HOUSE BILL REPORT

                  HB 2301

             As Reported By House Committee on:

                      Higher Education

Title:  An act relating to community and technical college tenure.

Brief Description:  Considering job sharing as a faculty appointment in community and technical colleges for tenure purposes.

Sponsor(s):  Representatives Ogden, Wood, Jacobsen, Spanel, Peery, H. Myers and Bray.

Brief History:

  Reported by House Committee on:

Higher Education, February 6, 1992, DPS.

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON

HIGHER EDUCATION

Majority Report: The substitute bill be substituted therefor and the substitute bill do pass.  Signed by 12 members:  Representatives Jacobsen, Chair; Ogden, Vice Chair; Wood, Ranking Minority Member; May, Assistant Ranking Minority Member; Basich; Dellwo; Fraser; Ludwig; Miller; Sheldon; Spanel; and Van Luven.

Staff:  Susan Hosch (786-7120).

Background:

In the community and technical college system, the conditions for granting faculty tenure are statutorily prescribed.  Under current law, tenure is restricted to three types of employees:  full time teachers, counselors, and librarians.  Administrators and department and division heads, who now or in the past had status as a teachers, counselors or librarians are eligible for tenure.  Finally, at the option of college governing boards, faculty members who have tenure but are assigned to a reduced workload are eligible to retain that tenure.

Instructors in less than full-time positions are not eligible for tenure unless they were once full-time tenured faculty.  This restriction prevents part-time faculty and persons job-sharing a full-time position from receiving tenure.

Summary of Substitute Bill:

The State Board for Community and Technical Colleges will convene a task force to explore solutions to issues that deter job-sharing in the community and technical college system.  The composition of the task force is described.  By December 1, 1992, the task force will submit a report with any recommended legislation to the governor and appropriate legislative committees.

The issues to be considered by the task force are described.  The task force will examine issues surrounding tenure, work load division, procedures for establishing or terminating a job-share position, faculty advancement, career mobility, and tenure portability.  The task force will examine

job-sharing arrangements at other institutions of higher education, and the significant differences, if any, between job-sharing and part-time employment.  Other issues to be considered are also described.  At its discretion, the task force may examine additional issues.

Substitute Bill Compared to Original Bill:  Tenure laws are not amended.  Job-share arrangements are not prescribed for the community and technical college system.  Instead, the system will seek solutions to issues that deter job-sharing.

Fiscal Note:  Requested February 3, 1992.

Effective Date of Substitute Bill:  Ninety days after adjournment of session in which bill is passed.

Testimony For:  (Original Bill) Job-share opportunities benefit society by permitting employees to take care of children, spouses and elderly parents.  Employees job-sharing a full-time position tend to produce more than many full-time employees.  They are motivated, committed to their work, and generally have high job satisfaction.  Job-sharing instructors are permitted to acquire tenure in the common schools and in some four-year colleges and universities.  Tenured job-share positions should be available for community college faculty.

Testimony Against:  (Original Bill) Many issues need to be addressed before tenure track positions are provided for job-sharing instructors.  If part-time job-sharing instructors are permitted to acquire tenure, how can tenure be denied to other part-time instructors.  Issues to be addressed include work load division, the cost for benefit packages, procedures for establishing and terminating a tenured job-share arrangement, and other complex nuances of tenured employment.  Many community college administrators are extremely reluctant to grant tenure to any part-time faculty member.

Witnesses:  Pro original bill and substitute bill:  Allan Walton, WEA/AHE; and Patricia E. Watne, Clark College.  Con original bill, but pro substitute bill:  Larry Lael, State Board for Community and Technical Colleges;  Wendy Rader-Konofalski, Washington Federation of Teachers; and Sandra Schroeder, Washington Federation of Teachers.