School employees: discipline: dismissal and suspension.

(1) Existing law prohibits a permanent school employee from being dismissed except for one or more specified causes, including, among other causes, immoral or unprofessional conduct. Existing law requires the governing board of a school district to give notice to a permanent employee of its intention to dismiss or suspend the employee, together with a written statement of charges, at the expiration of 30 days from the date of service of the notice, unless the employee demands a hearing. Existing law authorizes the governing board of a school district, upon the filing of written charges charging an employee with, among other things, immoral conduct, to immediately suspend an employee from his or her duties and give notice to the employee of his or her suspension, as provided. Existing law provides that 30 days after service of the notice, the employee will be dismissed, unless he or she demands a hearing. This bill would provide that the charges may be amended only upon a motion before an administrative law judge of the Office of Administrative Hearings, would require that a notice of the governing board's intention to dismiss or suspend the employee, together with written charges filed or formulated, be sufficient to initiate a hearing, as prescribed, and would prohibit the governing board of the school district from being required to file or serve a separate accusation. The bill would revise various procedures for providing notice of dismissal or suspension and would authorize a notice of dismissal or suspension to be given at any time of year, except a notice for a proceeding involving only charges of unsatisfactory performance, which would only be given during the instructional year of the schoolsite where the employee is physically employed. The bill would impose various requirements for the filing of a demand for a hearing and the conduct of hearings by the Office of Administrative Hearings. The bill would additionally authorize the immediate suspension of an employee for unprofessional conduct reasonably related to specified sex offenses, substance abuse offenses, and child endangerment offenses. The bill would authorize an employee placed on immediate suspension to make a motion for immediate reversal of suspension, as provided, and would prohibit a motion for immediate reversal of suspension from having a bearing on the authority of a governing board of a school district to determine the physical placement and assignment of an employee who is suspended or placed on administrative leave during the review of the motion or while dismissal charges are pending. The bill would delete obsolete provisions relating to the dismissal or suspension of a permanent employee based on knowing membership by the employee in the Communist Party. (2) Existing law requires in a dismissal or suspension proceeding against a permanent employee, if a hearing is requested by the employee, that the hearing be commenced within 60 days from the date of the employee's demand for a hearing. This bill would require that the hearing be commenced within 6 months from the date of the employee's demand for a hearing, and be completed by a closing of the record within 7 months of the date of the employee's demand for a hearing, except as authorized for good cause by the presiding administrative law judge. The bill would revise various procedures for the conduct of those hearings, including the authority to waive the hearing conducted by a Commission on Professional Competence and instead have the hearing conducted by a single administrative law judge. The bill also would provide that a Commission on Professional Competence shall consist solely of an administrative law judge for charges involving only specified sex offenses, substance offenses, and child endangerment offenses. The bill would require that, in a dismissal or suspension proceeding carried out under the above provisions, except for a hearing involving only charges of specified sex offenses, substance abuse offenses, and child abuse offenses, the parties make specified disclosures in lieu of certain written discovery, as prescribed, and would authorize the parties to obtain discovery by oral deposition. The bill would require the governing board and the state to share equally the expenses of the hearing if the Commission on Professional Competence determines that the employee should be dismissed or suspended. (3) Existing law prohibits the giving of testimony or the introduction of evidence relating to matters occurring more than 4 years prior to the filing of a notice. Existing law further prohibits any decision relating to the dismissal or suspension of any employee from being made based on charges or evidence of any nature relating to matters occurring more than 4 years prior to the filing of a notice. This bill would exempt allegations of an act reasonably related to specified sex offenses, substance abuse offenses, and child endangerment offenses from these prohibitions. (4) Existing law provides that a certificated employee may be charged with a mandatory leave of absence offense for certain specified sex offenses or controlled substance offenses with the exception of marijuana, mescaline, peyote, or tetrahydrocannabinols. Existing law provides that a certificated employee may be charged with an optional leave of absence offense for, among other things, other specified substance offenses with the exception of marijuana, mescaline, peyote, or tetrahydrocannabinols. Existing law requires the governing board of a school district to immediately place a certificated employee on compulsory leave of absence if the employee is charged with a mandatory leave of absence offense. This bill would additionally authorize a certificated employee to be charged with a mandatory leave of absence offense for murder and attempted murder. The bill also would delete the exceptions for marijuana, mescaline, peyote, or tetrahydrocannabinols. Because this would increase the number of employees subject to immediate placement on compulsory leave of absence, thereby increasing the duties of school districts, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (5) This bill would also make conforming and nonsubstantive changes. (6) 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 these statutory provisions.