Educational support personnel.

WORKING DRAFT
2008
STATE OF
WYOMING
08LSO-0268

HOUSE BILL
NO.
HB0112

Educational support personnel.

Sponsored by:
Representative(s) McOmie, Davison, Jaggi, Martin, Millin, White and Zwonitzer, Dn. and Senator(s) Decaria, Hastert and Johnson

A BILL

for

AN ACT relating to
school district
educational support personnel; providing definitions; establishing procedures for the dismissal or suspension of educational
support
personnel;

imposing duties on school boards;
and providing for an effective date.

Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of
Wyoming
:

Section 1.

W.S. 21
‑
7
‑
701 through 21
‑
7
‑
706 are created to read:

ARTICLE 7
EDUCATIONAL SUPPORT PERSONNEL

21
‑
7
‑
701.

Definitions.

(a)

As used in this a
rticle
:

(i)

"Administrative leave" means a nondisciplinary, temporary removal of an employee from
his
duties for a period not to exceed five (5) work days for administrative purposes;

(ii)

"Dismissal" means the termination of employment of a permanent employee;

(iii)

"Educational support person
nel
" means those employees of a
Wyoming
school district who ar
e not certified by the
Wyoming
professional teaching standards b
oard pursuant to W.S. 21
‑
2
‑
802;

(iv)

"Permanent employee" means
an educational support person who has
been continuously employed by
the
Wyoming
school district
where he is currently employed
for m
ore than one (1) year;

(v)

"Probationary employee" means an educational support person who has been employed by
the
Wyoming
school district
where he is currently employed
for one (1) year or less;

(vi)

"Suspension" means the removal of an employee from
his
duties without termination of salary pending the outcome of a hearing in accordance with W.S. 21
‑
7
‑
703(c). "Suspension"
shall
not include administrative leave.

21
‑
7
‑
702.

Applicability.

This a
rticle
does not in any way a
ffect
the legal rights or status of any school district employees except
educational support personnel.

21
‑
7
‑
703.

Employment and dismissal of educational support personnel; notice; hearing; independent hearing officer; board review and decision; appeal.

(a)

Permanent educational support employees shall continue their employment unless they are dismissed under the procedures of this a
r
t
icle

or they resign their employment.

(b)

A local school board may suspend or dismiss any permanent educational support employee for
:

(i)

I
ncompetence
;

(ii)

Neglect of duty;

(iii)

Insubordination;

(iv)

U
nsatisfactory performance
; or

(v)

Other good cause shown.

(c)

Suspension or dismissal proceedings shall be initiated by the superintendent or any member of the local school board
designated by the superintendent or by the local school board pursuant to a majority vote of the board
by
delivering written notice of the suspension or proposed dismissal together with the written reasons for the suspension or pro
posed dismissal to the employee.

(d)

A permanent employee who
receives
notice of a recommendation of dismissal or
notice of suspension under
subsection (c) of this section
may
, upon submission of a written request to the superintendent,
request a
hearing before an independent hearing officer on the recommendation and the reasons for the recommendation. The written request shall be submitted not more than ten (10) days after
receipt
of notice provided under
subsection (c) of this section.

(e)

Not more than twenty (20) days after a request for a hearing the superintendent and the employee shall jointly select a hearing officer
.

(f)

Not more than ten (10) days after selection of a hearing officer, the hearing officer shall set a date for a hearing and provide notice to the employee and the superintendent of the date, time and location of the hearing. The hearing officer shall have authority to conduct conferences with the parties as necessary to address any matters which require resolution before the date of the hearing and to establish an or
derly procedure for the hearing.

(g)

The hearing officer shall
, to the extent possible, be impartial and
experienced in education, labor a
nd employment and
the conduct of hearings. The hearing officer may
but is not required to
be an attorney admitted to practice in
Wyoming
. The cost of the hearing officer shall be pa
id by the local school district.

(h)

The hearing shall be conducted in accordance with the Wyoming Administrative Procedure Act and the hearing officer may accordingly receive or reject evidence and testimony, administ
er oaths and
if necessary, subpoena witnesses. All school records pertaining to the employee and the reasons for suspension or dismissal shall be made available to the parties
for the purposes of the hearing.

(j
)

The hearing officer shall review the evidence and testimony, render written findings of fact and recommend the employee be dismissed, suspended or retained. The hearing officer may al
so recommend
an action
other than dismissal or suspension if the hearing officer concludes that a lesser
action
is more appropriate. The hearing officer shall provide the written findings of fact and recommenda
tions to the local school board.

(k
)

The school board shall review the findings of fact and recommendations submit
ted by the hearing officer and within
twenty (20) days after
receipt
,
issue
a written order
to accept
or reject
the recommendation of the hearing officer. If the school board dismisses or suspends an employee against the recommendation of the hearing officer, the written order shall inc
lude the conclusion of the
school board
together
with reasons supported by the record. A copy of the order shall be provided to the employee and entered into the school district
records
pertaining to the em
ployee. Any action by the
school board pursuant to this subs
ection shall be approved by
a majority of the
board
members at an official meeting of the board
.

(m)

A board decision may be appealed
to
the
district court as provided in the Wyoming
Administrative Procedure Act.
The cost of transcribing the record shall be borne equally by the employee and the school district.

21
‑
7
‑
704.

Employment and notice of dismissal for probationary employees.

A
school board may dismiss a
probationary employee by providing written notice of dismissal
to the employee
together with reasons for the dismissal. A probationary employee may be dismissed for any reason not specifically prohibited by law and the school board is not limited to the reasons set forth in W.S. 21
‑
7
‑
703(b). The notice of dismissal shall not be disseminated to the public or to prospective employers without the consent of the employee. Nothing in this section shall prohibit the use of the notice in any hearing or other legal proceeding. A probationary employee is not entitled to a hearing as provided in W.S. 21
‑
7
‑
703.

21
‑
7
‑
705.

Performance evaluation of educational support personnel.

As provided by W.S. 21
‑
3
‑
110(a)
(xxx), t
he board of trustees of each school district shall establish a performance evaluation system
for educational support employees
and require that each educational support employee be evaluated in writing not less than once each year.
Each employee shall receive a copy of the evaluation.

21
‑
7
‑
706.

Inapplicability of provisions.

(a)

Nothing in this article shall prohibit:

(i)

A school district from establishing policy or otherwise providing rights or procedures in excess of the minimum requirements established in this article including designating an employee as a permanent employee or providing for due process or hearing rights for probationary employees;

(ii)

The transfer of an employee within a school system to a position of equal or greater salary;

(iii)

The reduction of a salary of an employee as part of a general salary reduction applicable to at least fifty percent (50%) of the educational support personnel employed by a school district;

(iv)

Placing an employee on administrative leave to allow school district administration an opportunity to review an employment related matter, provided that being placed on administrative leave shall not be considered to be a disciplinary action and shall not be considered as evidence or grounds for any employment discipline.

Section 2
.

W.S. 21
‑
3
‑
110(a) by creating
a new
paragraph (xxx) is amended to read:

21
‑
3
‑
110.

Duties of boards of trustees.

(a)

The board of trustees in each school district shall:

(xxx)

Establish a performance evaluation system for educational support employees and require that each educational support employee be evaluated as provided in W.S. 21
‑
7
‑
705.

Section 3.

This act is effective immediately upon co
m
pletion of all acts necessary for a bill to become law as provided by Article 4, Section 8 of the Wyoming Constit
u
tion.

(END)

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HB0112