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REFERENCE TITLE: noncertificated school employees; due process |
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State of Arizona Senate Fifty-sixth Legislature First Regular Session 2023
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SB 1547 |
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Introduced by Senators Alston: Gabaldón, Gonzales, Miranda; Representatives Gutierrez, Terech
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An Act
amending section 15-502, Arizona Revised Statutes; relating to school personnel.
(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:
Section 1. Section 15-502, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
15-502. Employment of school district personnel; payment of wages of discharged employee
A. The governing board at any time may employ and fix the salaries and benefits of employees necessary for the succeeding year. The contracts of all certificated employees shall be in writing, and all employees shall be employed subject to section 38-481. The governing board may transmit and receive contracts of certificated employees in an electronic format and may accept electronic signatures on those contracts. If a contract has not been transmitted to the certificated employee by the end of the current school year, the transmittal of governing board shall transmit an electronic contract to that certificated employee prior to before the start of the next school year shall be submitted to both the certificated employee's school district e-mail email address as well as the certificated employee's personal e-mail email address in order to notify them the employee of the offer of contract. Each certificated employee shall be responsible for submitting his or her submit the employee's personal e-mail email address to human resources personnel at the school district for this purpose. Documents transmitted in an electronic format pursuant to this subsection shall be are considered written documents for the purposes of sections 15-536 and 15-538.01. The governing board may adopt requirements that require electronic signatures to be followed by original signatures within a specified time period. A governing board that accepts an electronic signature for a certificated employee's contract shall provide validation to the certificated employee that the contract has been transmitted. The governing board may obtain the services of any employee, including teachers, substitute teachers and administrators, by contracting with a private entity that employs personnel required by the school district. The governing board shall adopt and administer personnel policies that provide noncertificated personnel with substantially equivalent due process procedures as those prescribed in this chapter for certificated teachers.
B. A teacher shall not be employed if the teacher has not received a certificate for teaching granted by the proper authorities. If a teacher has filed an application and completed all of the requirements for a certificate but time does not allow a the teacher to receive a certificate before the commencement of employment, the conditional certificate shall serve as a certificate for the payment of wages, provided that if the teacher files the conditional certificate with the county school superintendent and the certificate is issued within three months of after the date of commencing employment. In order to be paid wages beyond the three-month period prescribed in this subsection, the teacher shall file the certificate with the county school superintendent. Any contract issued to a teacher who has completed certificate requirements but has not received a certificate shall be specifically contingent on receipt of such a certificate. The governing board of a school district that is subject to section 15-914.01 shall adhere to the duties described in section 15-302, subsection A, paragraph 9 for the purposes of this subsection.
C. No A dependent, as defined in section 43-1001, of a governing board member may not be employed in the school district in which the person to whom such the dependent is so related is a governing board member, except by consent of the board.
D. The governing board may employ certificated teachers under contract as part-time classroom teachers. Notwithstanding any other statute, a certificated teacher who has been employed by the school district for more than the major portion of three consecutive school years does not lose the entitlement to the procedures prescribed in sections 15-538.01, 15-539, through 15-540, 15-541, 15-542, 15-543, 15-544 and 15-547 if the teacher is employed under contract on a part-time basis for at least forty per cent percent time. For the purposes of this subsection, "forty per cent percent time" means employed for at least forty per cent percent of the school day required of full-time teachers of the same grade level or for at least forty per cent percent of the class load assigned to full-time teachers of the same grade level, as determined by the governing board.
E. The governing board may employ a business manager who has expertise in finance. For the purposes of this subsection, "expertise in finance" means one or more of the following:
1. A baccalaureate degree in accounting, finance, school finance or public finance.
2. A graduate degree in accounting, finance, school finance or public finance.
3. Other finance training or finance experience that the governing board determines is sufficient to qualify the person to administer the business operations of the school district.
F. Notwithstanding sections 23-351 and 23-353, if an employee is discharged from the service of a school district, the school district shall pay the wages due to the employee within ten calendar days from after the date of discharge.
G. Each school district shall establish policies and procedures to provide teachers with personal liability insurance.
H. Notwithstanding any other law, a school district shall not adopt policies that provide employment retention priority for teachers based on tenure or seniority.