Opinion ID: 1959540
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Attorney General Opinion and Legislative Response

Text: In 1997, the attorney general issued an opinion stating that because the EIA had given the director exclusive authority over transfers in Tennessee Code Annotated section 49-5-510, local boards could not enter into a negotiated agreement authorized by the EPNA bargain[ing] away the [director's] authority to transfer teachers. Tenn. Op. Atty. Gen.-No. 97-107. After an analysis of the applicable statutes, particularly Tennessee Code Annotated sections 49-2401(f)(31) (1998) and 49-5-510 (1998), the opinion concluded that any collective bargaining agreement seeking to limit the director's authority to transfer would violate state law and be a nullity. Id. In 1998, and in response to the opinion issued by the attorney general, the General Assembly passed legislation amending both Tennessee Code Annotated section 49-2-301(f) and Tennessee Code Annotated section 49-5-510. The amendments added provisions on the subject of transfers to assure director compliance with contracts authorized by the EPNA. The first section of the legislation, approved April 28, 1998, re-stated Tennessee Code Annotated section 49-2-301(f), in reference to the assigned duties of the director: Within the approved budget and consistent with existing state laws, board policies and locally negotiated agreements covering licensed personnel, to employ, transfer, suspend, non-renew and dismiss all personnel licensed or otherwise, except as provided in Section 49-2-203(a)(1) and in Chapter 5, Part 5 of this title. Nothing in this subdivision shall be construed to alter, diminish, or supersede the Educational Professional Negotiations Act, Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 49, Chapter 5, Part 6. [9] (emphasis added). The second section of the legislation preserved the director's authority to transfer a teacher from one location to another . . . or from one type of work to another for which the teacher is qualified and licensed but replaced a period with a semi-colon after the word licensed and added the following condition:  provided that transfers shall be acted upon in accordance with board policy and any locally negotiated agreement.  Tenn. Code Ann: § 49-5-510 (2002) (emphasis added). Prior to the amendments, Tennessee Code Annotated section 49-2-301(f)(31) had required boards of education to assign to their directors, the duty to [e]mploy, transfer, suspend, non-renew, and dismiss all personnel within the approved budget, except as provided in § 49-2-203(a)(1) and in Chapter 5, Part 5 of this title. That was changed, however, to assure that the authority granted by the EPNA was unaffected by the EIA as to teacher transfers. Tenn.Code Arm, § 49-2401(b)(1)(EE). Similarly, the section of the new legislation pertaining to tenure made transfers of teachers subject to compliance with board policy and the local contract. Tenn.Code Ann. § 49-5-510 (2002). The history accompanying the 1998 amendments includes a comment by the chairman of the Senate Education Committee explaining its purpose: There has been an Attorney General's opinion which had brought question upon our intent in 1992 [when the EIA was passed] concerning part of what all is involved in the negotiation process. What this will do is clarify the intent in 1992. . . . which includes transfer and makes it part of a negotiable item in the negotiation process as it was prior to 1992. [March 25, 1998, Senate Education Committee hearing on Adoption of S.B. 2172 (Tenn.1998).] (emphasis added). The house sponsor of the bill made similar comments prior to its passage. See March 31, 1998, House Education Committee Hearing on Adoption of H.B. 2750 (Tenn.1998). In 2001, the Court of Appeals addressed the issue of transfer as it applies to principals. Marion County Bd. of Educ. v. Marion County Educ. Ass'n, 86 S.W.3d 202, 208 (Tenn.Ct.App.2001). While interpreting Tennessee Code Annotated section 49-2-303(a)(1) (1996), a part of the EIA pertaining to'sclibol principals in the context of a transfer under Tennessee Code Annotated section 49-5-510, the Court of Appeals specifically held that a collective bargaining agreement which envisions substitution of the judgment of an arbitrator for discretion of the director of schools in the selection of principals, is not authorized by law. Id. at. 214. The court reasoned that the legislatively enumerated duties and powers of a director to transfer principals couldineither be discussed nor negotiated away in a collective bargaining process. See also Carter County Bd. of Educ. v. Carter County Educ. Ass'n, 56 S.W.3d 1 (Tenn.Ct.App.1996), perm. app. denied, (Oct. 7, 1996) (determining that the statutory duty to elect a principal is nondelegable and is not an issue subject to collective bargaining). Although its opinion made no reference to the legislative history surrounding the adoption of the 1998 amendments, the Court of Appeals acknowledged the wording of the new provisions but determined that other parts of the EPNA had demonstrated an intent not to modify the rights and responsibilities of the board and the superintendent (or director) in regard to the position of principal. Tenn.Code Ann. § 49-5-604; Marion County Bd. of Educ., 86 S.W.3d at 208. Our intermediate court interpreted the EPNA as prohibiting the scope of the negotiated agreement from reaching the [b]oard of education rights, as set out in Tennessee Code Annotated sections 49-5-611 and 612(a)(3), and as subsequently transferred to the director of schools by the ETA. Id. at 209 & n. 11. In this case, we must address the 1998 amendments, not in the context of the transfer of a prindipal, but as to their effect on a tenured teacher whose coaching responsibilities have been specifically addressed by the board of education. In matters of statutory construction, our role is to ascertain the legislative intent from the natural and ordinary meaning of the language used. Roddy, 661 S.W.2d at 871. Further, when the language presents any ambiguity, we may consider legislative history for guidance. Storey, 910 S.W.2d at 859. Whether plain by the terms of the amendment or, if sufficiently unclear by its terms to warrant resorting to the legislative history, our interpretation of the amendments is the same: The General Assembly intended to assure that the authority of the director to transfer tenured teachers, including those who simulta neously hold coaching positions, is subject to board of education policy and the terms of the locally negotiated contract. These requirements necessarily imply that the General Assembly intended to allow boards of education to enter into collective bargaining agreements that regulate the transfer of tenured teachers by a director. In our view, no other construction of the statute gives effect to the language, transfers shall be acted upon in accordance with board policy and any locally negotiated agreement. A separate amendment adopted in 2002 buttresses the accuracy of our interpretation. Our General Assembly passed Public Acts Chapter 683, Senate Bill No. 467 amending Tennessee Code Annotated section 49-5-601(b): Notwithstanding other provisions of [Title 49] to the contrary, directors of schools shall, have the ultimate right to transfer all professional employees subject only to [sections] 49-2-303 and 49-5-510. Nothing in this section shall be construed to, make transfers or assignments mandatory subjects of negotiations. Tenn.Code Ann. § 49-5-601(b)(5) (2002) (emphasis added). By declining to mandate negotiations on teacher assignment or transfer, our legislature underscored its desire to permit discussions on the subject. In this context, it is our conclusion that the legislature, by the passage of the 1998 and 2002 amendments, confirmed the traditional powers of the board of education to establish policies and to negotiate the issue of teacher transfer on a local basis. The subject of transfer may be addressed in the collective bargaining process, but only on a discretionary basis. Neither the county boards of education nor any local Education Association are compelled to address the subject. We hold, therefore, that the director's authority to make transfers of tenured teachers within the system may be modified by board policy or by the locally negotiated agreement, as provided by statute.