CSHB 217(L&C) AM(EFD FLD): "An Act relating to teacher tenure, teacher layoff and rehire rights, public access to information on public school collective bargaining, and to the right of tenured teachers to judicial review of decisions of nonretention or dismissal; and relating to retirement for certain employees of school districts, regional resource centers, the state boarding school, and regional educational attendance areas."
00CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 217(L&C) am(efd fld) 01 "An Act relating to teacher tenure, teacher layoff and rehire rights, public access 02 to information on public school collective bargaining, and to the right of tenured 03 teachers to judicial review of decisions of nonretention or dismissal; and relating 04 to retirement for certain employees of school districts, regional resource centers, 05 the state boarding school, and regional educational attendance areas." 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 four [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; and 08 (2) has been employed as a teacher in the same district continuously 09 for four [TWO] full school years and is reemployed for the school year immediately 10 following the four [TWO] full school years; or has been employed as a teacher in 11 the same district continuously for a period equal in length to four full school 12 years, whether or not the period begins on the first day of the school year, and 13 is reemployed on the school year day immediately following completion of the 14 four-consecutive-school-year period. 15 (b) The tenure rights acquired under (a) of this section become effective on the 16 first day the teacher performs teaching services in the district during the school year 17 immediately following the four-consecutive-school-year period [TWO FULL SCHOOL 18 YEARS]. 19 (c) by the end of the second year of employment, the district will provide 20 a non-tenured teacher a written evaluation and, if necessary, will develop a plan 21 for improvement in cooperation with the teacher, established mentors and 22 appropriate administrators. 23 * Sec. 3. AS 14.20.160 is amended to read: 24 Sec. 14.20.160. LOSS OF TENURE RIGHTS. Tenure rights are lost when the 25 teacher's employment in the district is interrupted or terminated. However, a teacher 26 on layoff status does not lose tenure rights during the period of layoff except as 27 provided under AS 14.20.177. 28 * Sec. 4. AS 14.20.175(b) is amended to read: 29 (b) A teacher who has acquired tenure rights is subject to nonretention for the 30 following school year only for the following causes: 31 (1) incompetency, which is defined as the inability or the unintentional
01 or intentional failure to perform the teacher's customary teaching duties in a 02 satisfactory manner; 03 (2) immorality, which is defined as the commission of an act that, 04 under the laws of the state, constitutes a crime involving moral turpitude; or 05 (3) substantial noncompliance with the school laws of the state, the 06 regulations or bylaws of the department, the bylaws of the district, or the written rules 07 of the superintendent [; OR 08 (4) A NECESSARY REDUCTION OF STAFF OCCASIONED BY A 09 DECREASE IN SCHOOL ATTENDANCE]. 10 * Sec. 5. AS 14.20 is amended by adding a new section to read: 11 Sec. 14.20.177. LAYOFFS. (a) A school district may place a teacher who has 12 acquired tenure rights on layoff status but only after the district has nonretained all 13 nontenured teachers and only if it is necessary for the district to reduce the number of 14 tenured teachers because of a decrease in school attendance or because of a financial 15 emergency verified by the commissioner of education. The commissioner's 16 determination is not subject to review or appeal. This section does not apply to a 17 teacher who has not acquired tenure rights. 18 (b) For a period of three years after layoff, a teacher is on layoff status and 19 is entitled to a hiring preference in the district or regional educational attendance area 20 where the teacher had been employed. The hiring preference applies only to vacant 21 teaching positions for which the teacher is qualified. If a teacher is offered a teaching 22 position under this subsection and the teacher declines the offer, the teacher is no 23 longer considered to be on layoff status and is no longer entitled to a hiring preference 24 under this section unless the teacher declines the offer because the teacher is 25 contractually obligated to provide professional services to another private or public 26 educational program in Alaska. 27 (c) In making layoff and rehire decisions under this section, a school district 28 may give preference to a primary school teacher who has less seniority than a 29 secondary school teacher in order to preserve the primary school program. The district 30 may also give preference to a secondary school teacher over a primary school teacher 31 with more seniority in order to preserve secondary school programs.
01 (d) Notwithstanding any provision of AS 23.40, the terms of a collective 02 bargaining agreement entered into between a school district or regional educational 03 attendance area and a bargaining organization representing teachers on or after the 04 effective date of this section may not be inconsistent with the provisions of this 05 section. 06 (e) A teacher on layoff status is not entitled to be reemployed under 07 AS 14.20.145 and does not accrue leave. However, layoff status does not constitute 08 a break in service for 09 (1) retaining acquired tenure rights; or 10 (2) retaining accrued sick leave. 11 (f) A teacher on layoff status may choose whether or not to treat the layoff as 12 a termination for purposes of receiving a refund of the balance of the teacher's member 13 contribution account in the teachers' retirement system under AS 14.25.150. 14 * Sec. 6. AS 14.20.180(b) is amended to read: 15 (b) The tenured teacher may, within 15 days immediately following receipt of 16 the notification, notify the employer in writing that a hearing before the school board is 17 requested or, within 60 days after receipt of the notification, bring suit in superior 18 court. If the tenured teacher notifies the school board that the teacher is requesting 19 a hearing before the school board, the [. THE TENURED] teacher may require in the 20 notification that the hearing be either public or private and that the hearing be under oath 21 or affirmation. The notification may also require that the right of cross-examination be 22 provided and that the tenured teacher be represented by counsel and have the right to 23 subpoena a person who has made allegations that are used as a basis for the decision of 24 the employer. 25 * Sec. 7. AS 14.20.205 is amended to read: 26 Sec. 14.20.205. JUDICIAL REVIEW. If a school board reaches a decision 27 unfavorable to a teacher after a hearing under AS 14.20.180, the teacher is entitled to 28 judicial review based on the record [A DE NOVO TRIAL] in the superior court. 29 However, a teacher who has not attained tenure rights is not entitled to judicial review 30 under [ACCORDING TO] this section. 31 * Sec. 8. AS 23.40 is amended by adding a new section to read:
01 Sec. 23.40.185. INITIAL PROPOSALS AND FINAL AGREEMENTS OF 02 SCHOOL NEGOTIATIONS ARE PUBLIC DOCUMENTS. The initial proposals 03 exchanged by the parties to negotiations between a school district or a regional 04 educational attendance area and a bargaining organization representing its employees and 05 the final agreements reached by the parties are public records. 06 * Sec. 9. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE AS TO SECTIONS 10 - 17. Many school districts 07 are facing the need to restructure their operations and their work forces in order to reduce 08 expenditures and balance budgets. Retirement incentives are management tools that have been 09 used extensively by the private sector, the federal government, and other state and local 10 governments across the country. The purpose of secs. 10 - 17 of this Act is to make this 11 management tool temporarily available to the public schools and regional resource centers of the 12 state. Sections 10 - 17 of this Act will enable these entities to be more efficient and cost-effective by eliminating 13 nonessential positions, and producing a net reduction in 14 personnel costs. 15 * Sec. 10. RETIREMENT INCENTIVE PROGRAM. (a) A school district, regional 16 educational attendance area, regional resource center, or the state boarding school may adopt a 17 retirement incentive plan under sec. 11 of this Act and designate categories of employees eligible 18 to participate in that plan. An employer need not extend the incentive plan to all employees who 19 would otherwise be eligible, but may choose to extend the plan only to employees 20 (1) in specific budget or administrative components of the employer; 21 (2) in specific job classifications; 22 (3) in specific geographic locations; or 23 (4) on the basis of any combination of factors under (1) - (3) of this subsection. 24 (b) An employee is eligible to participate in a retirement incentive plan under secs. 9 - 25 17 of this Act only if the 26 (1) employee is a vested member of the public employees' retirement system or 27 the teachers' retirement system; 28 (2) employee will be qualified to retire under AS 14.25.110 or AS 39.35.370 29 after receipt of the credit described in (f) of this section; 30 (3) savings to the employer in personal services costs for the employee's position 31 will exceed the costs to the employer for that position within three years after the employee is
01 appointed to retirement. 02 (c) An employer shall file its proposed retirement incentive plan with the commissioner 03 of administration. The commissioner shall approve the plan if the plan meets the requirements 04 of secs. 9 - 17 of this Act. A proposed plan filed under this section must 05 (1) identify job classifications of employees, and specific budget or 06 administrative components, eligible to participate in the plan; 07 (2) include a reimbursement agreement that 08 (A) requires the employer, for each employee who retires under the plan, 09 to reimburse the appropriate retirement system, within three years after the end of the 10 fiscal year in which the employee is appointed to retirement, in an amount equal to 11 (i) the actuarial equivalent of the difference between the benefits 12 the participant receives after the addition of the credit under (f) of this section 13 and the amount the participant would have received without the credit, less the 14 amount the participant has paid on the indebtedness determined under (d) or (e) 15 of this section; and 16 (ii) an appropriate share of the administrative costs of the 17 program; and 18 (B) provides that contributions from the employer under this section take 19 priority over other obligations of the employer to the maximum extent permitted by law. 20 (d) A member of the teachers' retirement system who participates in an approved 21 retirement incentive plan under secs. 9 - 17 of this Act is indebted to that system for an amount 22 calculated under this subsection. The indebtedness is 25.95 percent of the member's actual 23 compensation for the school year in which the member terminates employment, or the calculated 24 school year compensation for a member who works less than the entire school year. An 25 outstanding indebtedness at the time a member is appointed to retirement under an approved 26 retirement incentive plan requires an actuarial adjustment to the benefits payable to that member. 27 (e) A member of the public employees' retirement system who participates in an 28 approved retirement incentive plan under secs. 9 - 17 of this Act is indebted to that system for 29 an amount calculated under this subsection. The indebtedness is 20-1/4 percent of the member's 30 actual annual compensation for the year in which the member terminates employment, or the 31 calculated annual compensation for a member who works fewer than 12 months. An outstanding
01 indebtedness at the time a member is appointed to retirement under an approved retirement 02 incentive plan requires an actuarial adjustment to the benefits payable to that member. 03 (f) An employee who participates in an approved retirement incentive plan under secs. 9 04 - 17 of this Act receives a credit of three years. The three years must be applied in the follow- 05 ing order until exhausted: 06 (1) to meet the age or service required for eligibility for normal retirement under 07 AS 14.25.110 or AS 39.35.370, as appropriate; 08 (2) to meet the age required for early retirement under AS 14.25.110 or 09 AS 39.35.370, as appropriate; 10 (3) to reduce the actuarial adjustment required for early retirement under 11 AS 14.25.110 or AS 39.35.370, as appropriate; 12 (4) as years of credited service for calculating retirement benefits. 13 * Sec. 11. AUTHORIZATION FOR RETIREMENT INCENTIVE. (a) An employer may 14 adopt, and file with the commissioner of administration for approval, a proposed retirement 15 incentive plan for its employees. A plan adopted under this section must provide that the 16 application period for participation in the retirement incentive plan is June 30, 1995, through 17 December 31, 1995. 18 (b) The commissioner of administration may not accept the application of an employee 19 to participate in an approved retirement incentive plan adopted under this section unless the 20 employee will be appointed to retirement on or before August 1, 1996. The employer, in a plan 21 adopted under this section, may set an earlier date by which an employee must be appointed to 22 retirement in order to participate in the plan. 23 * Sec. 12. RECOVERY OF EMPLOYER DELINQUENCIES. To recover a delinquency 24 owed by an employer other than the state under an agreement entered into under sec. 10(c)(2) 25 of this Act, the Department of Administration may 26 (1) direct that the amount of the delinquency or a lesser amount be withheld 27 from any money payable to the employer by a state department or agency and that the amount 28 withheld be credited to the delinquency; and 29 (2) bring an action against the employer. 30 * Sec. 13. REEMPLOYMENT INDEBTEDNESS; PROHIBITION ON REEMPLOYMENT. 31 (a) If an individual is reemployed as a member of the public employees' retirement system
01 under AS 39.35, the teachers' retirement system under AS 14.25, the judicial retirement system 02 under AS 22.25, or the optional university retirement program under AS 14.40.661 - 14.40.799 03 after appointment to retirement under secs. 9 - 17 of this Act, that individual forfeits the 04 incentive credit received under sec. 10(f) of this Act and is indebted to the system under which 05 the individual took retirement. The indebtedness is 110 percent of the amount the individual 06 received as a result of participation in a retirement incentive plan under secs. 9 - 17 of this Act 07 and to which the individual would not otherwise have been entitled, including the cost of health 08 insurance. The amount that the individual has paid under sec. 10(d) or (e) of this Act will be 09 applied as a credit toward the reemployment indebtedness. Interest on the reemployment 10 indebtedness accrues from the date of reemployment until the date that the individual either is 11 appointed to retirement and accepts an actuarial adjustment to the individual's future benefits or 12 repays the indebtedness in full. The rate of interest is that established by regulation for the 13 public employees' retirement system by the public employees' retirement board and for the 14 teachers' retirement system by the teachers' retirement board. 15 (b) An individual who was appointed to retirement under secs. 9 - 17 of this Act may 16 not be employed by, or enter into a contract for personal services with, a state agency or the 17 University of Alaska within the three years after the date of appointment to retirement, except 18 that 19 (1) the University of Alaska may enter into a personal services contract with the 20 individual for teaching or research; and 21 (2) the individual may accept employment with the legislature during a 22 legislative session if the employment is on an hourly basis and does not entitle the individual 23 to receive retirement, health, or leave benefits. 24 (c) Notwithstanding the prohibition in (b) of this section, a state agency or the 25 University of Alaska may enter into a personal services contract with an individual who was 26 appointed to retirement under secs. 9 - 17 of this Act if the Board of Regents, for the University 27 of Alaska, or the commissioner of administration, for a state agency, determines that there is a 28 compelling reason to do so because of the individual's specialized or extensive experience that 29 relates to a particular program or project of the state agency or university. 30 * Sec. 14. OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET. (a) The office of management 31 and budget shall submit a report to the legislature on the retirement incentive program under
01 secs. 9 - 17 of this Act on April 15, 1997. The report must provide the information necessary 02 for the legislature to evaluate the effectiveness of the programs in achieving their objectives. 03 * Sec. 15. PROGRAM CHANGES. (a) An individual employee does not have a vested or 04 contractual right to a benefit under secs. 9 - 17 of this Act until an agreement is executed with 05 the administrator that specifically authorizes that employee to participate in the retirement 06 incentive program under secs. 9 - 17 of this Act. The legislature reserves the right to change any 07 aspect of the retirement incentive program as it relates to employees for whom participation 08 agreements have not yet been executed with the administrator or with the commissioner of 09 administration. 10 (b) In this section, "administrator" means the administrator of the public employees' 11 retirement system for employees who are members of that system, and the administrator of the 12 teachers' retirement system for employees who are members of that system. 13 * Sec. 16. REGULATIONS. The commissioner of the Department of Administration may 14 adopt regulations under AS 44.62 (Administrative Procedure Act) to implement and interpret 15 secs. 9 - 17 of this Act. 16 * Sec. 17. DEFINITIONS. (a) Unless provided otherwise in secs. 9 - 17 of this Act, the 17 definitions set out in AS 14.25.220 apply to provisions in secs. 10- 13 of this Act that relate to 18 the teachers' retirement system and members of the teachers' retirement system. 19 (b) Unless provided otherwise in secs. 9 - 17 of this Act, the definitions set out in 20 AS 39.35.680 apply to provisions in secs. 10 - 13 of this Act that relate to the public employees' 21 retirement system and members of the public employees' retirement system. 22 (c) In secs. 9 - 17 of this Act, 23 (1) "employer" means a school district, regional educational attendance area, 24 regional resource center, or the state boarding school; 25 (2) "office of management and budget" means the office of management and 26 budget in the Office of the Governor; 27 (3) "public employees' retirement system" means the Public Employees' 28 Retirement System of Alaska (AS 39.35); 29 (4) "teachers' retirement system" means the Teachers' Retirement System of 30 Alaska (AS 14.25). 31 * Sec. 18. The amendments made by secs. 1 and 2 of this Act apply to teachers first hired
01 by a school district on or after the effective date of this Act. 02 * Sec. 19. Sections 10 and 11 of this Act are repealed July 1, 1997.