BILL NUMBER: AB 420 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 24, 1999
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Wildman
FEBRUARY 12, 1999
An act to amend Sections 87482.5, 87802, 87861, 87863, and
87883 of, to add Section 87482.4 to, and to repeal Section 87865 of,
the Education Code, relating to community colleges.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 420, as amended, Wildman. Community colleges : faculty
.
Under existing law, persons employed in academic positions by
community college districts are faculty or faculty members.
This bill would provide that it is the intent of the Legislature
that an amount be appropriated to fund 5,000 newly created full-time
faculty positions over a 7-year period commencing during the
1999-2000 fiscal year.
(1) Existing law requires that a person employed to teach adult or
community college classes for not more than 60% of the hours per
week of a full-time employee having comparable duties, excluding
substitute service, be classified as a temporary employee and not
become a contract employee.
This bill would require, commencing July 1, 2003, each person
employed by a community college district as a temporary academic
employee to be compensated at a salary or hourly rate that is
directly proportional to the salary of a full-time regular employee
with comparable training and experience. The bill would require
community college districts to compute the proportional pay based on
the teaching load of the temporary employee compared to that of a
full-time academic employee with like training and experience. The
bill also would require that the schedule of salaries to be paid be
made on the basis of a uniform allowance for years of training and
years of experience. By increasing the duties of community college
districts, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
This bill would provide that any person employed as temporary
employee who has served each regular quarter or semester in the
current and preceding 3 consecutive academic years shall have a
preferred right to reappointment in the order of employment date, as
determined by the community college district, unless the person is
notified on or before March 15 of the current academic year that the
community college district has made a decision not to offer the
person reemployment and subject to specified prior rights of regular
and contract employees. The bill would also provide that these
persons may challenge a decision by a community college district not
to offer reemployment in the next consecutive academic year under
specified procedures and conditions applicable to the evaluation of
probationary employees. By imposing additional duties on community
college districts, this bill would constitute a state-mandated local
program.
(2) Existing law requires the governing board of each community
college district to adopt and cause to be printed and made available
to each academic employee a schedule of salaries to be paid.
This bill would require the schedule of salaries to be paid to be
based on a uniform allowance for years of training and years of
experience, thereby increasing the responsibilities of community
college district governing boards and imposing a state-mandated local
program.
(3) Existing law establishes the Part-Time Community College
Faculty Health Insurance Program for the purpose of providing a state
incentive program to encourage community college districts to offer
health insurance for part-time faculty. Existing law defines
"part-time faculty," for the purposes of the program, as any faculty
member whose teaching assignment in 2 or more community college
districts equals or exceeds the cumulative equivalent of a minimum
full-time teaching assignment.
This bill would revise that definition by deleting the requirement
that the faculty member teach in 2 or more districts and would
define the term, instead, to mean any faculty member whose teaching
assignment equals or exceeds 40% of the cumulative equivalent of a
minimum full-time teaching assignment.
Under existing law, a part-time faculty member and his or her
eligible dependents are eligible to participate in the program no
earlier than the commencement of the faculty member's 3rd consecutive
semester of teaching or 4th consecutive quarter of teaching where
the quarter system is used, as specified.
This bill would delete that limitation.
Under existing law, if a part-time faculty member is employed by
more than one community college district, and both or all of the
community college districts for whom he or she works offers health
insurance pursuant to the program, the employee is required to select
only one district to provide health insurance coverage.
This bill would repeal that provision.
(4) Existing law authorizes the governing boards of community
college districts to provide compensation for office hours to
part-time faculty.
This bill would authorize the governing boards of community
college districts to provide compensation to part-time faculty equal
to at least one paid office hour for every 2 classes or more taught
per week or 40% of a full-time load as defined by the district.
(5) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse
local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement, including the creation of a State Mandates Claims Fund
to pay the costs of mandates that do not exceed $1,000,000 statewide
and other procedures for claims whose statewide costs exceed
$1,000,000.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates
determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these
statutory provisions.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no yes .
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) California's community colleges have historically hired
part-time faculty to meet short-term community needs. By employing
working professionals as teachers, this practice has the effect of
enriching the curriculum and strengthening the tie between the
college and its community.
(b) Part-time faculty also provide hiring flexibility, and often
fill voids created by unanticipated enrollment growth. In some
cases, part-time faculty are able to provide colleges with technical
expertise that regular full-time faculty may lack, and can do so at a
lower cost than full-time faculty.
(c) Part-time faculty are usually paid only for the hours they are
actually in the classroom, with no compensation for related work
performed outside of the classroom, including, but not limited to,
research, preparation time, and evaluation of student work.
(d) However, rapidly expanding community colleges are now
overusing part-time faculty. Community colleges often utilize
part-time positions for financial reasons alone, rather than reasons
related to the enhancement of the curriculum. California's community
college system currently employs 67 percent of its teaching force in
part-time positions. Temporary contracts are being misused to
employ part-time faculty members when the duration and nature of
prior service, together with the overall circumstances of the
employment relationship, indicate that a full-time position would be
more appropriate. This practice is unfair to the part-time faculty
member because, as a part-time faculty member, the person will not be
able to attain a salary commensurate with the nature and type of
service that the person has provided to the community college.
(e) The principle of equal pay for equal work requires that
part-time faculty be provided compensation that is directly
proportionate to full-time faculty employment. In this way,
part-time faculty employed in settings that more closely resemble
full-time situations will receive compensation that more closely
resembles full-time compensation.
SEC. 2. Section 87482.4 is added to the Education Code, to read:
87482.4. (a) Notwithstanding subdivision (a) of Section 87482.5,
commencing July 1, 2003, each person employed by a community college
district as a temporary academic employee shall be compensated at a
salary or hourly rate that is directly proportional to the salary of
a full-time regular employee with comparable training and experience.
Community college districts shall compute the proportional pay of
the temporary academic employee based on the teaching load of the
temporary employee compared to that of a full-time academic employee
with like training and experience.
(b) It is the intent of the Legislature that community college
districts make reasonable progress each year toward pay equity so
that proportional pay is fully operational by July 1, 2003.
(c) A community college district that provides benefits to faculty
employed over 60 percent of the hours per week that is considered a
full-time assignment for regular employees having comparable duties
may not discriminate against temporary academic employees in the
provision of benefits.
(d) A community college district may prorate the benefits of
temporary academic employees.
(e) Nothing in this section shall be construed to diminish or
otherwise affect the requirements, guarantees, or protections under
any collective bargaining agreement, district policy, or state or
federal law that provides for greater or additional requirements,
guarantees, or protections than those provided under this section.
SEC. 3. Section 87482.5 of the Education Code is amended to read:
87482.5. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any
person who is employed to teach adult or community college classes
for not more than 60 percent of the hours per week considered a
full-time assignment for regular employees having comparable duties
shall be classified as a temporary employee, and shall not become a
contract employee under Section 87604.
(b) Service as a substitute on a day-to-day basis by persons
employed under this section shall not be used for purposes of
calculating eligibility for contract or regular status.
(c) Any person employed as a temporary employee pursuant to this
section who has served each regular quarter or semester in the
current and preceding three consecutive academic years shall have a
preferred right to reappointment in the order of employment date as
determined by the community college district in accordance with this
subdivision, unless the person is notified on or before March 15 of
the current academic year that the community college district has
made a decision not to offer the person reemployment for the next
consecutive academic year. The right to reappointment granted by
this subdivision is subject to all of the following:
(1) The prior right of regular and contract employees subjected to
a reduction in force pursuant to Section 87743.
(2) Actions taken pursuant to Article 4 (commencing with Section
87100) of Chapter 1.
(3) The prior right of regular and contract employees of the
community college district established in this code or in an
agreement entered into pursuant to Chapter 10.7 (commencing with
Section 3540) of Division 4 of Title 1 of the Government Code.
(d) Any person employed as a temporary employee pursuant to this
section who has served each regular quarter or semester in the
current and preceding three consecutive academic years may challenge
a decision by a community college district not to offer reemployment
in the next consecutive academic year under the procedures and
conditions described in Section 87610.1 and this subdivision.
Allegations that a community college district, in a decision not to
offer the person reemployment in the next consecutive academic year,
made a decision that, to a reasonable person, was unreasonable, or
violated, misinterpreted, or misapplied any of its policies or
procedures concerning the evaluation of employees, shall be
classified and procedurally addressed as a grievance. If there is no
contractual grievance procedure, these allegations shall proceed to
hearing in accordance with Section 87740.
(e) Nothing in this section shall preclude the implementation of
any agreement entered into pursuant to Chapter 10.7 (commencing with
Section 3540) of Division 4 of Title 1 of the Government Code, as in
effect on January 1, 2000. To the extent that agreement conflicts
with this section, the agreement shall prevail.
(f) As used in this section, "order of employment date" is the
date on which the person first rendered paid service as temporary
faculty under this section with no break in service. A "break in
service" is the failure to serve during any regular quarter or
semester. A summer session shall not be considered a regular quarter
or semester.
SEC. 4. Section 87802 of the Education Code is amended to read:
87802. The governing board of each community college district
shall adopt and cause to be printed and made available to each
academic employee a schedule of salaries to be paid on the basis
of a uniform allowance for years of training and years of experience
.
SEC. 5. Section 87861 of the Education Code is amended to read:
87861. For the purposes of this article:
(a) "Health insurance benefits" include medical benefits, but do
not include vision or dental benefits.
(b) "Part-time faculty" refers to any faculty member whose
teaching assignment in two or more community college
districts equals or exceeds 40 percent of the
cumulative equivalent of a minimum full-time teaching assignment.
SEC. 6. Section 87863 of the Education Code is amended to read:
87863. A part-time faculty member and his or her eligible
dependents are eligible to participate in the program established
pursuant to this article no earlier than the commencement of
the faculty member's third consecutive semester of teaching or
fourth consecutive quarter of teaching where the quarter system is
used. A summer session or any other interim session does not
constitute a semester or quarter for purposes of this article
.
SEC. 7. Section 87865 of the Education Code is repealed.
87865. If a part-time faculty member is employed by more than one
community college district, and both or all of the community college
districts for whom he or she works offers health insurance pursuant
to this article, the employee shall select only one district to
provide health insurance coverage.
SEC. 8. Section 87883 of the Education Code is amended to read:
87883. (a) The governing board of a community college district
may provide compensation for office hours to part-time faculty.
(b) The compensation to part-time faculty under this article shall
equal at least one paid office hour for every two classes
or more taught per week or 40 percent of a full-time load as defined
by the community college district.
SEC. 9. Notwithstanding Section 17610 of the Government Code, if
the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains
costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and
school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7
(commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the
Government Code. If the statewide cost of the claim for
reimbursement does not exceed one million dollars ($1,000,000),
reimbursement shall be made from the State Mandates Claims Fund.
the following:
(a) Campuses of the California Community Colleges have
historically hired part-time faculty to meet short-term needs, to
employ working professionals as teachers, to strengthen the tie
between the college and its community, and to enrich the curriculum.
(b) Part-time faculty provide hiring flexibility, and, in some
cases, needed expertise, at less cost than full-time faculty.
(c) Part-time faculty often fill voids created by unanticipated
enrollment growth, and may provide technical expertise that regular
full-time faculty may not have.
(d) With rapid expansion, community colleges began to overutilize
part-time faculty for financial rather than curricular reasons.
(e) In the late 1980's, the Legislature attempted to reverse the
ongoing trend of hiring part-time instructors instead of full-time
instructors through the passage of Assembly Bill 1725 of the 1987-88
Regular Session (Chapter 973 of the Statutes of 1988), which was
intended to increase the number of hours that students were taught by
full-time faculty members versus the number of hours taught by
part-time instructors.
(f) California's community college students deserve teachers who
can devote full time to teaching and are available for individual
consultations with them.
(g) California's community colleges presently employ 67 percent of
their teaching force in part-time positions.
(h) All Californians who are qualified and willing to work deserve
full-time jobs. Part-time faculty are qualified for full-time
appointments.
(i) Temporary contracts are being misused to employ part-time
faculty.
(j) Creating full-time teaching jobs in community colleges is an
educational quality issue, equivalent to class size reduction in the
elementary and secondary schools.
SEC. 2. It is the intent of the Legislature that an amount be
appropriated to the Board of Governors of the California Community
Colleges to fund 5,000 newly created full-time faculty positions over
a seven-year period commencing during the 1999-2000 fiscal year.