Does the state mandate the school start date? How about the length of the instructional day or school year? What kind of leave are you entitled to receive? The following are some of the key statutes in place regarding teacher rights, working conditions and related topics. These laws apply to school districts and campuses that operate under the Texas Education Code and are not necessarily applicable to the following: charter schools; programs, campuses or districts that have waivers from the commissioner of education; or alternative education programs.

Length of school year
The 10-month teacher contract year requires a minimum of 187 days of service: 180 instructional days and seven days to be used as determined by the district. (See “staff development” on page 10.)

Length of instructional day
The instructional day must be at least seven hours long, including intermissions and recesses. Nothing in state law addresses the length of the workday for teachers.

School start date
Beginning with the 2007-08 school year, the first instructional day must be no earlier than the fourth Monday in August, with no waivers.

Personal leave/other leave
Each school employee is entitled to five days of personal leave per year with no limit on accumulation. School districts may provide additional personal leave beyond this minimum. The district may adopt a policy governing the use of personal leave, although legislative intent was that such policies should manage only the scheduling of personal days (for example, prohibiting the use of personal leave on student assessment days, the last day of school, etc.). A district may not limit the reasons for which personal leave may be taken.

The law also allows up to two years of paid “assault leave” for teachers to recover from injuries suffered in a student assault. If an employee requests assault leave in writing, the district must grant it immediately, and the leave may not be deducted from the employee’s accrued personal leave (unless the claim is found to be invalid). A TCTA-initiated bill passed during the 2001 legislative session clarifies that a district may not deny assault leave due to the mental capacity of the student.

State law requires districts to provide at least 180 calendar days of unpaid “disability leave” for any educator whose condition (as certified by a physician) interferes with the performance of work duties. Before returning to duty, the educator must give the district at least 30 days’ written notice and a doctor’s statement of intent to return to work. Temporary disability leave covers inability to perform work duties due to pregnancy and postnatal recovery, but not child care. The contract of employment for an educator may not be terminated while the educator is on leave of absence for temporary disability.

Under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), districts with 50 or more employees must allow up to 12 weeks of “family leave” for a serious health condition that renders the employee unable to perform his/her job or for such condition of a spouse, parent or child. Any employee who has been employed for at least 1,250 hours during the preceding 12-month period may take 12 weeks of leave within 12 months of the birth or adoption of a child. The district may pay the employee during leave, but this is not required.

A TCTA-initiated bill passed during the 2003 legislative session provides that employees on military leave are allowed to use any accumulated sick or personal leave and clarifies that school employees may take up to 15 days of military leave without loss of leave time for service in the reserves or state military forces. The bill also allows districts to adopt policies providing for fully paid leave during military service as part of the consideration of employment in a district.

Teacher grading authority
Pursuant to a TCTA-initiated bill passed during the 2003 legislative session, an examination or course grade issued by a teacher is final and may not be changed unless it is erroneous, arbitrary or not consistent with a school district’s grading policy as adopted by the board of trustees. A school board’s determination with regard to a grade is final and may not be appealed unless the appeal relates to a student’s eligibility to participate in extracurricular activities. A bill passed in 2007 provides that “Students may express their beliefs about religion in homework, artwork, and other written and oral assignments free from discrimination based on the religious content of their submissions. Homework and classroom assignments must be judged by ordinary academic standards of substance and relevance and against other legitimate pedagogical concerns identified by the school districts. Students may not be penalized or rewarded on account of the religious content of their work.”

Class size
Each district must maintain an average ratio of no more than 20 students for one teacher. For kindergarten through 4th grade, the district may not enroll more than 22 students in a class except during the last 12 weeks of the year. Districts with high migrant populations may exceed the 22:1 ratio during a different 12-week period than the last 12 weeks of the year, but the period must be specified by the district. Districts that obtain waivers from the limit must provide written notice to parents of each student affected by the waivers.

Teacher certification
The Texas Education Code requires the certification of teachers, and the federal No Child Left Behind Act specifies that all teachers be “highly qualified” by the end of the 2006-07 school year (in some cases, later deadlines apply). The State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC) regulates and oversees state teacher certification standards and educator preparation, as well as disciplinary procedures and a code of ethics. The code provides a specific statement of the conduct that is expected from Texas educators and a list of enforceable standards. It may be viewed on the SBEC website at www.sbec.state.tx.us. For more information, see pages 23-25.

Staff development
The local district has the discretion to determine the number of days of the teacher contract year to be devoted to staff development, as well as the number to be used for teacher preparation days. Staff development must be predominantly campus-based, must be developed and approved by the campus site-based decision making (SBDM) committee, and may include training in technology as well as in conflict resolution and discipline strategies. The district also may use districtwide staff development that is designed and approved by the district-level SBDM committee.

Paperwork reduction
TCTA-initiated language to reduce paperwork requirements became law in 2003. The law provides for the following:

• Districts must limit redundant requests for information and the number and length of written reports that a classroom teacher is required to prepare.
• The reports that teachers may be required to prepare are limited to a specific list that essentially covers grading, lesson plans, attendance reports, reports related to the health or safety of students, accreditation information or material related to a grievance or other legal matter. Teachers may only be required to prepare unit or weekly lesson plans that outline, in a brief and general manner, the information to be presented in each period at the secondary level or in each subject or topic at the elementary level. The complete list is available on the TCTA website.
• School boards are required to review paperwork requirements and transfer to noninstructional staff any reporting tasks that could be reasonably accomplished by that staff.
• Though the law allows districts to collect other essential information, it requires the agreement of the teacher in such situations.

Another law passed in 2005 requires the commissioner of education to review paperwork the Texas Education Agency (TEA) requires from a school district and to adopt a policy that limits the written reports and other paperwork that TEA requires a principal or classroom teacher to complete.

Professional association/political activity
Teachers continue to have the right to join or to refuse to join any professional association, and a school board member or school employee may not directly or indirectly require or coerce a teacher to join any group, club, committee, organization or association. Teachers also may not be prohibited from participating in political affairs in the community, state or nation.

Talking to school board members
TCTA-initiated legislation passed in 2007 provides that school district employment policies may not restrict the ability of a school district employee to communicate directly with a member of the school board on matters relating to the operation of the school district. The employment policy may prohibit such communication relating to an appeal in which such communication would be inappropriate pending a final decision by a school board.

Grievances
Most school law-related complaints regarding an individual employee’s rights or conditions of employment should be addressed through the district’s grievance procedure. The time limits for initiating a grievance are extremely short, typically 15 days or less from the time the employee knew or should have known of the event for which the grievance is filed. Legal rights to appeal could be permanently lost if these time limits are not followed. For this reason, members with potential school employment-related legal problems should contact the TCTA Legal Department immediately for advice relating to the situation. Pursuant to a law initiated by TCTA, a grievance alleging a violation of law by the supervisor need not be filed with the same supervisor.

Payroll deduction
Each school district must provide payroll deduction of professional dues upon the request of the employee for the amount and the number of pay periods specified by the employee. Under state law, the deductions shall be made until the employee requests in writing that the deductions be discontinued. The district may charge an administrative fee, which may not be greater than the actual administrative cost or the lowest fee the district charges for similar salary deductions, whichever is less.

Nepotism
A school board member cannot vote to hire a person who is related within the third degree by consanguinity or within the second degree by marriage to any member of the school board. The first degree is a parent or child. The second degree is grandparent, grandchild, sister or brother. The third degree is great-grandparent, great-grandchild, aunt, uncle, niece or nephew. There are exceptions. One applies to school bus drivers in counties of less than 35,000 in population. Another is the continuous employment exception. If a person is an employee of a school district for at least 30 days prior to the appointment of the public official, the employee may continue in employment and other members of the governing board may vote to rehire, promote, increase the compensation of, or dismiss that employee, but the relative of the employee must abstain from voting. If a district has delegated final hiring authority to the superintendent for a class of employees, then the above provisions apply both to school board members and to the superintendent for decisions relating to that class of employees. For example, if a district has delegated the final hiring authority to the superintendent for all classified employees, then the superintendent could not hire his/her own son, daughter, spouse or any other person within the prohibited degree of relationship as a classified employee.

Employment policies
In 2005, the requirement that teachers with term contracts be provided a copy of the board of trustees’ employment policies was repealed. If a district has such policies, they must be made available upon request and placed on the district’s website.

Job postings
A TCTA-initiated law passed in 2005 requires school districts to allow employees an opportunity to apply for an open professional position, and post notice of job vacancies for at least 10 school days in the following places: on a bulletin board at a place convenient to the public in the district’s central administrative office; in the central administrative office at each campus in the district; and on the district’s Internet website if the district has one. Districts are allowed to fill the position without such notice if the position affects the safety and security of students or if the district must fill a vacant teaching position during the school year. School district employment policies may include a provision that allows each current district employee an opportunity to participate in a process for transferring to another school or position with the district.

Diabetes management plan
Another law passed in 2005 requires each student with diabetes to have a diabetes management and treatment plan developed by the parent and the student’s doctor. At each school that has a student with diabetes, the principal must seek out school employees (other than health care professionals) to serve as unlicensed diabetes care assistants, and attempt to ensure that the school has at least one unlicensed assistant if the school has a full-time nurse; if there is no full-time nurse, the school must have at least three unlicensed assistants. The assistants will be trained by a health care professional; the training will cover recognizing symptoms, understanding proper actions to take, understanding the details of the student’s health plan, performing finger-sticks and checking urine ketone levels, administering glucagon and insulin, recognizing complications requiring emergency care, and understanding recommended schedules and food intake. Parents must sign an agreement before the assistant is allowed to help the student; the agreement includes a statement that the parent understands that an unlicensed assistant is not liable for civil damages. Schools must allow students to self-check and self-medicate in accordance with the student’s health plan. (TCTA was successful in adding language to this 2005 legislation to avoid the creation of potential liability for school employees.)

Psychotropic drugs
A school district employee may not recommend that a student use a psychotropic drug (a drug intended to affect perception, emotion or behavior), suggest a particular diagnosis, or prohibit a student from attending a class or participating in a school-related activity because of the parent’s refusal to consent to the student using a psychotropic drug or having a psychiatric evaluation. This law does not, however, prohibit a school district employee who is a registered nurse, advanced nurse practitioner, physician, or appropriately credentialed mental health professional from recommending that a child be evaluated by an appropriate medical practitioner. It also does not prohibit an employee from discussing a student’s behavior or academic progress with the parents or another school employee.

Corporal punishment/use of force
If you administer corporal punishment, comply strictly with your district policy since it is a potential area of liability for educators. Be aware that corporal punishment can be broader than swats; having students run laps, do pushups, etc., may meet the definition if ordered as a punishment. Such rigorous physical activity should be assigned only for training or conditioning and not as punishment.

In 2005, the Texas Attorney General issued an opinion stating that House Bill 383, adopted by the 79th Legislature, does not limit the authority of school personnel to administer corporal punishment pursuant to a policy adopted by the board of trustees. The law added a provision to the Texas Family Code providing that only the following persons may administer corporal punishment: “(1) a parent or grandparent of the child; (2) a stepparent of the child who has the duty of control and reasonable discipline of the child; and (3) an individual who is a guardian of the child and who has the duty of control and reasonable discipline of the child.” According to the opinion, the law amended only the Family Code and did not change existing law with regard to corporal punishment administered by school district employees. The opinion also provides that a district may adopt a policy authorizing corporal punishment without the permission of the parents or guardians.

Note that school districts may adopt a policy prohibiting the administration of corporal punishment by school employees and that teachers may be disciplined for violating the policy. On the other hand, a professional employee may not be subject to disciplinary proceedings for the use of reasonable force against a student to the extent justified under Section 9.62 of the Texas Penal Code. The Penal Code provision allows an educator to use nondeadly force “when and to the degree the actor reasonably believes the force is necessary to further the special purpose or to maintain discipline in a group.” Another Attorney General opinion distinguishes between force used “to enforce compliance with a proper command issued for the purpose of controlling, training or educating the child,” and force used “to punish the child for prohibited conduct.” Corporal punishment “refers only to the use of physical force for the purpose of punishing the student, as a consequence of inappropriate behavior,” and not to reasonable force used for such actions as breaking up a fight.

Textbooks and technology
TCTA initiated a law in 2003 stating that the board of trustees of a school district may not require a district employee to pay for textbooks or instructional technology that are stolen, misplaced or not returned by a student. This law was updated through passage of additional TCTA-initiated legislation in 2007 specifying that a school board may not require an employee to pay for electronic textbooks or technological equipment that are damaged, stolen, misplaced or not returned, unless the school employee has entered into an agreement with the district in exchange for personal use of a laptop computer.

Classroom supply reimbursement
State law provides an opportunity for teachers to be reimbursed up to $400 for qualified out-of-pocket expenses for classroom supplies. For teachers to be eligible for reimbursement, school districts must submit an application and provide matching funds for whatever money is provided through the Classroom Supply Teacher Reimbursement (CSTR) program. Matching funds may be donated to the district by parent-teacher organizations, local community groups or private businesses. The Region 20 Education Service Center, on behalf of TEA, is in charge of allocating available funds on a first-come, first-served basis to qualified applicants. Additional information on this program is available on the CSTR website at http://cstr.esc20.net.

Pledge and one minute of silence
Students are required to recite the pledges to the U.S. and Texas flags once each day, followed by one minute of silence during which students may reflect, pray, meditate or engage in any other silent activity that is not likely to interfere with or distract another student. The teacher or employee in charge is responsible for maintaining the silence during this period. Parents may execute a written request to excuse their child from these activities. New legislation passed in 2007 added the words “one state under God” to the Texas Pledge.

Web posted: 07/31/07