO MAKE TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS.
15 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho:
16 SECTION 1. That Section 33-517, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
17 amended to read as follows:
18 33-517. NONCERTIFICATED PERSONNEL. The board of trustees of each school
19 district including any specially chartered district, shall have the following
20 powers and duties:
21 (1) To provide that hiring and evaluation procedures for noncertificated
22 personnel shall be in writing and shall be available for any noncertificated
23 employee's review at anytime any time. A noncertificated employee of a school
24 district shall be required to review and sign any entries made to his person-
25 nel file. At reasonable times and places, in the presence of an appropriate
26 district official, a noncertificated employee may inspect documents contained
27 in his official personnel file.
28 (a) Job descriptions for all noncertificated employees shall be written
29 and shall be made available to employees of the district or other people
30 seeking employment.
31 (b) At least one (1) evaluation shall be completed on each noncertifica-
32 ted employee before January 15 of each school year.
33 (c) Following employment in a school district for no less than one hun-
34 dred eighty (180) days, a noncertificated employee whose job performance
35 is found to be unsatisfactory shall be provided a probationary period of
36 at least eight (8) weeks. Written notice of such probation shall be given
37 to the employee prior to commencement of the probationary period, includ-
38 ing a description of the areas of performance that are deemed inadequate.
39 The employee's supervisor shall review the probationary provisions and
40 assist the employee in developing a written plan of action for improve-
41 ment, including identifying standards for success. No probationary period
42 shall be required in instances of an employee's misconduct or criminal
43 behavior.
2
1 (2) To provide a grievance procedure for noncertificated employees of the
2 district which meets the minimum standards of paragraphs (a) through (i) of
3 this subsection. In the event a grievance procedure is not provided, the fol-
4 lowing grievance procedure shall apply.
5 (a) A grievance shall be defined as a written allegation of unfair treat-
6 ment or a violation of school district policy. A noncertificated employee
7 of the district may file a grievance about any matter related to his
8 employment, provided that neither the rate of salary or wage of the
9 employee nor the decision to terminate an employee for cause during the
10 initial one hundred eighty (180) days of employment shall be a proper sub-
11 ject for consideration under the grievance procedure provided in this sec-
12 tion.
13 (b) If a noncertificated employee files a grievance, the employee shall
14 submit the grievance in writing to his or her immediate supervisor within
15 six (6) working days of the incident giving rise to the grievance. The
16 grievance shall state the nature of the grievance and the remedy sought.
17 Within six (6) working days of receipt of the grievance, the immediate
18 supervisor shall provide a written response to the employee.
19 (c) If the noncertificated employee is not satisfied with the response of
20 the immediate supervisor or if there is no response within the time lines,
21 the employee may appeal the grievance to the superintendent of the dis-
22 trict or the superintendent's designee within five (5) working days of the
23 receipt of the response as set out in subsection (2)(b) of this section or
24 within five (5) working days from the date the supervisor last had to
25 respond if the noncertificated employee received no written response.
26 Within six (6) working days of an appeal, the superintendent or his desig-
27 nee shall communicate with the noncertificated employee in an effort to
28 resolve the appeal. Within five (5) working days of the communication, the
29 superintendent or his designee shall provide a written response to the
30 noncertificated employee.
31 (d) If the noncertificated employee is not satisfied with the response of
32 the superintendent or his designee, or if there is no response by the
33 superintendent or his designee within the time frame provided in subsec-
34 tion (2)(c) of this section, the noncertificated employee may request a
35 review of the grievance by a hearing panel within five (5) working days
36 from receipt of the response provided in subsection (2)(c) of this section
37 if the employee received a written response, or five (5) working days from
38 the date the superintendent last had to respond if the noncertificated
39 employee received no written response. Within ten (10) working days of
40 receipt of an appeal, the board of trustees shall convene a panel consist-
41 ing of three (3) persons;: one (1) designated by the board of trustees,
42 one (1) designated by the employee, and one (1) agreed upon by the two (2)
43 appointed members for the purpose of reviewing the appeal. Within five (5)
44 working days following completion of the review, the panel shall submit
45 its decision in writing to the noncertificated employee, the superintend-
46 ent, and the board of trustees.
47 (e) The panel's decision shall be the final and conclusive resolution of
48 the grievance unless the board of trustees overturns finds the panel's
49 decision by resolution at the board of trustees' next regularly scheduled
50 public meeting or unless unacceptable. Prior to a final decision by the
51 board, the employee may request an informal review before the board.
52 Wwithin forty-two (42) calendar days of the filing of the board's final
53 decision, either party may appeals to the district court in the county
54 where the school district is located. Upon appeal of a decision of the
55 board of trustees, the district court may affirm or set aside and remand
3
1 the matter to the board of trustees upon the following grounds, and shall
2 not set the same aside on any other grounds:
3 (i) That the findings of fact are not based on any substantial,
4 competent evidence;
5 (ii) That the board of trustees has acted without jurisdiction or in
6 excess of its powers;
7 (iii) That the findings by the board of trustees as a matter of law
8 do not support the decision.
9 (f) A noncertificated employee filing a grievance pursuant to this sec-
10 tion shall be entitled to a representative of the employee's choice at
11 each step of the grievance procedure provided in this section. The super-
12 visor, superintendent, or the superintendent's designee shall be entitled
13 to a representative at each step of the grievance procedure.
14 (g) The time lines of the grievance procedure established in this section
15 may be waived or modified by mutual agreement.
16 (h) Utilization of the grievance procedure established pursuant to this
17 section shall not constitute a waiver of any right of appeal available
18 pursuant to law or regulation.
19 (i) Neither the board nor any member of the administration shall take
20 reprisals affecting the employment status of any party in interest.
21 (j) A noncertificated employee of a school district shall be required to
22 review and sign any entries made to his personnel file. At reasonable
23 times and places, in the presence of an appropriate district official, a
24 noncertificated employee may inspect documents contained in his official
25 personnel file.
26 (3) To provide each noncertificated employee of the school district, by
27 no later than May 15 of each year, written notice regarding employment status
28 for the following school year. If the board intends to reemploy the person,
29 such notice shall offer reasonable assurance of continued employment. If the
30 board has decided not to reemploy the person, such notice shall contain a
31 statement of reasons for the decision not to reemploy.
32 (4) To establish a process for meeting and conferring on terms and condi-
33 tions of employment, upon request of a majority of the noncertificated employ-
34 ees of the district.
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
RS 16023C1
The purpose of this legislation is to provide a system of
fair employment practices for school districts to utilize
regarding classified employees. Specific provisions include:
assurance of at least one evaluation for each employee annually,
a probationary period for employees whose performance is less
than satisfactory, timely notice of reasonable assurance of re-
employment for the succeeding school year, a process for an
informal review for grievance resolution, and assurance that a
meet-and-confer process will be utilized if requested by a
majority of classified employees.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no fiscal impact on the state's general fund.
Contact
Name: Senator Goedde
Phone: 322-1330
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE/FISCAL NOTE S 1394