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.

The employment of educational support 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.

As defined by Florida Statutes, educational support employees include employees whose job functions are neither administrative nor instructional yet whose work supports the educational process. These employees are subject to dismissal, transfer, promotion, or resignation pursuant to the applicable individual contract, bargaining agreement, Board policy, and Florida Statutes.

A regular employee is a person employed in a continuing position on a daily schedule after having completed a ninety (90) calendar day probationary period, unless otherwise provided by collective bargaining agreement or individual contract. Extensions to this period may be granted by mutual written consent of the employee and the Superintendent. Employees who have not completed the probationary period may be discharged without recourse.

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

All support personnel 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 support staff member 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.

A candidate shall be disqualified from employment in any support 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, must have attained the age of eighteen (18) years with the exception of students employed by the Board, and must have high school diploma or equivalent or obtain with three (3) years of hire.

Any person employed in a position requiring licensure shall provide written documentation of a valid license issued by the state of Florida.

When interviews are conducted by interview teams, the team shall reasonably reflect the community's diverse racial, ethnic, and gender composition.

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.

The Superintendent shall conduct employment history checks of all candidates for support staff positions defined as "instructional" by statute. 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.

Each new support staff member shall be fingerprinted, at the staff member's cost, prior to payment of any salary warrant.

Pre-employment drug and alcohol screening will be required of all applicants at their expense 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.

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.

All paraprofessionals employed by the District to provide instructional support services shall be "highly qualified".

The requirements to be considered a "highly qualified" instructional paraprofessional are established by the Florida Department of Education. Accordingly, one of the following requirements must be met:

Instructional paraprofessionals working for a Title I supported program may be assigned to duties as follows:

The activities to which non-instructional paraprofessional may be assigned include the following:

F.S. 1012.01, 1012.315, 1012.32, 1012.37, 1012.40, 1012.55, 1012.56
F.A.C. 6A-1.0502(11), 6A-1.070
20 U.S.C. 6301

Revised 1/27/09
Revised 9/28/10