CSSB 132(JUD): "An Act relating to teacher tenure, teacher layoff and rehire rights, review of decisions of school boards concerning teachers, and to a retirement incentive program for employees of school districts and regional educational attendance areas; repealing the requirement for duty-free mealtime for teachers in certain school facilities; and providing for an effective date."
00CS FOR SENATE BILL NO. 132(JUD) 01 "An Act relating to teacher tenure, teacher layoff and rehire rights, review of 02 decisions of school boards concerning teachers, and to a retirement incentive 03 program for employees of school districts and regional educational attendance 04 areas; repealing the requirement for duty-free mealtime for teachers in certain 05 school facilities; and providing for an effective date." 06 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 07 * Section 1. AS 14.20.147(b) is amended to read: 08 (b) When a school operated by a federal agency is transferred to or absorbed 09 into a new or existing school district, the teachers shall also be transferred if mutually 10 agreed by the teacher or teachers and the school board of the new or existing district. 11 A teacher transferred from a federal agency school that [, WHICH] does not have an 12 official salary schedule or teacher tenure in the same manner as a public school district 13 in the state [,] shall be placed on a position on the salary schedule of the absorbing 14 district; the salary may not be less than the teacher would have received in the federal
01 agency school. If the teacher taught five [TWO] or more years in the federal agency 02 school and, at the time of transfer, had a valid Alaska teaching certificate, that teacher 03 shall be placed on tenure in the absorbing district. 04 * Sec. 2. AS 14.20.150 is amended to read: 05 Sec. 14.20.150. ACQUISITION OF TENURE RIGHTS. (a) A teacher 06 acquires tenure rights in a district when the teacher 07 (1) possesses a standard teaching certificate; 08 (2) has been employed as a teacher in the same district continuously 09 for five [TWO] full school years and is reemployed for the school year immediately 10 following the five [TWO] full school years. 11 (b) The tenure rights acquired under (a) of this section become effective on the 12 first day the teacher performs teaching services in the district during the school year 13 immediately following the five [TWO] full school years. 14 * Sec. 3. AS 14.20.160 is amended to read: 15 Sec. 14.20.160. LOSS OF TENURE RIGHTS. Tenure rights are lost when the 16 teacher's employment in the district is interrupted or terminated. However, a teacher 17 on layoff status does not lose tenure rights during the period of layoff except as 18 provided by regulation adopted under AS 14.20.177. 19 * Sec. 4. AS 14.20.175(b) is amended to read: 20 (b) A teacher who has acquired tenure rights is subject to nonretention for the 21 following school year only for the following causes: 22 (1) incompetency, which is defined as the inability or the unintentional 23 or intentional failure to perform the teacher's customary teaching duties in a 24 satisfactory manner; 25 (2) immorality, which is defined as the commission of an act that, 26 under the laws of the state, constitutes a crime involving moral turpitude; or 27 (3) substantial noncompliance with the school laws of the state, the 28 regulations or bylaws of the department, the bylaws of the district, or the written rules 29 of the superintendent [; OR 30 (4) A NECESSARY REDUCTION OF STAFF OCCASIONED BY A 31 DECREASE IN SCHOOL ATTENDANCE].
01 * Sec. 5. AS 14.25 is amended by adding a new section to read: 02 Sec. 14.20.177. LAYOFFS. (a) A school district may place a teacher who has 03 acquired tenure rights on layoff status but only if it is necessary for the district to 04 reduce the number of teachers 05 (1) because of a decrease in school attendance or school district 06 revenue; or 07 (2) to better meet the academic program needs of the district. 08 (b) The department shall adopt regulations to establish 09 (1) procedures under which a district may lay off tenured teachers; 10 (2) the length of time that a teacher retains rehire rights after a layoff; 11 (3) the circumstances under which a teacher may lose rehire rights after 12 a layoff; and 13 (4) other provisions to implement this section. 14 * Sec. 6. AS 14.20.205 is amended to read: 15 Sec. 14.20.205. JUDICIAL REVIEW. If a school board reaches a decision 16 unfavorable to a tenured teacher, the tenured teacher is entitled to appeal the 17 decision to [A DE NOVO TRIAL IN] the superior court. The scope of judicial 18 review shall be the same as an appeal from a decision of an administrative agency 19 under AS 44.62 (Administrative Procedure Act). A [HOWEVER, A] teacher who 20 is not tenured [HAS NOT ATTAINED TENURE RIGHTS] is not entitled to judicial 21 review under [ACCORDING TO] this section. 22 * Sec. 7. AS 23.40 is amended by adding a new section to read: 23 Sec. 23.40.185. SCHOOL DISTRICT NEGOTIATIONS OPEN TO THE 24 PUBLIC. Negotiations between a school district or regional educational attendance 25 area and a bargaining organization representing its employees shall be conducted at 26 meetings that are open to the public. 27 * Sec. 8. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE OF RETIREMENT INCENTIVE PROGRAM. 28 Many school districts are facing the need to restructure their operations and their work forces 29 in order to reduce expenditures and balance budgets. Retirement incentives is a management 30 tool that has been used extensively by the private sector, the federal government, and other 31 state and local governments across the country. The purpose of secs. 8 - 17 of this Act is to
01 make that management tool temporarily available to school districts of the state. Sections 8 - 02 17 of this Act will enable school districts to be more efficient and cost-effective by 03 eliminating certain non-essential positions, and producing a net reduction in personnel costs. 04 * Sec. 9. RETIREMENT INCENTIVE PROGRAM. (a) A school district may adopt a 05 retirement incentive plan under secs. 10 and 11 of this Act and designate categories of 06 employees eligible to participate in the plan. A school district need not extend the incentive 07 plan to all employees who would otherwise be eligible, but may choose to extend the plan 08 only to employees 09 (1) in specific budget or administrative components of the school district; 10 (2) in specific job classifications; 11 (3) in specific geographic locations; or 12 (4) on the basis of any combination of factors set out in (1) - (3) of this 13 subsection. 14 (b) An employee is eligible to participate in a retirement incentive plan under secs. 8 - 15 17 of this Act only if 16 (1) the employee is a vested member of the public employees' retirement 17 system or the teachers' retirement system; 18 (2) the employee will be qualified to retire under AS 14.25.110 or 19 AS 39.35.370 after receipt of the credit described in (f) of this section; 20 (3) the savings to the school district in personal services costs for the 21 employee's position will exceed the costs to the school district for that position within three 22 years after the employee is appointed to retirement. 23 (c) A school district shall file its proposed retirement incentive plan with the 24 commissioner of administration. The commissioner shall approve the plan if the plan meets 25 the requirements of secs. 8 - 17 of this Act. A proposed plan filed under this section must 26 (1) identify job classifications of employees, and specific budget or 27 administrative components, eligible to participate in the plan; 28 (2) include a reimbursement agreement that 29 (A) requires the school district, for each employee who retires under 30 the plan, to reimburse the appropriate retirement system, within three years after the 31 end of the fiscal year in which the employee is appointed to retirement, in an amount
01 equal to 02 (i) the actuarial equivalent of the difference between the benefits 03 the participant receives after the addition of the credit under (f) of this section 04 and the amount the participant would have received without the credit, less the 05 amount the participant has paid on the indebtedness determined under (d) or (e) 06 of this section; and 07 (ii) an appropriate share of the administrative costs of the 08 program; and 09 (B) provides that contributions from the school district under this 10 section take priority over other obligations of the employer to the maximum extent 11 permitted by law. 12 (d) A member of the teachers' retirement system who participates in an approved 13 retirement incentive plan under secs. 8 - 17 of this Act is indebted to that system for an 14 amount calculated under this subsection. The indebtedness is 25.95 percent of the member's 15 actual compensation for the school year in which the member terminates employment, or the 16 calculated school year compensation for a member who works less than the entire school year. 17 An outstanding indebtedness at the time a member is appointed to retirement under an 18 approved retirement incentive plan requires an actuarial adjustment to the benefits payable to 19 that member. 20 (e) A member of the public employees' retirement system who participates in an 21 approved retirement incentive plan under secs. 8 - 17 of this Act is indebted to that system 22 for an amount calculated under this subsection. The indebtedness is 20-1/4 percent of the 23 member's actual annual compensation for the year in which the member terminates 24 employment, or the calculated annual compensation for a member who works fewer than 12 25 months. An outstanding indebtedness at the time a member is appointed to retirement under 26 an approved retirement incentive plan requires an actuarial adjustment to the benefits payable 27 to that member. 28 (f) An employee who participates in an approved retirement incentive plan under 29 secs. 8 - 17 of this Act receives a credit of three years. The three years shall be applied in 30 the following order until exhausted: 31 (1) to meet the age or service required for eligibility for normal retirement
01 under AS 14.25.110 or AS 39.35.370, as appropriate; 02 (2) to meet the age required for early retirement under AS 14.25.110 or 03 AS 39.35.370, as appropriate; 04 (3) to reduce the actuarial adjustment required for early retirement under 05 AS 14.25.110 or AS 39.35.370, as appropriate; 06 (4) as years of credited service for calculating retirement benefits. 07 * Sec. 10. AUTHORIZATION FOR RETIREMENT INCENTIVE FOR SCHOOL 08 DISTRICT EMPLOYEES IN THE PUBLIC EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT SYSTEM. (a) 09 The school board of a school district that has elected to participate in the public employees' 10 retirement system under AS 39.35.550 - 39.35.650 may adopt, and file with the commissioner 11 of administration for approval, a proposed retirement incentive plan for its employees. A plan 12 adopted under this section must provide that the application period for participation in the 13 retirement incentive plan is December 31, 1995 through June 30, 1996. 14 (b) The commissioner of administration may not accept the application of an employee 15 to participate in an approved retirement incentive plan adopted under this section unless the 16 employee will be appointed to retirement on or before February 1, 1997. In a plan adopted 17 under this section, a school board may set an earlier date by which an employee must be 18 appointed to retirement in order to participate in the plan. 19 * Sec. 11. AUTHORIZATION FOR RETIREMENT INCENTIVE FOR SCHOOL 20 DISTRICT EMPLOYEES IN THE TEACHERS' RETIREMENT SYSTEM. (a) A school 21 board may adopt, and file with the commissioner of administration for approval, a proposed 22 retirement incentive plan for employees of the school district who are members of the 23 teachers' retirement system. A plan adopted under this section must provide that the 24 application period for participation in the retirement incentive plan is June 30, 1995 through 25 December 31, 1995. 26 (b) The commissioner of administration may not accept the application of an employee 27 to participate in an approved retirement incentive plan adopted under this section unless the 28 employee will be appointed to retirement on or before August 1, 1996. The school board, in 29 a plan adopted under this section, may set an earlier date by which an employee must be 30 appointed to retirement in order to participate in the plan. 31 * Sec. 12. RECOVERY OF EMPLOYER DELINQUENCIES. To recover a delinquency
01 owed by a school district under an agreement entered into under sec. 9(c)(2) of this Act, the 02 Department of Administration may 03 (1) direct that the amount of the delinquency or a lesser amount be withheld 04 from any money payable to the school district by a state department or agency and that the 05 amount withheld be credited to the delinquency; and 06 (2) bring an action against the school district. 07 * Sec. 13. REEMPLOYMENT INDEBTEDNESS; PROHIBITION ON 08 REEMPLOYMENT. (a) If an individual is reemployed as a member of the public employees' 09 retirement system under AS 39.35, the teachers' retirement system under AS 14.25, the judicial 10 retirement system under AS 22.25, or the optional university retirement program under 11 AS 14.40.661 - 14.40.799 after appointment to retirement under secs. 8 - 17 of this Act, that 12 individual forfeits the incentive credit received under sec. 9(f) of this Act and is indebted to 13 the system under which the individual took retirement. The indebtedness is 110 percent of 14 the amount the individual received as a result of participation in a retirement incentive plan 15 under secs. 8 - 17 of this Act and to which the individual would not otherwise have been 16 entitled, including the cost of health insurance. The amount that the individual has paid under 17 sec. 9(d) or (e) of this Act will be applied as a credit toward the reemployment indebtedness. 18 Interest on the reemployment indebtedness accrues from the date of reemployment until the 19 date that the individual either is appointed to retirement and accepts an actuarial adjustment 20 to the individual's future benefits or repays the indebtedness in full. The rate of interest is that 21 established by regulation for the public employees' retirement system by the public employees' 22 retirement board and for the teachers' retirement system by the teachers' retirement board. 23 (b) An individual who was appointed to retirement under secs. 8 - 17 of this Act may 24 not be employed by, or enter into a contract for personal services with, a state agency or the 25 University of Alaska within the three years after the date of appointment to retirement, except 26 that 27 (1) the University of Alaska may enter into a personal services contract with 28 the individual for teaching or research; and 29 (2) the individual may accept employment with the legislature during a 30 legislative session if the employment is on an hourly basis and does not entitle the individual 31 to receive retirement, health, or leave benefits.
01 (c) Notwithstanding the prohibition in (b) of this section, a state agency or the 02 University of Alaska may enter into a personal services contract with an individual who was 03 appointed to retirement under secs. 8 - 17 of this Act if the Board of Regents, for the 04 University of Alaska, or the commissioner of administration, for a state agency, determines 05 that there is a compelling reason to do so because of the individual's specialized or extensive 06 experience that relates to a particular program or project of the state agency or university. 07 * Sec. 14. OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET. (a) The office of management 08 and budget shall submit to the legislature annual reports on the retirement incentive program 09 under secs. 8 - 17 of this Act beginning January 15, 1997, and continuing through January 15, 10 1999, and shall submit a final report January 15, 2000. Each report must provide the 11 information necessary for the legislature to evaluate the effectiveness of the program in 12 achieving its objectives. The report must include information on the designated employee 13 categories under the incentive program, including the cost of each incentive program per 14 participant, the cost to the school district, the cost to the employee, the number of positions 15 deleted or left vacant, and the projected or actual net savings over the three-year period. 16 * Sec. 15. PROGRAM CHANGES. An individual employee does not have a vested or 17 contractual right to a benefit under secs. 8 - 17 of this Act until an agreement is executed with 18 the commissioner of administration that specifically authorizes that employee to participate 19 in the retirement incentive program under secs. 8 - 17 of this Act. The legislature reserves 20 the right to change any aspect of the retirement incentive program as it relates to employees 21 for whom participation agreements have not yet been executed with the commissioner of 22 administration. 23 * Sec. 16. REGULATIONS. The commissioner of administration may adopt regulations 24 under AS 44.62 (Administrative Procedure Act) to implement and interpret secs. 8 - 17 of this 25 Act. 26 * Sec. 17. DEFINITIONS. (a) Unless provided otherwise in secs. 8 - 17 of this Act, the 27 definitions set out in AS 14.25.220 apply to provisions in secs. 8 - 13 of this Act that relate 28 to the teachers' retirement system and members of the teachers' retirement system. 29 (b) Unless provided otherwise in secs. 8 - 17 of this Act, the definitions set out in 30 AS 39.35.680 apply to provisions in secs. 8 - 13 of this Act that relate to the public 31 employees' retirement system and members of the public employees' retirement system.
01 (c) In secs. 8 - 17 of this Act, 02 (1) "office of management and budget" means the office of management and 03 budget in the Office of the Governor; 04 (2) "public employees' retirement system" means the Public Employees' 05 Retirement System of Alaska (AS 39.35); 06 (3) "school district" means a city or borough school district or a regional 07 educational attendance area; 08 (4) "teachers' retirement system" means the Teachers' Retirement System of 09 Alaska (AS 14.25). 10 * Sec. 18. The amendments made by secs. 1 - 2 of this Act apply to teachers first hired 11 by a school district on or after the effective date of this Act. 12 * Sec. 19. AS 14.20.097 is repealed. 13 * Sec. 20. Section 9 of this Act is repealed July 1, 1999. 14 * Sec. 21. Sections 10 and 11 of this Act are repealed July 1, 1997. 15 * Sec. 22. This Act takes effect immediately under AS 01.10.070(c).