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ENROLLED
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
H. B. 4512
(By Delegates Caputo, Paxton, Perry,
Fragale and D. Walker)
[Passed March 13, 2010; in effect July 1, 2010.]
AN ACT to
amend and reenact §18A-4-8, §18A-4-8b and §18A-4-8e of
the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, all relating to
school service personnel; limiting assignments of director or
coordinator of services; requiring school bus supervisor to be
certified to operate a bus or previously certified to operate
a bus; requiring supervisor of transportation and
multiclassification position that includes this title first
employed after certain date to have five years of experience
working in transportation department and defining experience;
defining itinerant status, assignments, posting, limit on
positions, and exclusions; requiring additional content of
notice of a job vacancy generally and aide classification
category specifically; and modifying test frequency for re-
certifying a bus operators.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §18A-4-8, §18A-4-8b and §18A-4-8e of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted, all to read
as follows:
ARTICLE 4. SALARIES, WAGES AND OTHER BENEFITS.
§18A-4-8. Employment term and class titles of service personnel;
definitions.
(a) The purpose of this section is to establish an employment
term and class titles for service personnel. The employment term
for service personnel may not be less than ten months. A month is
defined as twenty employment days. The county board may contract
with all or part of these service personnel for a longer term. The
beginning and closing dates of the ten-month employment term may
not exceed forty-three weeks.
(b) Service personnel employed on a yearly or twelve-month
basis may be employed by calendar months. Whenever there is a
change in job assignment during the school year, the minimum pay
scale and any county supplement are applicable.
(c) Service personnel employed in the same classification for
more than the two hundred-day minimum employment term shall be paid
for additional employment at a daily rate of not less than the
daily rate paid for the two hundred-day minimum employment term.
(d) A service person may not be required to report for work
more than five days per week without his or her agreement, and no
part of any working day may be accumulated by the employer for
future work assignments, unless the employee agrees thereto.
(e) If a service person whose regular work week is scheduled
from Monday through Friday agrees to perform any work assignments
on a Saturday or Sunday, the service person shall be paid for at
least one-half day of work for each day he or she reports for work.
If the service person works more than three and one-half hours on
any Saturday or Sunday, he or she shall be paid for at least a full
day of work for each day.
(f) A custodian, aide, maintenance, office and school lunch
service person required to work a daily work schedule that is
interrupted shall be paid additional compensation in accordance
with this subsection.
(1) A maintenance person means a person who holds a
classification title other than in a custodial, aide, school lunch,
office or transportation category as provided in section one,
article one of this chapter.
(2) A service person's schedule is considered to be
interrupted if he or she does not work a continuous period in one
day. Aides are not regarded as working an interrupted schedule
when engaged exclusively in the duties of transporting students;
(3) The additional compensation provided for in this
subsection:
(A) Is equal to at least one-eighth of a service person's
total salary as provided by the state minimum pay scale and any
county pay supplement; and
(B) Is payable entirely from county board funds.
(g) When there is a change in classification or when a service
person meets the requirements of an advanced classification, his or
her salary shall be made to comply with the requirements of this
article and any county salary schedule in excess of the minimum
requirements of this article, based upon the service person's
advanced classification and allowable years of employment.
(h) A service person's contract, as provided in section five,
article two of this chapter, shall state the appropriate monthly
salary the employee is to be paid, based on the class title as
provided in this article and on any county salary schedule in
excess of the minimum requirements of this article.
(i) The column heads of the state minimum pay scale and class
titles, set forth in section eight-a of this article, are defined
as follows:
(1) "Pay grade" means the monthly salary applicable to class
titles of service personnel;
(2) "Years of employment" means the number of years which an
employee classified as a service person has been employed by a
county board in any position prior to or subsequent to the
effective date of this section and includes service in the Armed
Forces of the United States, if the employee was employed at the
time of his or her induction. For the purpose of section eight-a
of this article, years of employment is limited to the number of years shown and allowed under the state minimum pay scale as set
forth in section eight-a of this article;
(3) "Class title" means the name of the position or job held
by a service person;
(4) "Accountant I" means a person employed to maintain payroll
records and reports and perform one or more operations relating to
a phase of the total payroll;
(5) "Accountant II" means a person employed to maintain
accounting records and to be responsible for the accounting process
associated with billing, budgets, purchasing and related
operations;
(6) "Accountant III" means a person employed in the county
board office to manage and supervise accounts payable, payroll
procedures, or both;
(7) "Accounts payable supervisor" means a person employed in
the county board office who has primary responsibility for the
accounts payable function and who either has completed twelve
college hours of accounting courses from an accredited institution
of higher education or has at least eight years of experience
performing progressively difficult accounting tasks.
Responsibilities of this class title may include supervision of
other personnel;
(8) "Aide I" means a person selected and trained for a
teacher-aide classification such as monitor aide, clerical aide, classroom aide or general aide;
(9) "Aide II" means a service person referred to in the "Aide
I" classification who has completed a training program approved by
the state board, or who holds a high school diploma or has received
a general educational development certificate. Only a person
classified in an Aide II class title may be employed as an aide in
any special education program;
(10) "Aide III" means a service person referred to in the
"Aide I" classification who holds a high school diploma or a
general educational development certificate; and
(A) Has completed six semester hours of college credit at an
institution of higher education; or
(B) Is employed as an aide in a special education program and
has one year's experience as an aide in special education;
(11) "Aide IV" means a service person referred to in the "Aide
I" classification who holds a high school diploma or a general
educational development certificate; and
(A) Has completed eighteen hours of state board-approved
college credit at a regionally accredited institution of higher
education, or
(B) Has completed fifteen hours of state board-approved
college credit at a regionally accredited institution of higher
education; and has successfully completed an in-service training
program determined by the state board to be the equivalent of three hours of college credit;
(12) "Audiovisual technician" means a person employed to
perform minor maintenance on audiovisual equipment, films, and
supplies and who fills requests for equipment;
(13) "Auditor" means a person employed to examine and verify
accounts of individual schools and to assist schools and school
personnel in maintaining complete and accurate records of their
accounts;
(14) "Autism mentor" means a person who works with autistic
students and who meets standards and experience to be determined by
the state board. A person who has held or holds an aide title and
becomes employed as an autism mentor shall hold a
multiclassification status that includes both aide and autism
mentor titles, in accordance with section eight-b of this article;
(15) "Braille or sign language specialist" means a person
employed to provide braille and/or sign language assistance to
students. A service person who has held or holds an aide title and
becomes employed as a braille or sign language specialist shall
hold a multiclassification status that includes both aide and
braille or sign language specialist title, in accordance with
section eight-b of this article;
(16) "Bus operator" means a person employed to operate school
buses and other school transportation vehicles as provided by the
state board;
(17) "Buyer" means a person employed to review and write
specifications, negotiate purchase bids and recommend purchase
agreements for materials and services that meet predetermined
specifications at the lowest available costs;
(18) "Cabinetmaker" means a person employed to construct
cabinets, tables, bookcases and other furniture;
(19) "Cafeteria manager" means a person employed to direct the
operation of a food services program in a school, including
assigning duties to employees, approving requisitions for supplies
and repairs, keeping inventories, inspecting areas to maintain high
standards of sanitation, preparing financial reports and keeping
records pertinent to food services of a school;
(20) "Carpenter I" means a person classified as a carpenter's
helper;
(21) "Carpenter II" means a person classified as a journeyman
carpenter;
(22) "Chief mechanic" means a person employed to be
responsible for directing activities which ensure that student
transportation or other county board-owned vehicles are properly
and safely maintained;
(23) "Clerk I" means a person employed to perform clerical
tasks;
(24) "Clerk II" means a person employed to perform general
clerical tasks, prepare reports and tabulations and operate office machines;
(25) "Computer operator" means a qualified person employed to
operate computers;
(26) "Cook I" means a person employed as a cook's helper;
(27) "Cook II" means a person employed to interpret menus and
to prepare and serve meals in a food service program of a school.
This definition includes a service person who has been employed as
a "Cook I" for a period of four years;
(28) "Cook III" means a person employed to prepare and serve
meals, make reports, prepare requisitions for supplies, order
equipment and repairs for a food service program of a school
system;
(29) "Crew leader" means a person employed to organize the
work for a crew of maintenance employees to carry out assigned
projects;
(30) "Custodian I" means a person employed to keep buildings
clean and free of refuse;
(31) "Custodian II" means a person employed as a watchman or
groundsman;
(32) "Custodian III" means a person employed to keep buildings
clean and free of refuse, to operate the heating or cooling systems
and to make minor repairs;
(33) "Custodian IV" means a person employed as head
custodians. In addition to providing services as defined in "custodian III," duties may include supervising other custodian
personnel;
(34) "Director or coordinator of services" means an employee
of a county board who is assigned to direct a department or
division.
(A) Nothing in this subdivision prohibits a professional
person or a professional educator from holding this class title;
(B) Professional personnel holding this class title may not be
defined or classified as service personnel unless the professional
person held a service personnel title under this section prior to
holding the class title of "director or coordinator of services."
(C) The director or coordinator of services shall be
classified either as a professional person or a service person for
state aid formula funding purposes;
(D) Funding for the position of director or coordinator of
services is based upon the employment status of the director or
coordinator either as a professional person or a service person;
and
(E) A person employed under the class title "director or
coordinator of services" may not be exclusively assigned to perform
the duties ascribed to any other class title as defined in this
subsection: Provided, That nothing in this paragraph prohibits a
person in this position from being multiclassified;
(35) "Draftsman" means a person employed to plan, design and produce detailed architectural/engineering drawings;
(36) "Electrician I" means a person employed as an apprentice
electrician helper or one who holds an electrician helper license
issued by the State Fire Marshal;
(37) "Electrician II" means a person employed as an
electrician journeyman or one who holds a journeyman electrician
license issued by the State Fire Marshal;
(38) "Electronic technician I" means a person employed at the
apprentice level to repair and maintain electronic equipment;
(39) "Electronic technician II" means a person employed at the
journeyman level to repair and maintain electronic equipment;
(40) "Executive secretary" means a person employed as
secretary to the county school superintendent or as a secretary who
is assigned to a position characterized by significant
administrative duties;
(41) "Food services supervisor" means a qualified person who
is not a professional person or professional educator as defined in
section one, article one of this chapter. The food services
supervisor is employed to manage and supervise a county school
system's food service program. The duties include preparing
in-service training programs for cooks and food service employees,
instructing personnel in the areas of quantity cooking with economy
and efficiency and keeping aggregate records and reports;
(42) "Foreman" means a skilled person employed to supervise personnel who work in the areas of repair and maintenance of school
property and equipment;
(43) "General maintenance" means a person employed as a helper
to skilled maintenance employees and to perform minor repairs to
equipment and buildings of a county school system;
(44) "Glazier" means a person employed to replace glass or
other materials in windows and doors and to do minor carpentry
tasks;
(45) "Graphic artist" means a person employed to prepare
graphic illustrations;
(46) "Groundsman" means a person employed to perform duties
that relate to the appearance, repair and general care of school
grounds in a county school system. Additional assignments may
include the operation of a small heating plant and routine cleaning
duties in buildings;
(47) "Handyman" means a person employed to perform routine
manual tasks in any operation of the county school system;
(48) "Heating and air conditioning mechanic I" means a person
employed at the apprentice level to install, repair and maintain
heating and air conditioning plants and related electrical
equipment;
(49) "Heating and air conditioning mechanic II" means a person
employed at the journeyman level to install, repair and maintain
heating and air conditioning plants and related electrical equipment;
(50) "Heavy equipment operator" means a person employed to
operate heavy equipment;
(51) "Inventory supervisor" means a person employed to
supervise or maintain operations in the receipt, storage, inventory
and issuance of materials and supplies;
(52) "Key punch operator" means a qualified person employed to
operate key punch machines or verifying machines;
(53) "Licensed practical nurse" means a nurse, licensed by the
West Virginia Board of Examiners for Licensed Practical Nurses,
employed to work in a public school under the supervision of a
school nurse;
(54) "Locksmith" means a person employed to repair and
maintain locks and safes;
(55) "Lubrication man" means a person employed to lubricate
and service gasoline or diesel-powered equipment of a county school
system;
(56) "Machinist" means a person employed to perform machinist
tasks which include the ability to operate a lathe, planer, shaper,
threading machine and wheel press. A person holding this class
title also should have the ability to work from blueprints and
drawings;
(57) "Mail clerk" means a person employed to receive, sort,
dispatch, deliver or otherwise handle letters, parcels and other mail;
(58) "Maintenance clerk" means a person employed to maintain
and control a stocking facility to keep adequate tools and supplies
on hand for daily withdrawal for all school maintenance crafts;
(59) "Mason" means a person employed to perform tasks
connected with brick and block laying and carpentry tasks related
to these activities;
(60) "Mechanic" means a person employed to perform skilled
duties independently in the maintenance and repair of automobiles,
school buses and other mechanical and mobile equipment to use in a
county school system;
(61) "Mechanic assistant" means a person employed as a
mechanic apprentice and helper;
(62) "Multiclassification" means a person employed to perform
tasks that involve the combination of two or more class titles in
this section. In these instances the minimum salary scale shall be
the higher pay grade of the class titles involved;
(63) "Office equipment repairman I" means a person employed as
an office equipment repairman apprentice or helper;
(64) "Office equipment repairman II" means a person
responsible for servicing and repairing all office machines and
equipment. A person holding this class title is responsible for
the purchase of parts necessary for the proper operation of a
program of continuous maintenance and repair;
(65) "Painter" means a person employed to perform duties
painting, finishing and decorating wood, metal and concrete
surfaces of buildings, other structures, equipment, machinery and
furnishings of a county school system;
(66) "Paraprofessional" means a person certified pursuant to
section two-a, article three of this chapter to perform duties in
a support capacity including, but not limited to, facilitating in
the instruction and direct or indirect supervision of students
under the direction of a principal, a teacher or another designated
professional educator.
(A) A person employed on the effective date of this section in
the position of an aide may not be subject to a reduction in force
or transferred to create a vacancy for the employment of a
paraprofessional;
(B) A person who has held or holds an aide title and becomes
employed as a paraprofessional shall hold a multiclassification
status that includes both aide and paraprofessional titles in
accordance with section eight-b of this article; and
(C) When a service person who holds an aide title becomes
certified as a paraprofessional and is required to perform duties
that may not be performed by an aide without paraprofessional
certification, he or she shall receive the paraprofessional title
pay grade;
(67) "Payroll supervisor" means a person employed in the county board office who has primary responsibility for the payroll
function and who either has completed twelve college hours of
accounting from an accredited institution of higher education or
has at least eight years of experience performing progressively
difficult accounting tasks. Responsibilities of this class title
may include supervision of other personnel;
(68) "Plumber I" means a person employed as an apprentice
plumber and helper;
(69) "Plumber II" means a person employed as a journeyman
plumber;
(70) "Printing operator" means a person employed to operate
duplication equipment, and to cut, collate, staple, bind and shelve
materials as required;
(71) "Printing supervisor" means a person employed to
supervise the operation of a print shop;
(72) "Programmer" means a person employed to design and
prepare programs for computer operation;
(73) "Roofing/sheet metal mechanic" means a person employed to
install, repair, fabricate and maintain roofs, gutters, flashing
and duct work for heating and ventilation;
(74) "Sanitation plant operator" means a person employed to
operate and maintain a water or sewage treatment plant to ensure
the safety of the plant's effluent for human consumption or
environmental protection;
(75) "School bus supervisor" means a qualified person:
(A) Employed to assist in selecting school bus operators and
routing and scheduling school buses, operate a bus when needed,
relay instructions to bus operators, plan emergency routing of
buses and promote good relationships with parents, students, bus
operators and other employees; and
(B) Certified to operate a bus or previously certified to
operate a bus;
(76) "Secretary I" means a person employed to transcribe from
notes or mechanical equipment, receive callers, perform clerical
tasks, prepare reports and operate office machines;
(77) "Secretary II" means a person employed in any elementary,
secondary, kindergarten, nursery, special education, vocational or
any other school as a secretary. The duties may include performing
general clerical tasks; transcribing from notes, stenotype,
mechanical equipment or a sound-producing machine; preparing
reports; receiving callers and referring them to proper persons;
operating office machines; keeping records and handling routine
correspondence. Nothing in this subdivision prevents a service
person from holding or being elevated to a higher classification;
(78) "Secretary III" means a person assigned to the county
board office administrators in charge of various instructional,
maintenance, transportation, food services, operations and health
departments, federal programs or departments with particular responsibilities in purchasing and financial control or any person
who has served for eight years in a position which meets the
definition of "secretary II" or "secretary III";
(79) "Supervisor of maintenance" means a skilled person who is
not a professional person or professional educator as defined in
section one, article one of this chapter. The responsibilities
include directing the upkeep of buildings and shops, and issuing
instructions to subordinates relating to cleaning, repairs and
maintenance of all structures and mechanical and electrical
equipment of a county board;
(80) "Supervisor of transportation" means a qualified person
employed to direct school transportation activities properly and
safely, and to supervise the maintenance and repair of vehicles,
buses and other mechanical and mobile equipment used by the county
school system. After July 1, 2010, all persons employed for the
first time in a position with this classification title or in a
multi-classification position that includes this title shall have
five years of experience working in the transportation department
of a county board. Experience working in the transportation
department shall consist of serving as a bus operator, bus aide,
assistant mechanic, mechanic, chief mechanic or in a clerical
position within the transportation department;
(81) "Switchboard operator-receptionist" means a person
employed to refer incoming calls, to assume contact with the public, to direct and to give instructions as necessary, to operate
switchboard equipment and to provide clerical assistance;
(82) "Truck driver" means a person employed to operate light
or heavy duty gasoline and diesel-powered vehicles;
(83) "Warehouse clerk" means a person employed to be
responsible for receiving, storing, packing and shipping goods;
(84) "Watchman" means a person employed to protect school
property against damage or theft. Additional assignments may
include operation of a small heating plant and routine cleaning
duties;
(85) "Welder" means a person employed to provide acetylene or
electric welding services for a school system; and
(86) "WVEIS data entry and administrative clerk" means a
person employed to work under the direction of a school principal
to assist the school counselor or counselors in the performance of
administrative duties, to perform data entry tasks on the West
Virginia Education Information System, and to perform other
administrative duties assigned by the principal.
(j) Notwithstanding any provision in this code to the
contrary, and in addition to the compensation provided for service
personnel in section eight-a of this article, each service person
is entitled to all service personnel employee rights, privileges
and benefits provided under this or any other chapter of this code
without regard to the employee's hours of employment or the methods or sources of compensation.
(k) A service person whose years of employment exceeds the
number of years shown and provided for under the state minimum pay
scale set forth in section eight-a of this article may not be paid
less than the amount shown for the maximum years of employment
shown and provided for in the classification in which he or she is
employed.
(l) Each county board shall review each service person's job
classification annually and shall reclassify all service persons as
required by the job classifications. The state superintendent may
withhold state funds appropriated pursuant to this article for
salaries for service personnel who are improperly classified by the
county boards. Further, the state superintendent shall order a
county board to correct immediately any improper classification
matter and, with the assistance of the Attorney General, shall take
any legal action necessary against any county board to enforce the
order.
(m) Without his or her written consent, a service person may
not be:
(1) Reclassified by class title; or
(2) Relegated to any condition of employment which would
result in a reduction of his or her salary, rate of pay,
compensation or benefits earned during the current fiscal year; or
for which he or she would qualify by continuing in the same job position and classification held during that fiscal year and
subsequent years.
(n) Any county board failing to comply with the provisions of
this article may be compelled to do so by mandamus and is liable to
any party prevailing against the board for court costs and the
prevailing party's reasonable attorney fee, as determined and
established by the court.
(o) Notwithstanding any provision of this code to the
contrary, a service person who holds a continuing contract in a
specific job classification and who is physically unable to perform
the job's duties as confirmed by a physician chosen by the
employee, shall be given priority status over any employee not
holding a continuing contract in filling other service personnel
job vacancies if the service person is qualified as provided in
section eight-e of this article.
(p) Any person employed in an aide position on the effective
date of this section may not be transferred or subject to a
reduction in force for the purpose of creating a vacancy for the
employment of a licensed practical nurse.
(q) Without the written consent of the service person, a
county board may not establish the beginning work station for a bus
operator or transportation aide at any site other than a county
board-owned facility with available parking. The workday of the
bus operator or transportation aide commences at the bus at the designated beginning work station and ends when the employee is
able to leave the bus at the designated beginning work station,
unless he or she agrees otherwise in writing. The application or
acceptance of a posted position may not be construed as the written
consent referred to in this subsection.
(r) Itinerant status means a service person who does not have
a fixed work site and may be involuntarily reassigned to another
work site. A service person is considered to hold itinerant status
if he or she has bid upon a position posted as itinerant or has
agreed to accept this status. A county board may establish
positions with itinerant status only within the aide and autism
mentor classification categories and only when the job duties
involve exceptional students. A service person with itinerant
status may be assigned to a different work site upon written notice
ten days prior to the reassignment without the consent of the
employee and without posting the vacancy. A service person with
itinerant status may be involuntarily reassigned no more than twice
during the school year. At the conclusion of each school year, the
county board shall post and fill, pursuant to section eight-b of
this article, all positions that have been filled without posting
by a service person with itinerant status. A service person who is
assigned to a beginning and ending work site and travels at the
expense of the county board to other work sites during the daily
schedule, shall not be considered to hold itinerant status.
§18A-4-8b. Seniority rights for school service personnel.
(a) A county board shall make decisions affecting promotions
and the filling of any service personnel positions of employment or
jobs occurring throughout the school year that are to be performed
by service personnel as provided in section eight of this article,
on the basis of seniority, qualifications and evaluation of past
service.
(b) Qualifications means the applicant holds a classification
title in his or her category of employment as provided in this
section and is given first opportunity for promotion and filling
vacancies. Other employees then shall be considered and shall
qualify by meeting the definition of the job title that relates to
the promotion or vacancy, as defined in section eight of this
article. If requested by the employee, the county board shall show
valid cause why a service person with the most seniority is not
promoted or employed in the position for which he or she applies.
Qualified applicants shall be considered in the following order:
(1) Regularly employed service personnel who hold a
classification title within the classification category of the
vacancy;
(2) Service personnel who have held a classification title
within the classification category of the vacancy whose employment
has been discontinued in accordance with this section;
(3) Regularly employed service personnel who do not hold a classification title within the classification category of vacancy;
(4) Service personnel who have not held a classification title
within the classification category of the vacancy and whose
employment has been discontinued in accordance with this section;
(5) Substitute service personnel who hold a classification
title within the classification category of the vacancy;
(6) Substitute service personnel who do not hold a
classification title within the classification category of the
vacancy; and
(7) New service personnel.
(c) The county board may not prohibit a service person from
retaining or continuing his or her employment in any positions or
jobs held prior to the effective date of this section and
thereafter.
(d) A promotion means any change in employment that the
service person considers to improve his or her working circumstance
within the classification category of employment.
(1) A promotion includes a transfer to another classification
category or place of employment if the position is not filled by an
employee who holds a title within that classification category of
employment.
(2) Each class title listed in section eight of this article
is considered a separate classification category of employment for
service personnel, except for those class titles having Roman numeral designations, which are considered a single classification
of employment:
(A) The cafeteria manager class title is included in the same
classification category as cooks;
(B) The executive secretary class title is included in the
same classification category as secretaries;
(C) Paraprofessional, autism mentor and braille or sign
language specialist class titles are included in the same
classification category as aides; and
(D) The mechanic assistant and chief mechanic class titles are
included in the same classification category as mechanics.
(3) The assignment of an aide to a particular position within
a school is based on seniority within the aide classification
category if the aide is qualified for the position.
(4) Assignment of a custodian to work shifts in a school or
work site is based on seniority within the custodian classification
category.
(e) For purposes of determining seniority under this section
a service person's seniority begins on the date that he or she
enters into the assigned duties.
(f) Extra-duty assignments. --
(1) For the purpose of this section, "extra-duty assignment"
means an irregular job that occurs periodically or occasionally
such as, but not limited to, field trips, athletic events, proms, banquets and band festival trips.
(2) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this chapter to
the contrary, decisions affecting service personnel with respect to
extra-duty assignments are made in the following manner:
(A) A service person with the greatest length of service time
in a particular category of employment is given priority in
accepting extra duty assignments, followed by other fellow
employees on a rotating basis according to the length of their
service time until all employees have had an opportunity to perform
similar assignments. The cycle then is repeated.
(B) An alternative procedure for making extra-duty assignments
within a particular classification category of employment may be
used if the alternative procedure is approved both by the county
board and by an affirmative vote of two-thirds of the employees
within that classification category of employment.
(g) County boards shall post and date notices of all job
vacancies of existing or newly created positions in conspicuous
places for all school service personnel to observe for at least
five working days.
(1) Posting locations include any website maintained by or
available for the use of the county board.
(2) Notice of a job vacancy shall include the job description,
the period of employment, the work site, the starting and ending
time of the daily shift, the amount of pay and any benefits and other information that is helpful to prospective applicants to
understand the particulars of the job. The notice of a job vacancy
in the aide classification categories shall include the program or
primary assignment of the position. Job postings for vacancies
made pursuant to this section shall be written to ensure that the
largest possible pool of qualified applicants may apply. Job
postings may not require criteria which are not necessary for the
successful performance of the job and may not be written with the
intent to favor a specific applicant.
(3) After the five-day minimum posting period, all vacancies
shall be filled within twenty working days from the posting date
notice of any job vacancies of existing or newly created positions.
(4) The county board shall notify any person who has applied
for a job posted pursuant to this section of the status of his or
her application as soon as possible after the county board makes a
hiring decision regarding the posted position.
(h) All decisions by county boards concerning reduction in
work force of service personnel shall be made on the basis of
seniority, as provided in this section.
(i) The seniority of a service person is determined on the
basis of the length of time the employee has been employed by the
county board within a particular job classification. For the
purpose of establishing seniority for a preferred recall list as
provided in this section, a service person who has been employed in one or more classifications retains the seniority accrued in each
previous classification.
(j) If a county board is required to reduce the number of
service personnel within a particular job classification, the
following conditions apply:
(1) The employee with the least amount of seniority within
that classification or grades of classification is properly
released and employed in a different grade of that classification
if there is a job vacancy;
(2) If there is no job vacancy for employment within that
classification or grades of classification, the service person is
employed in any other job classification which he or she previously
held with the county board if there is a vacancy and retains any
seniority accrued in the job classification or grade of
classification.
(k) After a reduction in force or transfer is approved, but
prior to August 1, a county board in its sole and exclusive
judgment may determine that the reason for any particular reduction
in force or transfer no longer exists.
(1) If the board makes this determination, it shall rescind
the reduction in force or transfer and notify the affected employee
in writing of the right to be restored to his or her former
position of employment.
(2) The affected employee shall notify the county board of his or her intent to return to the former position of employment within
five days of being notified or lose the right to be restored to the
former position.
(3) The county board may not rescind the reduction in force of
an employee until all service personnel with more seniority in the
classification category on the preferred recall list have been
offered the opportunity for recall to regular employment as
provided in this section.
(4) If there are insufficient vacant positions to permit
reemployment of all more senior employees on the preferred recall
list within the classification category of the service person who
was subject to reduction in force, the position of the released
service person shall be posted and filled in accordance with this
section.
(l) If two or more service persons accumulate identical
seniority, the priority is determined by a random selection system
established by the employees and approved by the county board.
(m) All service personnel whose seniority with the county
board is insufficient to allow their retention by the county board
during a reduction in work force are placed upon a preferred recall
list and shall be recalled to employment by the county board on the
basis of seniority.
(n) A service person placed upon the preferred recall list
shall be recalled to any position openings by the county board within the classification(s) where he or she had previously been
employed, to any lateral position for which the service person is
qualified or to a lateral area for which a service person has
certification and/or licensure.
(o) A service person on the preferred recall list does not
forfeit the right to recall by the county board if compelling
reasons require him or her to refuse an offer of reemployment by
the county board.
(p) The county board shall notify all service personnel on the
preferred recall list of all position openings that exist from time
to time. The notice shall be sent by certified mail to the last
known address of the service person. Each service person shall
notify the county board of any change of address.
(q) No position openings may be filled by the county board,
whether temporary or permanent, until all service personnel on the
preferred recall list have been properly notified of existing
vacancies and have been given an opportunity to accept
reemployment.
(r) A service person released from employment for lack of need
as provided in sections six and eight-a, article two of this
chapter is accorded preferred recall status on July 1 of the
succeeding school year if he or she has not been reemployed as a
regular employee.
(s) A county board failing to comply with the provisions of this article may be compelled to do so by mandamus and is liable to
any party prevailing against the board for court costs and the
prevailing party's reasonable attorney fee, as determined and
established by the court.
(1) A service person denied promotion or employment in
violation of this section shall be awarded the job, pay and any
applicable benefits retroactively to the date of the violation and
shall be paid entirely from local funds.
(2) The county board is liable to any party prevailing against
the board for any court reporter costs including copies of
transcripts.
§18A-4-8e. Competency testing for service personnel; and
recertification testing for bus operators.
(a) The State Board of Education shall develop and make
available competency tests for all of the classification titles
defined in section eight of this article and listed in section
eight-a of this article for service personnel. Each classification
title defined and listed is considered a separate classification
category of employment for service personnel and has a separate
competency test, except for those class titles having Roman numeral
designations, which are considered a single classification of
employment and have a single competency test.
(1) The cafeteria manager class title is included in the same
classification category as cooks and has the same competency test.
(2) The executive secretary class title is included in the
same classification category as secretaries and has the same
competency test.
(3) The classification titles of chief mechanic, mechanic and
assistant mechanic are included in one classification title and
have the same competency test.
(b) The purpose of these tests is to provide county boards a
uniform means of determining whether school service personnel who
do not hold a classification title in a particular category of
employment meet the definition of the classification title in
another category of employment as defined in section eight of this
article. Competency tests may not be used to evaluate employees
who hold the classification title in the category of their
employment.
(c) The competency test consists of an objective written or
performance test, or both. Applicants may take the written test
orally if requested. Oral tests are recorded mechanically and kept
on file. The oral test is administered by persons who do not know
the applicant personally.
(1) The performance test for all classifications and
categories other than bus operator is administered by an employee
of the county board or an employee of a multicounty vocational
school that serves the county at a location designated by the
superintendent and approved by the board. The location may be a vocational school that serves the county.
(2) A standard passing score is established by the state
Department of Education for each test and is used by county boards.
(3) The subject matter of each competency test is commensurate
with the requirements of the definitions of the classification
titles as provided in section eight of this article. The subject
matter of each competency test is designed in such a manner that
achieving a passing grade does not require knowledge and skill in
excess of the requirements of the definitions of the classification
titles. Achieving a passing score conclusively demonstrates the
qualification of an applicant for a classification title.
(4) Once an employee passes the competency test of a
classification title, the applicant is fully qualified to fill
vacancies in that classification category of employment as provided
in section eight-b of this article and may not be required to take
the competency test again.
(d) An applicant who fails to achieve a passing score is given
other opportunities to pass the competency test when making
application for another vacancy within the classification category.
(e) Competency tests are administered to applicants in a
uniform manner under uniform testing conditions. County boards are
responsible for scheduling competency tests, notifying applicants
of the date and time of the one day of training prior to taking the
test, and the date and time of the test. County boards may not use a competency test other than the test authorized by this section.
(f) When scheduling of the competency test conflicts with the
work schedule of a school employee who has applied for a vacancy,
the employee is excused from work to take the competency test
without loss of pay.
(g) A minimum of one day of appropriate in-service training is
provided to employees to assist them in preparing to take the
competency tests.
(h) Competency tests are used to determine the qualification
of new applicants seeking initial employment in a particular
classification title as either a regular or substitute employee.
(i) Notwithstanding any provisions in this code to the
contrary, once an employee holds or has held a classification title
in a category of employment, that employee is considered qualified
for the classification title even though that employee no longer
holds that classification.
(j) The requirements of this section do not alter the
definitions of class titles as provided in section eight of this
article or the procedure and requirements of section eight-b of
this article.
(k) Notwithstanding any other provision of this code to the
contrary and notwithstanding any rules of the school board
concerning school bus operator certification in effect on the
effective date of this section, the certification test for school bus operators shall be required as follows, and school bus
operators shall not be required to take the certification test more
frequently:
(1) For substitute school bus operators and for school bus
operators with regular employee status but on a probationary
contract, the certification test shall be administered annually;
(2) For school bus operators with regular employee status and
continuing contract status, the certification test shall be
administered triennially; and
(3) For substitute school bus operators who are retired from
a county board and who at the time of retirement had ten years of
experience as a regular full-time bus operator, the certification
test shall be administered triennially.
The state board shall promulgate in accordance with article
three-b, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code, revised rules in
compliance with this subsection.