BP 4121 — Temporary/Substitute Personnel

Section: 4000 - Personnel
Status: Active

Adopted: 2015-05-12

Revised: 2024-10-10

Policy text

TEMPORARY/SUBSTITUTE PERSONNEL

Personnel

The Governing Board recognizes that substitute and temporary personnel perform an essential role in promoting student achievement and desires to employ highly qualified, appropriately credentialed employees to fill such positions.

Hiring

The Superintendent or designee shall recommend candidates for substitute or temporary positions for Board approval and shall ensure that all substitute and temporary employees are assigned in accordance with law and the authorizations specified in their credentials.

Substitute personnel may be employed on an on-call, day-to-day basis.

In addition, after September 1 of any school year, the Board may employ substitute personnel for the remainder of the school year for positions for which no regular employee is available. The district shall first demonstrate to the Commission on Teacher Credentialing the inability to acquire the services of a qualified regular employee.

Permanent or probationary certificated employees who were laid off pursuant to Education Code 44955 and who have a preferred right of reappointment shall be given priority for substitute service in the order of their original employment.

Classification

At the time of initial employment and each July thereafter, the Board shall classify substitute and temporary employees as such.

The Board may classify as substitute personnel a teacher hired to fill the position of a regularly employed person who is absent from service.

To address the need for additional certificated employees when regular district employees are absent due to leaves or long-term illness, the Board may classify a teacher who is employed for at least one semester and up to one complete school year as a temporary employee. Any person whose service begins in the second semester and before March 15 may be classified as a temporary employee even if employed for less than a semester. The Board shall determine the number of persons who shall be so employed, which shall not exceed the identified need based on the absence of regular employees.

The Board also shall classify as temporary employees those certificated persons, other than substitute employees, who are employed to:

Serve from day to day during the first three months of any school term to teach temporary classes which shall not exist after that time, or perform any other duties which do not last longer than the first three months of any school term
Teach in special day and evening classes for adults or in schools of migratory population for not more than four months of any school term
Serve in a limited assignment supervising student athletic activities provided such assignments have first been made available to teachers presently employed in the district
Serve in a position for a period not to exceed 20 working days in order to prevent the stoppage of district business during an emergency when persons are not immediately available for probationary classification
Serve only for the first semester because the district expects a reduction in student enrollment during the second semester due to mid-year graduations

For purposes of classifying employees pursuant to item #1 or #2 above, the school year shall not be divided into more than two school terms.

Any employee hired to provide services in a categorically funded program or project may be employed for a period less than a full school year. An employee may be classified as a temporary employee if the period of employment will end at the expiration of that program or project.

Salary and Benefits

The Board shall adopt and make public a salary schedule setting the daily or pay period rate(s) for substitute employees for all categories or classes of certificated employees of the district.

Temporary employees shall participate in the health and welfare plans or other fringe benefits of the district.

Paid Sick Leave

Except for a retired annuitant who is not reinstated to the retirement system, any temporary or substitute employee who works for 30 or more days within a year of his/her employment shall be credited with 40 hours of paid sick leave for that year. Unused sick leave shall not carry over to the following year of employment.

Any temporary or substitute employee may begin to use accrued paid sick days on the 90th day of his/her employment, after which he/she may use the sick days as they are accrued.

A temporary or substitute employee may use accrued sick leave for absences due to:

The employee’s own need or the need of a family member, as defined in Labor Code 245.5, for the diagnosis, care, or treatment of an existing health condition or for preventive care
Need of the employee to obtain or seek any relief or medical attention specified in Labor Code 230(c) and 230.1(a) for the health, safety, or welfare of the employee, or the employee’s child, when the employee has been a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking

No employee shall be denied the right to use accrued sick days and the district shall not in any manner discriminate or retaliate against an employee for using or attempting to use sick leave, filing a complaint with the Labor Commissioner, or alleging district violation of Labor Code 245-249. The Superintendent or designee shall display a poster containing required information, provide notice to eligible employees of their sick leave rights, keep records of employees’ use of sick leave for three years, and comply with other requirements specified in Labor Code 245-249 and in AR 4161.1/4361.1 - Personal Illness/Injury Leave.

Release from Employment/Dismissal

The Board may dismiss a substitute employee at any time at its discretion.

The Board may release a temporary employee at its discretion if the employee has served less than 75 percent of the number of days the regular schools of the district are maintained during one school year. After serving 75 percent of the number of days that district schools are maintained during one school year, a temporary employee may be released as long as he/she is notified, before the last day of June, of the district’s decision not to reelect the temporary employee for the following school year.

Reemployment as a Probationary

Unless released from employment pursuant to Education Code 44954, any person employed for one complete school year as a temporary employee shall, if reemployed for the following school year in a vacant position requiring certification qualifications, be classified as a probationary employee. With the exception of on-call, day-to-day substitutes, if a temporary or substitute employee performs the duties normally required of certificated employees for at least 75 percent of the number of days the regular schools of the district were maintained in that school year and is then employed as a probationary employee for the following school year, the employee’s previous employment as a temporary or substitute employee shall be credited as one year’s employment as a probationary employee for purposes of acquiring permanent status.

Vacant position means a position in which the employee is qualified to serve and which is not filled by a permanent or probationary employee. It shall not include a position that would be filled by a permanent or probationary employee except for the fact that such employee is on leave.

A temporary employee hired pursuant to item #1 or #2 in the section “Classification” above shall be classified as a probationary employee if the duties continue beyond the time limits of the assignment.

A person employed pursuant to item #5 in the section “Classification” above who is then continued in employment beyond the first semester shall be classified as a probationary employee for the entire school year and shall be reemployed to fill any vacant position in the district for which the employee is certified. Preference for available positions shall be determined by the Board as prescribed by Education Code 44845 and 44846.

With the exception of on-call, day-to-day substitutes, any temporary or substitute employee who was released pursuant to Education Code 44954 but who has nevertheless served in a certificated position in the district for at least 75 percent of each of two consecutive school years shall receive first priority if the district fills a vacant position for the subsequent school year at the grade level at which the employee served during either year. In the case of a departmentalized program, the employee shall have taught the subject matter in which the vacant position occurs.