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GASPASpring Conference

Legal Issues Update May 7, 2009

Presented by:

Phil HartleyHarben, Hartley & Hawkins, LLPWachovia Center, Suite 750340 Jesse Jewell ParkwayGainesville, Georgia 30501Telephone: (770) 534-7341; Facsimile: (770) 532-0399E-mail: phartley@hhhlawyers.com

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Legal Implications of What Passed the General Assembly

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Nepotism – HB 251• No person with relative on the board or employed as

superintendent, principal, assistant principal or system administrative staff is eligible to serve on the BOE

• Relative: spouse, child, sibling, parent(or spouse of last 3)

• Applies only to BOE members elected or appointed after 7/1/09

• “Nothing… shall affect the employment of any person employed on or before 7/1/09 … or when immediate family member becomes a board member”

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And Superintendents too…

• No person with relative on the board or hired or promoted to principal, assistant principal or system administrative staff is eligible to be employed as Superintendent

• “Nothing… shall affect the employment of any person employed on or before 7/1/09 … or when immediate family member becomes superintendent”

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What do we do with the May 15 deadline? – HB 455

• Applies to Nonrenewals for this year only – RIF’s are nonrenewals, too

• Do you have a local policy that is different?• Decide about local supplements for next year• Look carefully at language in the contract in case

revenues are reduced again in the middle of the year

• Consider need for additional reductions in force

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More on HB 455

• Teachers who earn leadership degrees after 7/1/10, but who are not employed in a leadership position (as defined by SBOE), will not be paid for the leadership certificate

• Stay tune for interpretations

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HB 229 – SHAPE

• 2011-2012 – annual fitness assessment program, as approved and funded by SBOE, 1X /year for students in 1-12, only through a PE course taught by certified PE teacher in which student is enrolled

• Measure level of physical fitness, report to parent and aggregate by school to SBOE

• SHAPELIEST SCHOOL – state recognition

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HB 243 – National Board Certified

• Any person enrolled on 3/1/09 shall be eligible for salary increases, subject to appropriation

• After 7/1/09, only those shall be eligible

• 2010 appropriation based on 10% of base salary for T4, 1st year

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HB 193 – New definition of “school year”

• Changes requirement for 180-day school year for students and allows “equivalent determined in accordance with SDOE guidelines”

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HB 280 – Additional pay for some teachers

• Beginning 7/1/10, subject to appropriation, a secondary school math or science teacher moves to the step on scale comparable to 6 years of experience (unless already there)

• After 5 years, subject to evidence of increased student achievement as set by OSA, teacher may advance one additional year on the schedule for each year

• Subject to moving back if not meeting criteria• K and elementary teachers who earn math or science

endorsement may earn $1000 supplement for each year up to 5

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SB 178 – BRIDGE

• Focused programs of study in high demand, high skill, and high wage fields

• Individual graduation plans for each 8th grade student starting next year

• Model programs for chronically low-performing high schools

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Legal Implications of What Did Not Pass the General Assembly

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Universal Parental Choice

• HB 100 - Tax Credits for Scholarship Programs for Public School Children Attending Private Schools

• SB 90 – vouchers for everyone• Interdistrict transfers and local funds to be

transferred• Role of school councils in intradistrict

transfers

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Board Member Ethics – SB 84

• Code of Ethics and Conflicts of Interest – who develops and who enforces

• Hearings before the BOE to remove board members

• The Governor’s Authority to Remove Elected Officials

• The Role of SACS in school district governance• Who trains board members and about what?

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While We Were Focused on the Gold Dome

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The Georgia Courts and Immunity

• Supreme Court agrees to review Smith v. McDowell

• Can a directive create a ministerial duty

• What effect does the admission of the secretary that she had no discretion have?

• Why does it matter?

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The Georgia Courts and Administrative Tenure

• Patrick v. Huff• Only administrators that have any tenure

with a District are those that had tenure as teacher or administrator as of April 7, 1995

• If employee begins employment after 4/7/95 and becomes administrator, no tenure, even if between 4/7/95 and promotion, had tenure as educator

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The Expanding Definition of Disability and Why It Matters

• ADA and 504 amendments take effect on 1/1/09

• Is every employee entitled to an accommodation plan?

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Increasing retaliation claims

• ADA and FMLA

• The Supreme Court continues to expand retaliation options

• Employees who participate in investigations of discrimination or harassment claims

• The increasing number of retaliation claims given the recent RIFs

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QUESTIONS