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HB2382 - 572R - I Ver
REFERENCE TITLE:
school district superintendents; secondary employment
State of Arizona
House of Representatives
Fifty-seventh Legislature
Second Regular Session
2026
HB 2382
Introduced by
Representatives
Gress: Gillette
AN
ACT
amending sections 15-503 and 38-503,
Arizona Revised Statutes; relating to school employees.
(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:
Section 1. Section 15-503, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:
START_STATUTE
15-503.
Superintendents, principals, head teachers and school
psychologists; terms of employment; evaluation; contract delivery and
acceptance; nonretention notice; enforcement; civil penalty; unprofessional
conduct
A.
The
A school
district
governing board may:
1. Employ a superintendent or principal, or both.�
If the governing board employs a superintendent, the governing board shall
determine the qualifications for the superintendent by action taken at a public
meeting.� The governing board shall require a superintendent to
both:
(
a
)
Have
a valid fingerprint clearance card that is issued pursuant to title 41, chapter
12, article 3.1.
(
b
) Obtain
approval from the governing board before engaging in any secondary employment
while the superintendent is employed pursuant to this paragraph.� The governing
board must consider and vote in a public meeting whether to approve or disapprove
secondary employment pursuant to this subdivision.
2. Appoint a head teacher.
3. Jointly with another governing board employ a
superintendent or a principal, or both. If the governing board
jointly employs a superintendent, the governing boards shall jointly determine
the qualifications for the superintendent by action taken at a public meeting.�
The governing boards shall require a superintendent to
both:
(
a
)
Have
a valid fingerprint clearance card that is issued pursuant to title 41, chapter
12, article 3.1.
(
b
) Obtain
approval from each governing board before engaging in any secondary employment
while the superintendent is employed pursuant to this paragraph.� Each
governing board must consider and vote in a public meeting whether to approve
or disapprove secondary employment pursuant to this subdivision.
B. The term of employment of superintendents may be
for any period not exceeding three years, except that if the superintendent's
contract with the school district is for multiple years pursuant to this
subsection
,
the school district shall not offer to extend
or renegotiate the contract
until no
earlier than fifteen
months before the
expiration of the
contract
expires
.� The term of employment of principals may be for any
period not exceeding three years, except that if the principal's contract with
the school district is for multiple years the school district shall not offer
to extend or negotiate the contract until May of the year preceding the final
year of the contract.� The school district governing board or the
charter school
governing body
of the charter
school
shall communicate the superintendent's or principal's duties with
respect to the classroom site fund established by section 15-977.
C. The governing board shall establish systems for
the evaluation of the performance of principals and other school administrators
and certificated school psychologists in the school district. In
the development
developing
and
adoption of
adopting
these performance
evaluation systems, the governing board shall avail itself of the advice of its
administrators and certificated school psychologists. Each
evaluation shall include recommendations as to areas of improvement in the
performance of the certificated school psychologist if the performance of the
certificated school psychologist warrants improvement. After
transmittal of an assessment, a governing board designee shall confer with the
certificated school psychologist to make specific recommendations as to areas
of improvement in the certificated school psychologist's
performance. The governing board designee shall provide assistance
and opportunities for the certificated school psychologist to improve
performance and shall follow up with the certificated school psychologist after
a reasonable period of time for the purpose of ascertaining that the
certificated school psychologist is demonstrating adequate performance.� The
evaluation process for certificated school psychologists shall include appeal
procedures for certificated school psychologists who disagree with the
evaluation of their performance, if the evaluation is for use as criteria for
establishing compensation or dismissal.
D. On or before May 15 each year, the governing
board shall offer a contract for the next school year to each certified
administrator and certificated school psychologist who is in the last year of
the person's contract unless, on or before April 15, the governing board, a
member of the board acting on behalf of the governing board or the
superintendent of the school district gives notice to the administrator or
certificated school psychologist of the governing board's intention not to
offer a new contract.� If the governing board has called for an override
election for the third Tuesday in May as provided in section 15-481, the
governing board shall offer a contract for the next school year to each
certified administrator or certificated school psychologist who is in the last
year of the person's contract on or before June 15 unless,
no
not
later than five days after the override election
excluding Saturday, Sunday and legal holidays, the governing board, a member of
the governing board acting on behalf of the governing board or the
superintendent of the school district gives notice to the administrator or the
certificated school psychologist of the governing board's intention not to
offer a new contract. The administrator's or the certificated school
psychologist's acceptance of the contract shall be indicated within thirty days
after the date of the written contract or the offer is revoked. The
administrator or certificated school psychologist accepts the contract by
signing the contract and returning it to the governing board or by making a
written instrument that accepts the terms of the contract and delivering the
written instrument to the governing board.
E. Notice of the governing board's intention not to
reemploy the administrator or certificated school psychologist shall be made by
delivering the notice personally to the administrator or the certificated
school psychologist or by sending the notice by certified mail, postmarked on
or before the applicable deadline prescribed in subsection D of this section,
and directed to the administrator or the certificated school psychologist at
the person's place of residence as recorded in the school district records.
F. The governing board shall make available the
evaluation and performance classification of each principal in the school
district to school districts and charter schools that are inquiring about the
performance of the principal for hiring purposes.
G. If the county school
superintendent for a county in which a school district is located notifies the
attorney general or county attorney that a school district superintendent is
engaging in secondary employment without prior approval from the school
district governing board, the attorney general or the county attorney shall
investigate the allegations and may bring an action in a court of competent
jurisdiction to enjoin the alleged violation.� For each violation of this
section, the court may impose a civil penalty against a school district
superintendent of not more than $1,000 for each month in which the
superintendent engages in secondary employment in violation of subsection A of
this section.� A school district superintendent is personally responsible for
paying all civil penalties imposed against the superintendent pursuant to this
subsection.� the school district may not pay a civil penalty that is imposed
pursuant to this subsection on behalf of, or otherwise reimburse, a school
district superintendent against whom the civil penalty is imposed.
H. A school district superintendent
who engages in secondary employment without prior approval from the school
district governing board in violation of subsection A of this section commits
an act of unprofessional conduct. Notwithstanding section 15-534.02,
if the state board of education revokes a school district superintendent's
certificate on the grounds that the superintendent commits an act of
unprofessional conduct described in this subsection, the state board of
education shall determine that the superintendent is prohibited from submitting
an application for certification pursuant to section 15-501.01,
subsection C, paragraph 7 for a specified period of not more than three years.
END_STATUTE
Sec. 2. Section 38-503, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
START_STATUTE
38-503.
Conflict of interest; exemptions; employment prohibitions
A. Any public officer
or employee of a public agency who has, or whose relative has, a substantial
interest in any contract, sale, purchase or service to
such
the
public agency shall make known that
substantial
interest in the official records of
such
the
public agency and shall refrain from voting
upon
on
or otherwise participating in any manner as an officer or
employee in
such
the
contract, sale
or purchase.
B. Any public officer or employee who has, or whose
relative has, a substantial interest in any decision of a public agency shall
make known
such
that substantial
interest in the official records of
such
the
public agency and shall refrain from participating in any manner as an officer
or employee in
such
the
decision.
C. Notwithstanding
the provisions of
subsections A and B of this section,
no
a
public officer or employee of a public agency shall
not
supply to
such
the
public agency any
equipment, material, supplies or services, unless pursuant to an award or
contract let after public competitive bidding, except that:
1. A school district governing board may purchase,
as provided in sections 15-213 and 15-323, supplies, materials and
equipment from a school board member.
2. Political subdivisions other than school
districts may purchase through their governing bodies, without using public
competitive bidding procedures, supplies, materials and equipment
not exceeding three hundred dollars
of not more
than $300
in cost in any single transaction, not to exceed a total of
one thousand dollars
$1,000
annually, from
a member of the governing body if the policy for such purchases is approved
annually.
D. Notwithstanding subsections A and B of this
section
:
and
1.
As provided in sections 15-421
and 15-1441, the governing board of a school district or a community
college district may not employ a person who is a member of the governing board
or who is the spouse of a member of the governing board.
2. As provided in section 15-503,
the governing board of a school district may not employ a person as a
superintendent while the person engages in secondary employment without prior
approval by the school district governing board.
END_STATUTE
Sec. 3.
Existing contracts; applicability
Sections 15-503 and 38-503,
Arizona Revised Statutes, as amended by this act, apply to employment contracts
that are executed, amended or renewed after the effective date of this act.