44258.9
. (a) The Legislature finds that continued monitoring of
teacher assignments by county superintendents of schools will ensure
that the rate of teacher misassignment remains low. To the extent
possible and with funds provided for that purpose, each county
superintendent of schools shall perform the duties specified in
subdivisions (b) and (c).
(b) (1) Each county superintendent of schools shall monitor and
review school district certificated employee assignment practices in
accordance with the following:
(A) Annually monitor and review schools and school districts that
are likely to have problems with teacher misassignments and teacher
vacancies, as defined in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (5)
of subdivision (b) of Section 33126, based on past experience or
other available information.
(B) Annually monitor and review schools ranked in deciles 1 to 3,
inclusive, of the base Academic Performance Index, as specified in
paragraph (2) of subdivision (c) of Section 1240, if those schools
are not currently under review through a state or federal
intervention program. If a review completed pursuant to this
subparagraph finds that a school has no teacher misassignments or
teacher vacancies for two consecutive years, the next review of that
school may be conducted according to the cycle specified in
subparagraph (C), unless the school meets the criteria of
subparagraph (A).
(C) All other schools on a four-year cycle.
(2) Each county superintendent of schools shall investigate school
and district efforts to ensure that a credentialed teacher serving
in an assignment requiring a certificate issued pursuant to Section
44253.3, 44253.4, or 44253.7 or training pursuant to Section 44253.10
completes the necessary requirements for these certificates or
completes the required training.
(3) The Commission on Teacher Credentialing shall be responsible
for the monitoring and review of those counties or cities and
counties in which there is a single school district, including the
Counties of Alpine, Amador, Del Norte, Mariposa, Plumas, and Sierra,
and the City and County of San Francisco. All information related to
the misassignment of certificated personnel and teacher vacancies
shall be submitted to each affected district within 30 calendar days
of the monitoring activity.
(c) County superintendents of schools shall submit an annual
report to the Commission on Teacher Credentialing and the department
summarizing the results of all assignment monitoring and reviews.
These reports shall include, but need not be limited to, the
following:
(1) The numbers of teachers assigned and types of assignments made
by the governing board of a school district under the authority of
Sections 44256, 44258.2, and 44263.
(2) Information on actions taken by local committees on
assignment, including the number of assignments authorized, subject
areas into which committee-authorized teachers are assigned, and
evidence of departures from the implementation plans presented to the
county superintendent by school districts.
(3) Information on each school district reviewed regarding
misassignments of certificated personnel, including efforts to
eliminate these misassignments.
(4) (A) Information on certificated employee assignment practices
in schools ranked in deciles 1 to 3, inclusive, of the base Academic
Performance Index, as specified in paragraph (2) of subdivision (c)
of Section 1240, to ensure that, at a minimum, in any class in these
schools in which 20 percent or more pupils are English learners, the
assigned teacher possesses a certificate issued pursuant to Section
44253.3 or 44253.4, or has completed training pursuant to Section
44253.10, or is otherwise authorized by statute.
(B) This paragraph shall not relieve a school district from
compliance with state and federal law regarding teachers of English
learners or be construed to alter the definition of "misassignment"
in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (5) of subdivision (b) of Section
33126.
(5) After consultation with representatives of county
superintendents of schools, other information as may be determined to
be needed by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing.
(d) The Commission on Teacher Credentialing shall submit biennial
reports to the Legislature concerning teacher assignments and
misassignments that shall be based, in part, on the annual reports of
the county superintendents of schools.
(e) (1) The Commission on Teacher Credentialing shall establish
reasonable sanctions for the misassignment of credentialholders.
Prior to the implementation of regulations establishing sanctions,
the Commission on Teacher Credentialing shall engage in a variety of
activities designed to inform school administrators, teachers, and
personnel within the offices of county superintendents of schools of
the regulations and statutes affecting the assignment of certificated
personnel. These activities shall include the preparation of
instructive brochures and the holding of regional workshops.
(2) Commencing July 1, 1989, a certificated person who is required
by an administrative superior to accept an assignment for which he
or she has no legal authorization, after exhausting existing local
remedies, shall notify the county superintendent of schools in
writing of the illegal assignment. The county superintendent of
schools, within 15 working days, shall advise the affected
certificated person concerning the legality of his or her assignment.
There shall be no adverse action taken against a certificated person
who files a notification of misassignment with the county
superintendent of schools. During the period of the misassignment,
the certificated person who files a written notification with the
county superintendent of schools shall be exempt from Section 45034.
If it is determined that a misassignment has taken place, any
performance evaluation of the employee under Sections 44660 to 44664,
inclusive, in any misassigned subject shall be nullified.
(3) The county superintendent of schools shall notify, through the
office of the school district superintendent, a certificated school
administrator responsible for the assignment of a certificated person
to a position for which he or she has no legal authorization of the
misassignment and shall advise him or her to correct the assignment
within 30 calendar days. The county superintendent of schools shall
notify the Commission on Teacher Credentialing of the misassignment
if the certificated school administrator has not corrected the
misassignment within 30 days of the initial notification, or if the
certificated school administrator has not described, in writing,
within the 30-day period, to the county superintendent of schools the
extraordinary circumstances which make this correction impossible.
(4) The county superintendent of schools shall notify the
superintendent of a school district in which 5 percent or more of all
certificated teachers in the secondary schools are found to be
misassigned of the misassignments and shall advise him or her to
correct the misassignments within 120 calendar days. The county
superintendent of schools shall notify the Commission on Teacher
Credentialing of the misassignments if the school district
superintendent has not corrected the misassignments within 120 days
of the initial notification, or if the school district superintendent
of schools has not described, in writing, within the 120-day period,
to the county superintendent of schools the extraordinary
circumstances that make this correction impossible.
(f) An applicant for a professional administrative service
credential shall be required to demonstrate knowledge of existing
credentialing laws, including knowledge of assignment authorizations.
(g) The Superintendent shall submit a summary of the reports
submitted by county superintendents pursuant to subdivision (c) to
the Legislature. The Legislature may hold, within a reasonable period
after receipt of the summary, public hearings on pupil access to
teachers and to related statutory provisions. The Legislature also
may assign one or more of the standing committees or a joint
committee, to determine the following:
(1) The effectiveness of the reviews required pursuant to this
section.
(2) The extent, if any, of vacancies and misassignments, as
defined in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (5) of subdivision
(b) of Section 33126.
(3) The need, if any, to assist schools ranked in deciles 1 to 3,
inclusive, of the base Academic Performance Index, as defined in
paragraph (2) of subdivision (c) of Section 1240, to eliminate
vacancies and misassignments.