Presentation Transcript

1. Pioneer RESA June 10, 2013 Phillip L. Hartley Harben, Hartley & Hawkins, LLP

   Legal Issues Update

2. LEGISLATIVE ISSUES FROM THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY
3. § 20-2-210 Annual Performance Evaluation Started with QBE and mandated evaluations developed by the State Why that Didn’t Work Local Control and HB 1187 Tying Evaluations to Pay and Certification A New State Model and RTTT Mandated Evaluations Developed by the State
4. Existing Law § 20-2-210. Annual performance evaluation (b) Annual teacher evaluations shall at a minimum take into consideration the following:(1) The role of the teacher in meeting the school's student achievement goals, including the academic gains of students assigned to the teacher;(2) Observations of the teacher by the principal and assistant principals during the delivery of instruction and at other times as appropriate;(3) Participation in professional development opportunities and the application of concepts learned to classroom and school activities;(4) Communication and interpersonal skills as they relate to interaction with students, parents, other teachers, administrators, and other school personnel;(5) Timeliness and attendance for assigned responsibilities;(6) Adherence to school and local school system procedures and rules; and(7) Personal conduct while in performance of school duties.
5. HB 244 - Evaluation No later than 14-15, each local system and charter school shall implement evaluation system adopted by SBOE for teachers of record, assistant principals, and principals Must use “multiple, rigorous and transparent measures,” Written notice required in “advance of the school year of the measures and indicators to be used” “growth in student achievement shall count at least 50%” - state assessments, SLOs, multiple additional measures Statute mandates number of meetings, notice of annual evaluation within 5 days, right to request conference with timelines
6. HB 244 – Evaluation Every teacher of record, principal, A.P. to be rated: Exemplary Proficient Needs Development Ineffective “Ineffective” rating is evidence of incompetency under Fair Dismissal Act
7. HB 244 - Evaluation cont’d Except as otherwise provided in Code Section 20-2-948, local school systems shall base decisions regarding retention, promotion, compensation, dismissals, and other staffing decisions, including transfers, placements, and preferences in the event of reductions in force, primarily on the results of the evaluations developed as required by this subsection.
8. HB 244 - Other Changes O.C.G.A. § 20-2-211: Contract issuance deadline is May 15 permanently. O.C.G.A. § 20-2-212 on salary: …a teacher shall not receive credit for any year of experience in which the teacher received an unsatisfactory or ineffective annual summative performance evaluation or for the second year in which a teacher receives two consecutive annual summative needs development ratings pursuant to Code Section 20-2-210.
9. HB 244 - Other Changes O.C.G.A. § 20-2-200, on PSC certification (c) An individual who has received any combination of two unsatisfactory, ineffective, or needs development annual summative performance evaluations in the previous five-year period pursuant to Code Section 20-2-210 shall not be entitled to a renewable certificate prior to demonstrating that such performance deficiency has been satisfactorily addressed, but such individual may apply to the commission for a nonrenewable certificate, as defined by the commission. Each local school system and charter school shall report all unsatisfactory, ineffective, and needs development ratings of all performance evaluations as provided in Code Section 20-2-210 for certificated personnel in their employ in a manner, format, and frequency determined by the commission.
10. HB 283 -O.C.G.A. 20-2-211(d) (d) Each local school system shall have a job description for each certificated professional personnel classification, shall have policies and procedures relative to the recruitment and selection of such personnel, and shall adhere to such recruitment and selection policies and procedures. Such policies and procedures shall assure nondiscrimination on the basis of sex, race, religion, or national origin. Such policies and procedures shall also include the announcement in writing of the availability of all certificated positions to the appropriate colleges and universities in the state and to the Department of Education and within the local school system and the submission of such available positions to a state-wide online job data base maintained by the state.A local board of education may also announce such positions to colleges and universities in other states.
11. More HB 283… For charter systems, annual report must include description of: Actual authority exercised by governing councils with regard to school level governance components in listed in O.C.G.A. § 20-2-2062 (12.1); Training received by governing councils and school administrators; Steps, if any, the charter system plans to take to increase school level governance in the future Itemization of how additional funds have promoted school level governance or improved student achievement Comparison of actual performance vs. goals set in charter
12. General Assembly and Student Health HB 284 – Concussion Management New O.C.G.A. § 20-2-324.1 requires a “concussion management and return to play” policy with specified components: Information sheet to parents about nature and risk of concussion Athlete must be removed from competition and evaluated if showing concussion symptoms Cannot return to play until obtain clearance from health care provider
13. HB 284 – Concussion cont’d (e) This Code section shall not create any liability for, or create a cause of action against, a local board of education, the governing body of a nonpublic school, the governing body of a charter school, or a public recreation facility or the officers, employees, volunteers, or other designated personnel of any such entities for any act or omission to act related to the removal or nonremoval of a youth athlete from a game, competition, tryout, or practice pursuant to this Code section; provided, however, that for purposes of this subsection, other designated personnel shall not include health care providers unless they are acting in a volunteer capacity."
14. SB 212 – CPR and AED Training O.C.G.A. § 20-2-149.1 Beginning 2013-2014 school year Schools with grades 9-12 must provide instruction in cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and the use of an automated external defibrillator (AED) to students in existing high school health or physical education courses
15. HB 337: Epi-pens Again Schools authorized to “acquire and stock a supply of auto-injectable epinephrine” with prescription Schools may designate trained “employee or agent ” to be responsible for storage, maintenance, and distribution of stocked epi-pens Employee can administer or give to student for self-administration, even without student prescription School personnel who in good faith administer or choose not to administer are immune from civil liability for any act or omission to act, unless misconduct is willful or wanton.
16. How Not to Waive Official Immunity? Avoid mandates in policy and procedures Provide discretion to those in charge Use the right words
17. HB 382: Recreational Joint-Use Agreements Written agreement between the governing authority of a school and a private entity authorizing such entity to access the facilities of a school under the governing authority's jurisdiction for the purposes of conducting or engaging in recreational, physical, or performing arts activity. Agreement must include terms and conditions for use, hold-harmless provision, allow governing authority to revoke at any time, $1 million in liability insurance, and citation to new code section, O.C.G.A. § 51-1-52.
18. HB 382 cont’d Governing authority shall not be deemed to have waived its sovereign immunity as to damages arising out of joint-use agreement. O.C.G.A. § 51-12-33 shall not apply to claims of civil damages arising from use of school’s facilities pursuant to agreement. Applies to causes of action on or after July 1, 2013.
19. A new SBOE Rule for Awarding Units and Transferring Credits Board still required to “adopt a policy” for validating credit for courses taken at non-accredited schools and home study programs Districts still must offer instruction for minimum amount of hours, but does not apply to individual students LBOE may develop local policy for awarding unit of credit upon student’s demonstration of subject area competency without regard to “seat time” Students can “test out” of EOCTs under specified conditions; LBOEs cannot “set policies" prohibiting such Board can set policies for collecting fees for unsuccessful “test out” attempts
20. HB 283 and Tax Credits for Private Schools Requires public school enrollment and attendance for 6 weeks unless the student: lives in zone for low-performing school; has been documented to be subject of physical violence or verbal abuse threatening physical harm; or, was enrolled for one year in home study program.
21. State v. Pitts: Jackson Superior Court-Compulsory Attendance Claim that “unexcused absence” is not defined and is inconsistently applied throughout the state State countered by reference to SBOE rule Rule requires each LBOE to have attendance policy with specified provisions
22. New Legislation and HOPE Eligibility HB 131: Dual credit courses will be weighted the same as advanced placement or international baccalaureate courses in determining overall GPAs for student eligibility Calculated by Georgia Student Finance Authority May put pressure on high schools to review grade weighting rules for valedictorian, salutatorian or other local honors HB 372: 2.0 rather than 3.0 GPA will make students eligible for HOPE grants at technical colleges
23. Making Online Learning Opportunities Available to Students Required by 2012’s SB 289 Districts must notify students and parents of opportunities beginning 2013-14 school year Online courses can be accessed through Georgia Virtual School, local virtual schools, or for-profit school vendors Students attending public schools can take courses during regular school day at no cost to them; fees may apply for courses outside regular school day Courses taken during day from for-profit vendor must be paid by school district; districts make arrangements with such vendors SBOE has Georgia Virtual School rule and guidelines
24. HB 70-Special Education Vouchers SBOE is authorized, on case by case basis, for student’s “specific medical needs” upon parent request in accordance with SBOE procedures, to: require LBOE to expedite development of IEP, even before beginning of school year waive the prior school year attendance requirement
25. HB 242: Juvenile Code Rewrite Takes effect Jan. 1, 2014 Revises Title 15, Chapter 15 in its entirety- new numbers assigned to many familiar code sections Provides clear or new definitions of many key terms Likely to result in: Increased pressure on school systems to document attempts to help students before referrals and to collaborate with other agencies in developing plans for juveniles Fewer students being sent to some type of detention facility when brought to court for delinquent acts
26. HB 242 cont’d O.C.G.A. § 15-11-415 (a) Restraints on the freedom of a child prior to adjudication shall be imposed only when there is probable cause to believe that a child committed the act of which he or she is accused, there is clear and convincing evidence that such child's freedom should be restrained, that no less restrictive alternatives will suffice… “Unruly” child now referred to as “in need of services”
27. HB 242 cont’dChildren in Need of Services Includes children who have committed an act that would not be against the law but for the fact that they are children, such as skipping school, running away from home, and violating curfew Complaint can be filed by school, parent, DFCS, law enforcement, others. If school brings complaint, it must state that it has attempted to address the issue at the school level before filing the complaint with the juvenile court, including addressing any disabilities or suspected disabilities that may be contributing to the child’s behavior. Petition that stems from complaint filed by school official must be dismissedunless the school has already attempted to resolve the problem through educational approaches, including evaluating a child for special education services if appropriate.
28. Student Suspension & Police Arrests D.R.H. v. Fulton County BOE Fulton Superior Court reversed SBOE’s mootness doctrine based on expulsion being completed; Suspension began when police took student from school and incarcerated him for purposes of disciplinary tribunal law
29. HB 283 and Personnel Recruitment LBOEs still must have policy on recruitment of certified personnel Deletes requirement to send written announcement of vacancies to state colleges and universities and to SDOE Now must be submitted to “state-wide online job data base maintained by the state” Does your policy define “vacancy”?
30. STILL ALIVE IN THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY FOR 2014 Arming Employees with Guns – SB 101 Parent Trigger Legislation – will it be back? Elected Superintendents New Legislation on Removing Board Members Attacking Common Core
31. Questions