Bill Text: CA AB2534 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Certificated employees: disclosures: egregious misconduct.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Engrossed) 2024-05-23 - In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. [AB2534 Detail]
Download: California-2023-AB2534-Amended.html
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Amended
IN
Assembly
April 01, 2024 |
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE—
2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION
Assembly Bill
No. 2534
| Introduced by Assembly Member Flora |
February 13, 2024 |
An act to amend Section 44939.5 of the Education Code, relating to school employment.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2534, as amended, Flora.
Certificated employees: disclosures: egregious misconduct.
Existing law prohibits a permanent school employee from being dismissed, except for one or more of certain enumerated causes, including egregious misconduct, as defined. Existing law requires the superintendent of a school district or county office of education, or the administrator of a charter school, employing a person with a credential, to report any change in the employment status of the credentialholder to the commission Commission on Teacher Credentialing not later than 30 days after the change in employment status, if the credentialholder, while working in a position requiring a credential, and as a result of an allegation of misconduct or while an allegation of misconduct is pending, is
dismissed, is nonreelected, resigns, is suspended or placed on unpaid administrative leave for more than 10 days as a final adverse action, retires, or is otherwise terminated by a decision not to employ or reemploy.
Existing law prohibits school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools from entering into an agreement that would prevent a mandatory report of egregious misconduct, as defined, or expunging from an employee’s personnel file, or entering in an agreement that would authorize expunging from an employee’s personnel file, credible complaints of, substantiated investigations into, or discipline for, egregious misconduct. Existing law requires a school district, county office of education, or charter school that has made a report of an employee’s egregious misconduct to the Commission on Teacher Credentialing
commission to disclose this fact to a school district, county office of education, or charter school considering an application for employment from the employee, upon inquiry.
This bill would add state special schools to the above-described prohibitions regarding preventing mandatory reporting of, or expunging from an employee’s personnel file information on, egregious misconduct, and to the above-described requirement regarding disclosure of a report of an employee’s egregious misconduct. The bill would require any person applying for a certificated position at a school district, county office of education, or charter school
charter school, or state special school to provide that prospective employer with a complete list of every school district, county office of education, and charter school charter school, and state special school that the applicant has previously been an employee of, and would require a local educational agency school districts, county offices of education, charter schools, and state special schools
considering an applicant for a certificated position to inquire with each of those local educational agency agencies that previously employed the applicant as to whether the applicant, while previously employed by the local educational agency, was the subject of any credible complaints of, substantiated investigations into, or discipline for, egregious misconduct. misconduct that were required to be reported to the commission. The bill would require a
those local educational agency, agencies, when responding to an inquiry as to whether it has made a report of egregious misconduct to the commission, to also provide the inquiring local educational agency with a copy of all relevant information that was reported to the commission within its possession. To the extent the bill would impose additional duties on local educational agency officials, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
Digest Key
Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: YESBill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
Section 44939.5 of the Education Code is amended to read:44939.5.
(a)(b) Local educational agencies School
districts, county offices of education, charter schools, and state special schools shall not expunge from an employee’s personnel file, nor shall they enter into an agreement that would authorize expunging from an employee’s personnel file, credible complaints of, substantiated investigations into, or discipline for, egregious misconduct, as defined in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 44932. This prohibition does not preclude removing, or entering into any agreement to remove, documents containing allegations that have been the subject of a hearing before an arbitrator, school board, personnel commission, Commission on Professional Competence, or administrative law judge, in which the employee prevailed, the allegations were determined to be false, not credible, or unsubstantiated, or a determination was made that the discipline was not warranted.
(c) (1) Any person applying for a certificated position at a local educational agency school district, county office of education, charter school, or state special school shall provide that prospective employer with a complete list of every local educational agency
school district, county office of education, charter school, and state special school that the applicant has previously been an employee of.
(2) A local educational agency
School districts, county offices of education, charter schools, and state special schools considering an applicant for a certificated position shall inquire with each local
educational agency school district, county office of education, charter school, and state special school that previously employed the applicant, as disclosed pursuant to paragraph (1), as to whether the applicant, while previously employed by the local educational agency, was the subject of any credible complaints of, substantiated investigations into, or discipline for, egregious misconduct, as defined in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 44932. 44932, that were required to be reported to the Commission on Teacher Credentialing.
(3) A local educational agency School
districts, county offices of education, charter schools, and state special schools that has have made a report of an employee’s egregious misconduct to the Commission on Teacher Credentialing shall disclose this fact to a local educational agency school district, county office of education, charter school, or state special school considering an application for employment from the employee, upon inquiry, and, notwithstanding any other law, shall provide the inquiring local educational agency with a copy of all relevant information
that was reported to the Commission on Teacher Credentialing, within its possession.
(d) Any school employee who alleges that another school employee has engaged in egregious misconduct, as defined in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 44932, knowing at the time of making the allegation that the allegation was false, shall be subject to certificate revocation, if applicable.
(e)For purposes of this section, “local educational agency” means a school district, county office of education, or charter school.
