Teacher dismissal bill may add complexity not simplify
(Calif.) Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation in late June with the goal of expediting the process of dismissing teachers for egregious misconduct, but some experts say AB 215 will only further muddy up an already difficult and costly process.
Under the new law, expedited scheduling for due process hearings is only established when an employee is charged with egregious misconduct, which consists of certain sex and drug offenses, as well as child neglect, endangerment and abuse. Hearings must now begin within 60 days of a teacher's request for one.
“The statutory changes made by AB 215 will not necessarily improve the process for suspension or dismissal of a certificated employee,” Darren Kameya and Desiree Serrano, of education law firm Lozano Smith, said in a statement.
They said the law “will impose additional procedures and restrictive timelines on a process that is already expensive and time-consuming.”
The bill was signed shortly after a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge ruled that California education statutes related to dismissal of both tenured and newer teachers violated equal protection laws under the state Constitution.
The plaintiffs in that case, nine students represented by the nonprofit Students Matter, argued that low-income, predominantly minority schools have more bad teachers than students in high-income, predominantly white schools, and that current policies dictating teacher tenure, dismissal and seniority made it nearly impossible to change this.
The timing of the court decision and passage of the new law were coincidental but the need better, more efficient ways to fire teachers has been a topic of debate for years.
AB 215 was introduced in 2012 after Mark Berndt, a teacher in the Los Angeles Unified School District, was arrested and charged with 23 counts of lewd conduct. The district paid Berndt $40,000 to drop his appeal of his firing, and said it was the difficulties in the dismissal process that lead to the pay-out – which is often less costly than going through the dismissal process.
Under new law, districts will be prohibited from entering an agreement not to report egregious misconduct to the Commission on Teacher Credentialing, and will be required to show when the misconduct has been reported to the commission when asked by a school district, county office of Teacher dismissal bill may add complexity not simplify :: SI&A Cabinet Report :: The Essential Resource for Superintendents and the Cabinet:
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