Z-628                 _______________________________________________

 

                                                    HOUSE BILL NO. 364

                        _______________________________________________

 

State of Washington                              49th Legislature                              1985 Regular Session

 

By Representatives Grimm, Betrozoff, Holland and P. King; by Temporary Committee on Educational Policies, Structure and Management request

 

 

Read first time 1/30/85 and referred to Committee on Education.

 

 


AN ACT Relating to supervisory certificated employees in the common schools; amending RCW 28A.58.099 and 28A.67.073; adding a new section to chapter 28A.01 RCW; and creating a new section.

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

 

          NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1.  A new section is added to chapter 28A.01 RCW to read as follows:

          As used in RCW 28A.58.099, "supervisory certificated employee"  means an employee assigned responsibility to participate in all of the following functions with respect to their subordinate employees:

          (1) Selection of staff;

          (2) Training and development;

          (3) Planning and assignment of work;

          (4) Evaluation of performance; and

          (5) Corrective action.

 

        Sec. 2.  Section 3, chapter 275, Laws of 1983 and RCW 28A.58.099 are each amended to read as follows:

          Every board of directors, unless otherwise specially provided by law, shall:

          (1) Except as provided in RCW 28A.58.137, employ for not more than one year, and for sufficient cause discharge all certificated and noncertificated employees:  PROVIDED, That supervisory certificated employees as defined in section 1 of this 1985 act may be employed for a term not to exceed three years when deemed in the best interest of the district and the right to renew a contract of employment with any principal shall be solely within the discretion of the board employing that principal  but the provisions of RCW 28A.58.450 through 28A.58.515 shall apply where there is probable cause for nonrenewal;

          (2) Adopt written policies granting leaves to persons under contracts of employment with the school district(s) in positions requiring either certification or noncertification qualifications, including but not limited to leaves for attendance at official or private institutes and conferences and sabbatical leaves for employees in positions requiring certification qualification, and leaves for illness, injury, bereavement and, emergencies for both certificated and noncertificated employees, and with such compensation as the board of directors prescribe:  PROVIDED, That the board of directors shall adopt written policies granting to such persons annual leave with compensation for illness, injury and emergencies as follows:

          (a) For such persons under contract with the school district for a full year, at least ten days;

          (b) For such persons under contract with the school district as part time employees, at least that portion of ten days as the total number of days contracted for bears to one hundred eighty days;

          (c) For certificated and noncertificated employees, annual leave with compensation for illness, injury, and emergencies shall be granted and accrue at a rate not to exceed twelve days per year; provisions of any contract in force on June 12, 1980, which conflict with requirements of this subsection shall continue in effect until contract expiration; after expiration, any new contract executed between the parties shall be consistent with this subsection;

          (d) Compensation for leave for illness or injury actually taken shall be the same as the compensation such person would have received had such person not taken the leave provided in this proviso;

           (e) Leave provided in this proviso not taken shall accumulate from year to year up to a maximum of one hundred eighty days.  Such accumulated time may be taken at any time during the school year or up to twelve days per year may be used for the purpose of payments for unused sick leave.

           (f) Sick leave heretofore accumulated under section 1, chapter 195, Laws of 1959 (former RCW 28.58.430) and sick leave accumulated under administrative practice of school districts prior to the effective date of section 1, chapter 195, Laws of 1959 (former RCW 28.58.430) is hereby declared valid, and shall be added to leave for illness or injury accumulated under this proviso;

           (g) Any leave for injury or illness accumulated up to a maximum of forty-five days shall be creditable as service rendered for the purpose of determining the time at which an employee is eligible to retire, if such leave is taken it may not be compensated under the provisions of RCW 28A.58.096 and 28A.21.360;

           (h) Accumulated leave under this proviso shall be transferred to and from one district to another, the office of superintendent of public instruction and offices of  educational service district superintendents and boards, to and from such districts and such offices;

           (i) Leave accumulated by a person in a district prior to leaving said district may, under rules and regulations of the board, be granted to such person when he returns to the employment of the district.

          When any certificated or classified employee leaves one school district within the state and commences employment with another school district within the state, he shall retain the same seniority, leave benefits and other benefits that he had in his previous position.  If the school district to which the person transfers has a different system for computing seniority, leave benefits, and other benefits, then the employee shall be granted the same seniority, leave benefits and other benefits as a person in that district who has similar occupational status and total years of service.

 

        Sec. 3.  Section 9, chapter 114, Laws of 1975-'76 2nd ex. sess. and RCW 28A.67.073 are each amended to read as follows:

          Any certificated employee of a school district employed as an assistant superintendent, director, principal, assistant principal, coordinator, or in any other supervisory or administrative position, hereinafter in this section referred to as "administrator", shall be subject to transfer, at the expiration of the term of his or her employment contract, to any subordinate certificated position within the school district when the individual's talents and expertise in the subordinate position would clearly benefit the school district.  "Subordinate certificated position" as used in this section, shall mean any administrative or nonadministrative certificated position for which the annual compensation is less than the position currently held by the administrator.

          Every superintendent determining that the best interests of the school district would be served by transferring any administrator to a subordinate certificated position shall notify that administrator in writing on or before May 15th preceding the commencement of such school term of that determination, which notification shall state the reason or reasons for the transfer, and shall identify the subordinate certificated position to which the administrator will be transferred.  Such notice shall be served upon the administrator personally, or by certified or registered mail, or by leaving a copy of the notice at the place of his or her usual abode with some person of suitable age and discretion then resident therein.

          Every such administrator so notified, at his or her request made in writing and filed with the president or chairman, or secretary of the board of directors of the district within ten days after receiving such notice, shall be given the opportunity to meet informally with the board of directors in an executive session thereof for the purpose of requesting the board to reconsider the decision of the superintendent.  Such board, upon receipt of such request, shall schedule the meeting for no later than the next regularly scheduled meeting of the board, and shall notify the administrator in writing of the date, time and place of the meeting at least three days prior thereto.  At such meeting the administrator shall be given the opportunity to refute any facts upon which the determination was based and to make any argument in support of his or her request for reconsideration.  The administrator and the board may invite their respective legal counsel to be present and to participate at the meeting.  The board shall notify the administrator in writing of its final decision within ten days following its meeting with the administrator.  No appeal to the courts shall lie from the final decision of the board of directors to transfer an administrator to a subordinate certificated position:  PROVIDED, That in the case of principals such transfer shall be made at the expiration of the contract year ((and only during the first three consecutive school years of employment as a principal by a school district; except that if any such principal has been previously employed as a principal by another school district in the state of Washington for three or more consecutive school years the provisions of this section shall apply only to the first full school year of such employment)).

          This section applies to any person employed as an administrator by a school district on June 25, 1976 and to all persons so employed at any time thereafter.  This section provides the exclusive means for transferring an administrator to a subordinate certificated position at the expiration of the term of his or her employment contract.

 

          NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4.     This act shall apply to all supervisory certificated employees whose contracts are renewed or entered into after the effective date of this act.

 

          NEW SECTION.  Sec. 5.     If any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances is not affected.