Personnel Issues
William Allan Kritsonis, PhD
Topics to be Discussed:
Reassignment Compensation Disputes Teacher Appraisal Employee Benefits Wage and Hour Requirements Workers’ Compensation and Unemployment
Compensation Grievances and Employee Organizations
Reassignment
Reassignments lead to litigations Assignment and reassignment can be
handled by the superintendent The Texas Education Agency will hear
complaints if the employee suffers financially Commissioner’s jurisdiction limited to “the
school laws of this state” or “provision of a written employment contract between the school district and a school district employee if a violation causes or would cause monetary harm to the employee”
What’s The Law?
Case I: Finch v. Fort Bend I.S.D. (2003)A principal was reassigned to the maintenance department. She was told that she would be a facilitator for staff development of the nonprofessional staff. The superintendent gave her a memo stating the reason for reassignment and told her that she could file a grievance. The principal filed a grievance and a lawsuit.
Who is right?
COMPENSATION DISPUTES
State Pay Scale “Local Supplement” San Elizario I.S.D. set salaries on July 10.
Teachers were locked into their contract as of July 1. The new salary was lower. Is this allowable?
Overpayment- If a district makes an error and overpays a teacher, can the district get the money back?
TEACHER APPRAISAL
Before 1981’s Term Contract Nonrenewal Act (TCNA), there was not a state law requiring teacher evaluation.
TCNA required teachers under term contract to be evaluated in writing at least once a year.
All other decisions about evaluation, including the instrument used to evaluate were left up to the local district.
TEACHER APPRAISAL
1984: House Bill 72 imposed the Texas Teacher Appraisal System (TTAS)Bill was an effort to adopt a uniform
system of evaluating teachers in Texas.
Implemented the career ladderFinancial incentives to keep good teacher teaching
Texas Teacher Appraisal System (TTAS) Was used to differentiate the regular teacher
from the star teacher Administrators thought it was too easy for
teachers, didn’t reflect teachers’ capabilities Many teachers did not approve of career
ladders (unfair cash incentives) 1993 legislature got rid of this system 1995 legislature made extra changes
PDAS (Professional Development and Appraisal System)
Current system Not for all professional employees; for
classroom teachers District must use or create their own If district makes their own, it must
develop it through district and campus site-based decision-making committees
Local system must reflect discipline management and student performance
Local board must accept or reject plan en toto; cannot modify plan
PDAS Continued Includes eight domains based on indicators in
the Academic Excellence Indicator System Single appraisal by single appraiser Annual, unless district decides to have less Four ratings: Exceeds expectations, Proficient,
Below expectations, Unsatisfactory If a teacher receives most recent appraisal of
“proficient” with no areas of deficiency, they can be appraised less (as long as appraised every five years)
One failure may impact several domains Teacher can file a written rebuttal to the appraisal Teachers must only be assessed on classroom
performance, not extracurricular activities
PDAS
Teachers may be identified as needing assistance if they are evaluated as unsatisfactory in two or more domains.
Supervisor and teacher must develop an intervention plan
Teacher can be nonrenewed without the above actions taking place.
Kinnaird v. Morgan I.S.D. (1999) Teacher was nonrenewed without an intervention plan. The commissioner approved this.
PDAS Documentation
Timely documentation by administrators Incidents that affect teacher’s rating should
be verified, documented , and shared with the teacher promptly
Koehler v. LaGrange I.S.D.- supervisor failed to document and share two incidents that had adversely affected the appraisal- commissioner invalidated teacher’s appraisal
Incidents should be documented and shared with the teacher within ten working days of the appraiser’s knowledge of the incident
Employment Benefits
Planning and Preparation Period- State law: (each teacher)at least 450 minutes within each two week period for preparation, planning, conferences, grading. Each period must be at least 45 minutes long. The teacher may not be required to participated in any other activity (i.e. inservices- Strater v. Houston I.S.D., 1986)
Duty-Free Lunch-30 minute period free from duties unless dire situations (shortage of staff, extreme economic conditions, unavoidable and/or unforseen circumstances). A teacher may not be required to supervise students during the duty-free lunch more than one time per week.
Personal Leave
Old plan done away with in 1995 State allows 5 days personal leave a year No limit on accumulation Moves with employee Can be used for any reason Old plan-you could only use sick days when
you were actually sick. Personal leave is different.
Sick leave is still under the old plan
Castleberry ISD
No more than two personal leave days consecutively
No personal leave if other employee in the same category is on leave
No personal leave on the day before a holiday
This was approved by the court of appeals. It didn’t limit days, just limited timing.
Personal Leave
Can be rewarded-$1,000 stipend with certain conditions (Brady I.S.D.)
Brady I.S.D. conditions: No more than five days personal/sick leave in a
school year Teacher missed eight days and filed a grievance District won
Health Insurance/Assault Leave
Health insurance: employees can take necessary days to recuperate from all injuries. Employees can have paid leave up to two years. Leave may not be deducted from sick leave.
Employee placed on assault leave immediately upon request. District will investigate and may change the assault leave charge. It will affect personal days, then employee pay.
Teacher Retirement: each teacher must participate. School districts can establish annuity programs, and various insurance programs out of local funds.
Temporary Disability Leave: Teacher cannot be terminated. Pregnancy listed specifically. Can only be taken during the period the doctor specifies. This is unpaid leave. Upon returning to work, the employee should have a job. This employee must be placed on their campus, unless another principal voluntarily accepts them.
* Nelson v. Weatherwax: Employee went on temporary disability leave on same day that she received notice of intent to terminate. On her leave, the board went on with proceedings. The termination date was the day her leave ended. The court of appeals concluded that this process did not violate the Education Code.
Family Medical Leave Act/ Misc. Leave Policies 12 weeks unpaid leave per year to care for: newborn,
adopted, or foster children; a spouse, child or parent with serious health condition; when a serious health condition prevents performance. (only 12 weeks: can’t put family medical leave and temporary medical leave together.) Employees must receive their job and equivalent pay upon returning.
Local leave policies developed by districts.Teachers may not be given paid leave to attend a meeting of a teacher’s professional organization.
Other types of leave: Military and Developmental Military: up to 15 days granted per year Developmental: Certified teachers in district for 5 years or greater to
study, research. One school year at one-half salary or one-half school year at full salary.
Wage and Hour Requirements 1985- U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the minimum-wage
and maximum-hour provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) apply to local government functions.
Requires good documentation to show that employees have not worked overtime without proper compensation
FLSA provisions apply to people in two groups:
Non-Exempt
-not exempt from FLSA rules/regulations
-entitled to overtime pay or “comp time”
Exempt
-not covered by FLSA
-not entitled to extra work in excess of the forty-hour week
-secretaries, maintenance workers, bus drivers, custodians, teacher aides
- 3 categories: Executive, Administrative, Profession
Worker’s UnemploymentCompensation Compensation Statue prohibits an
employer from retaliating against an employee who has filed
No legal obligation to hold jobs or create new ones for employees. The only exception is disabled employees under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
Helps those who are unemployed through no fault of their own
Misconduct or quitting voluntarily does not merit unemployment pay
Grievances
Covered under the Texas Constitution since 1845
1984- Attorney General Jim Mattox broadened “conditions of work” in grievances
Malone v. Houston I.S.D.-District refused grievance of reassignment. This was ruled as a serious error.
Grievances can occur over virtually anything. They must be filed in a timely fashion.
Hearing involves”Stop, look, listen” and “consider”
The Role of Employee Organizations
Weaker than most around the country Those that are stronger have had strong
labor unions for a long period of time In Texas:
“Right to work” regardless of membership or non-membership in professional organizations
Ban on collective bargaining in the public sector Prohibits right to strike or organized work
stoppages You can only file grievances through
organizations that do not claim the right to strike
Resources
The Educator’s Guide to Texas School Law, 6th Edition by Kemerre, Walsh & Maniotis, 2005, University of Texas Press, Austin.
