2006 Legislation
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SENATE BILL NO. 1439 – School dist, noncertified employee

SENATE BILL NO. 1439

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Bill Status



S1439................................................by JUDICIARY AND RULES
SCHOOL DISTRICT EMPLOYEES - NONCERTIFICATED - Amends existing law relating
to noncertificated personnel employed by a school district to authorize and
direct local boards of trustees to provide a probationary period for any
employee with at least one hundred eighty days of employment whose job
performance is found to be unsatisfactory; and to provide that no property
rights shall attach to the employment of a noncertificated employee of the
school district.
                                                                        
03/09    Senate intro - 1st rdg - to printing
03/10    Rpt prt - to Educ

Bill Text


                                                                        
                                                                        
  ]]]]              LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO             ]]]]
 Fifty-eighth Legislature                   Second Regular Session - 2006
                                                                        
                                                                        
                                       IN THE SENATE
                                                                        
                                    SENATE BILL NO. 1439
                                                                        
                              BY JUDICIARY AND RULES COMMITTEE
                                                                        
  1                                        AN ACT
  2    RELATING TO NONCERTIFICATED PERSONNEL EMPLOYED BY A SCHOOL DISTRICT;  AMENDING
  3        SECTION  33-517,  IDAHO  CODE,  TO  AUTHORIZE  AND  DIRECT LOCAL BOARDS OF
  4        TRUSTEES TO PROVIDE A PROBATIONARY PERIOD FOR AN EMPLOYEE  WITH  AT  LEAST
  5        ONE HUNDRED EIGHTY DAYS OF EMPLOYMENT WHOSE JOB PERFORMANCE IS FOUND TO BE
  6        UNSATISFACTORY  AND TO PROVIDE THAT NO PROPERTY RIGHTS SHALL ATTACH TO THE
  7        EMPLOYMENT OF A NONCERTIFICATED EMPLOYEE OF THE SCHOOL  DISTRICT,  AND  TO
  8        MAKE TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS.
                                                                        
  9    Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho:
                                                                        
 10        SECTION  1.  That  Section  33-517, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
 11    amended to read as follows:
                                                                        
 12        33-517.  NONCERTIFICATED PERSONNEL. The board of trustees of  each  school
 13    district  including any specially chartered district, shall have the following
 14    powers and duties:
 15        (1)  To provide that hiring and evaluation procedures for  noncertificated
 16    personnel  shall  be in writing and shall be available for any noncertificated
 17    employee's review at anytime any time. A noncertificated employee of a  school
 18    district  shall be required to review and sign any entries made to his person-
 19    nel file. At reasonable times and places, in the presence  of  an  appropriate
 20    district  official, a noncertificated employee may inspect documents contained
 21    in his official personnel file.
 22        (a)  Job descriptions for all noncertificated employees shall  be  written
 23        and  shall  be made available to employees of the district or other people
 24        seeking employment.
 25        (b)  Following employment in a school district for no less than  one  hun-
 26        dred  eighty  (180) days, a noncertificated employee whose job performance
 27        is found to be unsatisfactory shall be provided a probationary  period  of
 28        at  least eight (8) weeks. Written notice of such probation shall be given
 29        to the employee prior to commencement of the probationary period,  includ-
 30        ing  a description of the areas of performance that are deemed inadequate.
 31        The employee's supervisor shall review  the  probationary  provisions  and
 32        assist  the  employee  in developing a written plan of action for improve-
 33        ment, including identifying standards for success. No probationary  period
 34        shall  be  required  in  instances of an employee's misconduct or criminal
 35        behavior.
 36        (2)  To provide a grievance procedure for noncertificated employees of the
 37    district which meets the minimum standards of paragraphs (a)  through  (i)  of
 38    this  subsection. In the event a grievance procedure is not provided, the fol-
 39    lowing grievance procedure shall apply.
 40        (a)  A grievance shall be defined as a written allegation of unfair treat-
 41        ment or a violation of school district policy. A noncertificated  employee
 42        of  the  district  may  file  a  grievance about any matter related to his
 43        employment, provided that neither the  rate  of  salary  or  wage  of  the
                                                                        
                                           2
                                                                        
  1        employee  nor  the  decision to terminate an employee for cause during the
  2        initial one hundred eighty (180) days of employment shall be a proper sub-
  3        ject for consideration under the grievance procedure provided in this sec-
  4        tion.
  5        (b)  If a noncertificated employee files a grievance, the  employee  shall
  6        submit  the grievance in writing to his or her immediate supervisor within
  7        six (6) working days of the incident giving rise  to  the  grievance.  The
  8        grievance  shall state the nature  of the grievance and the remedy sought.
  9        Within six (6) working days of receipt of  the  grievance,  the  immediate
 10        supervisor shall provide a written response to the employee.
 11        (c)  If the noncertificated employee is not satisfied with the response of
 12        the immediate supervisor or if there is no response within the time lines,
 13        the  employee  may  appeal the grievance to the superintendent of the dis-
 14        trict or the superintendent's designee within five (5) working days of the
 15        receipt of the response as set out in subsection (2)(b) of this section or
 16        within five (5) working days from the date  the  supervisor  last  had  to
 17        respond  if  the  noncertificated  employee  received no written response.
 18        Within six (6) working days of an appeal, the superintendent or his desig-
 19        nee shall communicate with the noncertificated employee in  an  effort  to
 20        resolve the appeal. Within five (5) working days of the communication, the
 21        superintendent  or  his  designee  shall provide a written response to the
 22        noncertificated employee.
 23        (d)  If the noncertificated employee is not satisfied with the response of
 24        the superintendent or his designee, or if there  is  no  response  by  the
 25        superintendent  or  his designee within the time frame provided in subsec-
 26        tion (2)(c) of this section, the noncertificated employee  may  request  a
 27        review  of  the  grievance by a hearing panel within five (5) working days
 28        from receipt of the response provided in subsection (2)(c) of this section
 29        if the employee received a written response, or five (5) working days from
 30        the date the superintendent last had to  respond  if  the  noncertificated
 31        employee  received  no  written  response. Within ten (10) working days of
 32        receipt of an appeal, the board of trustees shall convene a panel consist-
 33        ing of three (3) persons;: one (1) designated by the  board  of  trustees,
 34        one (1) designated by the employee, and one (1) agreed upon by the two (2)
 35        appointed members for the purpose of reviewing the appeal. Within five (5)
 36        working  days  following  completion of the review, the panel shall submit
 37        its decision in writing to the noncertificated employee, the  superintend-
 38        ent, and the board of trustees.
 39        (e)  The  panel's decision shall be the final and conclusive resolution of
 40        the grievance unless the board of trustees overturns the panel's  decision
 41        by  resolution  at  the board of trustees' next regularly scheduled public
 42        meeting or unless within forty-two (42) calendar days of the filing of the
 43        board's decision, either party appeals to the district court in the county
 44        where the school district is located. Upon appeal of  a  decision  of  the
 45        board  of  trustees, the district court may affirm or set aside and remand
 46        the matter to the board of trustees upon the following grounds, and  shall
 47        not set the same aside on any other grounds:
 48             (i)   That  the  findings  of  fact are not based on any substantial,
 49             competent evidence;
 50             (ii)  That the board of trustees has acted without jurisdiction or in
 51             excess of its powers;
 52             (iii) That the findings by the board of trustees as a matter  of  law
 53             do not support the decision.
 54        (f)  A  noncertificated  employee filing a grievance pursuant to this sec-
 55        tion shall be entitled to a representative of  the  employee's  choice  at
                                                                        
                                           3
                                                                        
  1        each  step of the grievance procedure provided in this section. The super-
  2        visor, superintendent, or the superintendent's designee shall be  entitled
  3        to a representative at each step of the grievance procedure.
  4        (g)  The time lines of the grievance procedure established in this section
  5        may be waived or modified by mutual agreement.
  6        (h)  Utilization  of  the grievance procedure established pursuant to this
  7        section shall not constitute a waiver of any  right  of  appeal  available
  8        pursuant to law or regulation.
  9        (i)  Neither  the  board  nor  any member of the administration shall take
 10        reprisals affecting the employment status of any party in interest.
 11        (j)  A noncertificated employee of a school district shall be required  to
 12        review  and  sign  any  entries  made to his personnel file. At reasonable
 13        times and places, in the presence of an appropriate district  official,  a
 14        noncertificated  employee  may inspect documents contained in his official
 15        personnel file.
 16        (3)  To provide that no property rights shall attach to the employment  of
 17    a  noncertificated  employee  of the school district by reason of the require-
 18    ments set forth in this section.

Statement of Purpose / Fiscal Impact



                       STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

                             RS 16162

     This legislation provides a probationary period for non-
certified employees of Idaho public school districts after they
have been employed for 180 days.  Additionally, an assurance is
included that no property rights shall attach to the employment
of classified employees by reason of this provision.  Realignment
of a portion of the current code is also included to provide
greater clarity.



                          FISCAL IMPACT

     There is no fiscal impact on the state's general fund.




               
  **** REVISED ****      ****REVISED*****      ****REVISED****



Contact  
Name: Jim Shackelford
Phone: 322-1330


STATEMENT OF PURPOSE/FISCAL NOTE                          S 1439