Source: https://lozanosmith.wordpress.com/2013/03/
Timestamp: 2019-04-24 10:08:26+00:00

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Reminder: The March 15th Noticing Deadline Is Around The Corner!
In the month of March, it is important to prepare for timely service of various notices of personnel action that must be sent during this period.
Notices for the release of temporary employees may be served any time before the end of the school year. (Ed. Code § 44954.) We strongly recommend personal service.
If you have any questions regarding the procedures governing certificated layoffs, releases, or reassignments please feel free to contact one of our eight offices located statewide. You can also visit our website, follow us on Facebook, or download our Client News Brief App.
The United States Department of Education (DOE) recently issued the final, revised regulations regarding when and how a school district or other local educational agency (LEA) must obtain parent consent to access a student’s public benefits or insurance for purposes of special education services. The new regulations, which become effective March 18, 2013, will likely ease the administrative burdens and confusion LEAs face at times when seeking parent consent to access a student’s public benefits or insurance.
The regulations to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) permit an LEA to utilize a student’s public benefits in order to pay for special education and/or related services required by the child’s IEP. (34 C.F.R. § 300.154(d); see also 20 U.S.C. § 1412(a)(12), (e).) For example, in California, an LEA may bill Medi-Cal for a student’s physical or occupational therapy services. However, the LEA must obtain written parent consent and adhere to certain additional requirements before doing so. (See 34 C.F.R. § 300.154(d).) In regards to parent consent, under the prior version of the regulation, the LEA was required to obtain informed consent each time it sought to access a child’s public benefits or insurance. This created some concern among LEAs regarding administrative costs, excessive paperwork, exactly how often consent must be sought, and the duration of such consent. Additionally, because student information would have to be released to an outside agency, such as Medi-Cal, in order to bill for the student’s services, this had also caused some concern with how to efficiently and effectively ensure compliance with state and federal laws regarding the confidentiality of student information.
Effective March 18, 2013, under the new regulations, an LEA is only required to obtain written parental consent one time before accessing a student’s public benefits for the first time. According to the DOE’s Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, such consent will remain in effect for the duration that the services are needed for the child within that same school district, even if a student transfers to a new school within the district. This written consent must specify that the student’s personally identifiable information may be disclosed to an outside agency, such as Medi-Cal, the type of information that might be disclosed, and the purpose of the disclosure. The consent must specify that the parent understands and agrees that the LEA may access the student’s public benefits to pay for services.
Prior to obtaining such parent consent, the LEA must also provide written notification to the parent informing them of their rights and protections. The written notice must also be given to the parents on an annual basis thereafter. The notice must include, for example, a statement that the LEA must obtain consent prior to disclosing a child’s information to an outside agency such as Medi-Cal, that such consent may be withdrawn at any time, the withdrawal of consent does not relieve the LEA of its responsibility to ensure that the required services are provided at no cost to the parents, and other information pertaining to the circumstances under which an LEA may access a child’s public benefits to pay for services.
For further detailed information regarding the revised regulations or how to ensure compliance with the regulations, please feel free to contact one of our eight offices located statewide. You can also visit our website, follow us on Facebook, or download our Client News Brief App.
With the passage of Proposition 30 by voters in November 2012, many school districts are in a position where they may avoid certificated layoffs. In order to achieve this result, school districts may be planning to release all temporary certificated employees when their temporary employment agreements expire at the end of the 2012-2013 school year. In light of the Stockton Teachers Association v. Stockton Unified School District decision issued last year, administrators should review the status of their temporary employees before concluding that certificated layoffs are unnecessary.
Properly classified temporary employees who, for example, are hired as walk-on athletic coaches, to teach classes that will not last beyond the first three months of any school term, or to replace teachers on leave, may be released at the end of the school year without cause pursuant to Education Code section 44954. However, the same is not always true for categorically funded temporary employees employed pursuant to Education Code section 44909.
In March of 2012, the court in Stockton Teachers Association v. Stockton Unified School District (2012) 204 Cal.App.4th 446, held that under Education Code section 44909, a school district may classify certificated employees hired into a categorically funded position as temporary only if they are (1) hired for the term of a categorically funded project or a program or project conducted under a contract with a public or private agency; and (2) terminated at the expiration of the contract, project, or program for which they were hired. This determination can be fact-specific and nuanced, and districts should consult with legal counsel when addressing the issue.
If a categorically funded employee’s temporary designation cannot be justified under the Stockton decision, the employee must be treated as probationary, and the district may release the categorically-funded employee through a probationary non-reelection or through the certificated layoff process. Both methods require a district to give notice to the employee no later than March 15th. Districts should note that the Stockton decision does not affect a district’s ability to hire “categorical backfills” on a temporary basis. “Categorical backfills” are hired to fill vacancies in the regular educational program created when existing certificated employees are reassigned to categorically funded positions.
If you have any questions regarding the classification of categorical employees, please feel free to contact one of our eight offices located statewide. You can also visit our website, follow us on Facebook, or download our Client News Brief App.

References: § 44954
 § 300
 § 1412
 § 300
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