3120 - EMPLOYMENT OF INSTRUCTIONAL STAFF

School Board of Charlotte County

Bylaws & Policies

3120 - EMPLOYMENT OF INSTRUCTIONAL STAFF

The School Board recognizes that it is vital to the successful operation of the District that positions created by the Board be filled with highly qualified and competent personnel. The Board shall approve employment upon recommendation of the Superintendent.

All personnel shall be appointed or re-appointed as prescribed by Florida Statutes and in conformance with applicable State Board of Education Rules and School Board policies.

The Superintendent is directed to develop appropriate employment procedures governing the recruitment, screening, selection, appointment and employment of all personnel consistent with Florida Statutes, State Board of Education Rules, federal requirements, and Board policies.

Employment Defined

	A.	Full-Time
		A regular full-time employee is a person who is employed for the school term or for the school fiscal year to render the minimum number of hours each day as established by the Board for that position or job. Full-time employees fill positions requiring more than twenty (20) hours per week.
	B.	Part-Time
		A part-time employee is a person who is employed to render less than the number of hours each day as established by the Board for a regular full-time employee. Part-time employees fill positions requiring less than twenty (20) hours per week.
	C.	Temporary
		A temporary employee is a person whose employment is expected to be for a limited time to fill a vacancy. Such employment will cease at the close of the school term or school fiscal year or when the temporary work has been completed. A temporary employee may be a part-time or a full-time employee.

The employment of instructional staff members prior to approval by the Board is authorized when the employment is required to maintain continuity in District operations. Employment shall be recommended to the Board no later than the month following employment.

Any instructional staff member’s misstatement of fact material to qualification for employment or the determination of salary shall be considered to constitute grounds for dismissal.

Any person employed in a full-time instructional position requiring certification must be eligible to obtain a valid certificate issued pursuant to Florida law and shall file the certificate with the District.

All instructional staff members shall become familiar with the policies of the Board and other such policies, regulations, memoranda, bulletins, and handbooks that pertain to their duties in the District. Any instructor employed by the Board who shall be guilty of any willful violation of the policies of the Board shall be subject to dismissal or such other lesser penalty as the Board may prescribe.

Any person desiring employment shall file a completed application on the form provided by the Superintendent.

Qualifications

A candidate shall be disqualified from employment in any instructional position that requires direct contact with students if the candidate is ineligible for such employment under F.S. 1012.315.

In addition to specific requirements and qualifications listed in job descriptions, a candidate must be of good moral character and must have attained the age of eighteen (18) years with the exception of students employed by the Board.

Employment History Check

The Superintendent shall conduct employment history checks of all candidates for instructional positions. The employment history check shall include, but not be limited to, contacting any previous employer and screening the candidate through the use of screening tools described in state law. If contact with (a) previous employer(s) cannot be made, the Superintendent shall document the efforts to do so.

Certificate Requirements - Each applicant for an instructional or a certificated administrative position shall hold a certificate, have a receipt from the Florida Department of Education acknowledging that an application has been filed and that issuance of the certificate is pending, or have the proper license to perform services.

To be considered for a position, an applicant shall be duly qualified for that position in accordance with state law, regulations of the Florida Department of Education and the approved job description. If it appears that the applicant is eligible for proper certification, appointment may be made subject to the conditions set forth in the annual contract of employment as approved by the Board.

Any person not holding a valid Florida certificate at the time of employment shall be required, upon initial employment, to make application to the Florida Department of Education for such a certificate, through the designated office of the District. When such certificate is received, it must be filed with the office of the Superintendent. If the Department of Education declines to issue a certificate, the person's employment shall be terminated immediately. Failure to file such certificate, except for good cause as determined by the Superintendent, shall result in the termination of employment.

Interview and Appointments

	A.	When interviews are conducted by interview teams, the team shall reasonably reflect the community's diverse racial, ethnic, and gender composition.
	B.	The Superintendent or designee shall monitor and ensure that appointments and assignments are consistent with the District's intent of maintaining a diverse work force.

Fingerprinting

Each new instructional staff member shall be fingerprinted at their own expense prior to payment of any salary warrant.

Drug Testing

Pre-employment drug and alcohol screening will be required of all applicants prior to being awarded employment with the Board. The term "applicant" refers to a person who has applied for a position with the Board and has been offered employment conditioned upon successfully passing a drug test at the applicant's expense.

Acceptance of Appointment

Failure to signify acceptance of appointment within ten (10) days after receipt of the official notice of appointment shall be considered a rejection of the offer and the position shall be declared vacant.

SCHOOL DISTRICT CERTIFICATION

The Board authorizes issuance of School District certificates to substitute teachers, part-time and full-time non-degreed vocational education teachers, and part-time adjunct teachers. Each certificate shall bear an effective date of July 1^st of the school fiscal year of which it is issued and shall expire on June 30^th.

The substitute certificate shall be valid for five (5) school fiscal years and shall be issued to an individual who meets criteria established for employment in Policy 3120.04 - Employment of Substitute, Temporary, Part-time Instructional Staff;

		1.	To re-issue a valid substitute certificate, an individual shall submit an application form to the Department of Human Resources;
		2.	To re-issue an expired substitute certificate, an individual shall do the following:

			a.	Submit an application form to the Human Resources Department; and
			b.	Be fingerprinted by trained personnel in Human Resources Department so that a records check can be completed by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
				The fingerprint processing fee shall be paid by the individual;

The following types of part-time and full-time certificates shall be issued at the non-degreed vocational level;

		1.	The fields of certification shall be specified in the Qualifications for Employment of Non-degreed Part-Time and Full-Time Vocational Instructional Personnel Employment/Certification Handbook Update;
		2.	Non-degreed instructional personnel will be issued a three (3) year temporary certificate upon receipt of fingerprint clearance from the FDLE and FBI. The fingerprinting processing fee shall be paid by the individual;
		3.	A five (5) year professional certificate will be issued when all requirements have been completed as specified for a professional services contract;
		4.	To re-issue a valid professional certificate, official transcripts must be filed with the appropriate renewal form showing six (6) semester hours of college credit which includes three (3) semester hours specific to each area on the certificate. 120 in-service points shall be considered equivalent;

The part-time adjunct instructional personnel will be issued a five (5) year adjunct teaching certificate based on the following:

		1.	Earns a passing score on the Florida subject area test in the field that s/he will be teaching;
		2.	Meets requirements as specified in Florida Statute;
		3.	Fulfills requirements of Policy 3121; and
		4.	An adjunct teacher may renew a part-time adjunct certificate for an additional five (5) years providing s/he has received satisfactory performance evaluations during each year of teaching under the adjunct certificate.

REQUIREMENTS FOR TITLE I TEACHERS

All teachers employed by the District shall be "highly qualified."

"Highly Qualified" shall mean the following:

	A.	Full state certification as a teacher or passed state teacher licensing exam and holds current license to teach; certification or license requirements may not be waived on emergency, temporary, or provisional basis;
	B.	For elementary teachers new to the profession, this also requires the following:

		1.	At least a bachelor’s degree; and
		2.	Passing a rigorous state test on subject knowledge and teaching skills in reading, writing, math, and other areas of elementary curriculum (state certification test may suffice);

For secondary or middle school teachers new to the profession this also requires the following:

		1.	At least a bachelor’s degree, and
		2.	Passing a rigorous state test in each of the subject areas s/he will teach (state certification test may suffice), or
		3.	For each academic subject taught, having an academic major, course work equivalent to an undergraduate major, a graduate degree, or advanced certification or credentialing;

For elementary, middle, or secondary school teachers with prior experience, this also requires the following:

		1.	At least a bachelor’s degree; and
		2.	Meeting standards for new teachers (above); or
		3.	Demonstrating competence in all academic subjects s/he teaches based on a uniform state standard of evaluation (standard for academic subject matter and teaching skills set by the state).

REQUIREMENTS FOR TEACHERS IN DISTRICTS RECEIVING TITLE I FUNDING

All teachers shall be "highly qualified" as described above. The District must have a plan and show annual progress towards meeting these teacher qualification requirements.

F.S. 1012.01, 1012.315, 1012.32, 1012.24, 1012.42, 1012.55, 1012.56
F.A.C. 6A-1.0502, 6A-1.0503
20 U.S.C. 6301
20 U.S.C. 6301
42 U.S.C. 12.101 et seq., Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
29 C.F.R. Part 1630

Revised 1/27/09