As Passed by the House                        1            

123rd General Assembly                                             4            

   Regular Session                            Am. H. B. No. 238    5            

      1999-2000                                                    6            


    REPRESENTATIVES WOMER BENJAMIN-GARDNER-CALLENDER-WINKLER-      8            

   HARRIS-BENDER-BRADING-CORBIN-AUSTRIA-VERICH-BARRETT-TAYLOR-     9            

   GRENDELL-PETERSON-MOTTLEY-MEAD-BRITTON-HARTNETT-PERZ-HAINES     10           


_________________________________________________________________   11           

                          A   B I L L                                           

             To amend section 3319.02 of the Revised Code to       13           

                authorize school districts and educational         14           

                service centers to employ under administrative                  

                contracts individuals licensed as pupil services   15           

                employees or administrative specialists or their   16           

                equivalent who are not school counselors and                    

                spend less than fifty per cent of their time       17           

                teaching or working with students and to declare                

                an emergency.                                      18           




BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:        20           

      Section 1.  That section 3319.02 of the Revised Code be      22           

amended to read as follows:                                        23           

      Sec. 3319.02.  (A)(1)  As used in this section, "other       32           

administrator" means EITHER OF THE FOLLOWING:                      33           

      (a)  EXCEPT AS PROVIDED IN DIVISION (A)(2) OF THIS SECTION,  36           

any employee in a position for which a board of education          37           

requires a license designated BY RULE OF THE DEPARTMENT OF                      

EDUCATION for being an administrator, other than a                 39           

superintendent, assistant superintendent, principal, or assistant  40           

principal, issued under section 3319.22 of the Revised Code or     41           

any, INCLUDING A PROFESSIONAL PUPIL SERVICES EMPLOYEE OR           42           

ADMINISTRATIVE SPECIALIST OR AN EQUIVALENT OF EITHER ONE WHO IS                 

NOT EMPLOYED AS A SCHOOL COUNSELOR AND SPENDS LESS THAN FIFTY PER  43           

CENT OF THE TIME EMPLOYED TEACHING OR WORKING WITH STUDENTS;       44           

                                                          2      


                                                                 
      (b)  ANY nonlicensed employee whose job duties enable such   47           

employee to be considered as either a "supervisor" or a            48           

"management level employee," as defined in section 4117.01 of the  49           

Revised Code.                                                                   

      (2)  AS USED IN THIS SECTION, "OTHER ADMINISTRATOR" DOES     51           

NOT INCLUDE A SUPERINTENDENT, ASSISTANT SUPERINTENDENT,            52           

PRINCIPAL, OR ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL.                                 53           

      (B)  The board of education of each school district and the  55           

governing board of an educational service center may appoint one   57           

or more assistant superintendents and such other administrators    58           

as are necessary.  An assistant educational service center         59           

superintendent or service center supervisor employed on a          60           

part-time basis may also be employed by a local board as a         61           

teacher.  The board of each city, exempted village, and local      62           

school district shall employ principals for all high schools and   63           

for such other schools as the board designates, and those boards   64           

may appoint assistant principals for any school that they          65           

designate.                                                                      

      (C)  In educational service centers and in city and          67           

exempted village school districts, assistant superintendents,      69           

principals, assistant principals, and other administrators shall   70           

only be employed or reemployed in accordance with nominations of   71           

the superintendent except that a city or exempted village board    72           

of education or the governing board of a service center, by a      73           

three-fourths vote, may reemploy any assistant superintendent,     74           

principal, assistant principal, or other administrator whom the    75           

superintendent refuses to nominate after considering two nominees  76           

for the position.  In local school districts, assistant            77           

superintendents, principals, assistant principals, and other       78           

administrators shall only be employed or reemployed in accordance  79           

with nominations of the superintendent of the service center of    80           

which the local district is a part except that a local board of    81           

education, by a majority vote, may reemploy any assistant          82           

superintendent, principal, assistant principal, or other           83           

                                                          3      


                                                                 
administrator whom such superintendent refuses to nominate after   84           

considering two nominees for the position.                         85           

      The board of education or governing board shall execute a    87           

written contract of employment with each assistant                 89           

superintendent, principal, assistant principal, and other          90           

administrator it employs or reemploys.  The term of such contract  91           

shall not exceed three years except that in the case of a person   92           

who has been employed as an assistant superintendent, principal,   93           

assistant principal, or other administrator in the district or     94           

center for three years or more, the term of the contract shall be  95           

for not more than five years and, unless the superintendent of     96           

the district recommends otherwise, not less than two years.  If    97           

the superintendent so recommends, the term of the contract of a    98           

person who has been employed by the district or service center as  99           

an assistant superintendent, principal, assistant principal, or    101          

other administrator for three years or more may be one year, but   102          

all subsequent contracts granted such person shall be for a term   103          

of not less than two years and not more than five years.  When a   104          

teacher with continuing service status becomes an assistant        105          

superintendent, principal, assistant principal, or other           106          

administrator with the district or service center with which the   107          

teacher holds continuing service status, the teacher retains such  109          

status in the teacher's nonadministrative position as provided in  111          

sections 3319.08 and 3319.09 of the Revised Code.                               

      A board of education or governing board may reemploy an      113          

assistant superintendent, principal, assistant principal, or       114          

other administrator at any regular or special meeting held during  115          

the period beginning on the first day of January of the calendar   116          

year immediately preceding the year of expiration of the           117          

employment contract and ending on the last day of March of the     118          

year the employment contract expires.                              119          

      Except by mutual agreement of the parties thereto, no        121          

assistant superintendent, principal, assistant principal, or       122          

other administrator shall be transferred during the life of a      124          

                                                          4      


                                                                 
contract to a position of lesser responsibility.  No contract may               

be terminated or suspended by a board except pursuant to section   126          

3319.16 or 3319.17 of the Revised Code.  The salaries and          127          

compensation prescribed by such contracts shall not be reduced by  128          

a board unless such reduction is a part of a uniform plan          129          

affecting the entire district or center.  The contract shall       130          

specify the employee's administrative position and duties, the     131          

salary and other compensation to be paid for performance of        132          

duties, the number of days to be worked, the number of days of     133          

vacation leave, if any, and any paid holidays in the contractual   134          

year.                                                                           

      An assistant superintendent, principal, assistant            136          

principal, or other administrator is, at the expiration of the     138          

current term of employment, deemed reemployed at the same salary                

plus any increments that may be authorized by the board, unless    140          

such employee notifies the board in writing to the contrary on or  141          

before the first day of June, or unless such board, on or before   142          

the last day of March of the year in which the contract of         143          

employment expires, either reemploys such employee for a           144          

succeeding term or gives written notice of its intention not to    146          

reemploy the employee.  The term of reemployment of a person       147          

reemployed under this paragraph shall be one year, except that if  148          

such person has been employed by the school district or service    149          

center as an assistant superintendent, principal, assistant        150          

principal, or other administrator for three years or more, the     151          

term of reemployment shall be two years.                           152          

      (D)  Each board shall adopt procedures for the evaluation    155          

of all assistant superintendents, principals, assistant            156          

principals, and other administrators and shall evaluate such       157          

employees in accordance with those procedures.  The evaluation     158          

based upon such procedures shall be considered by the board in     159          

deciding whether to renew the contract of employment of an         160          

assistant superintendent, principal, assistant principal, or                    

other administrator.  The evaluation shall measure each assistant  161          

                                                          5      


                                                                 
superintendent's, principal's, assistant principal's, and other    162          

administrator's effectiveness in performing the duties included    163          

in the job description and the evaluation procedures shall         164          

provide for, but not be limited to, the following:                 165          

      (1)  Each assistant superintendent, principal, assistant     167          

principal, and other administrator shall be evaluated annually     168          

through a written evaluation process.                              169          

      (2)  The evaluation shall be conducted by the                171          

superintendent or designee.                                        172          

      (3)  In order to provide time to show progress in            174          

correcting the deficiencies identified in the evaluation process   175          

the completed evaluation shall be received by the employee at      177          

least sixty days prior to any action by the board on the           178          

employee's contract of employment.                                              

      Termination or suspension of an assistant superintendent,    180          

principal, assistant principal, or other administrator's contract  181          

shall be pursuant to section 3319.16 or 3319.17 of the Revised     182          

Code.                                                              183          

      The establishment of an evaluation procedure shall not       185          

create an expectancy of continued employment.  Nothing in this     186          

section shall prevent a board from making the final determination  188          

regarding the renewal of or failure to renew the contract of any   189          

assistant superintendent, principal, assistant principal, or       190          

other administrator.                                                            

      Before taking action to renew or nonrenew the contract of    192          

an assistant superintendent, principal, assistant principal, or    193          

other administrator under this section and prior to the last day   194          

of March of the year in which such employee's contract expires,    195          

the board shall notify each such employee of the date that the     197          

contract expires and that the employee may request a meeting with  198          

the board.  Upon request by such an employee, the board shall      199          

grant the employee a meeting in executive session to discuss the   200          

reasons for considering renewal or nonrenewal of the contract.     201          

      (E)  On nomination of the superintendent of a service        204          

                                                          6      


                                                                 
center a governing board may employ supervisors who shall be                    

employed under written contracts of employment for terms not to    205          

exceed five years each.  Such contracts may be terminated by a     206          

governing board pursuant to section 3319.16 of the Revised Code.   208          

Any supervisor employed pursuant to this division may terminate    209          

the contract of employment at the end of any school year after     210          

giving the board at least thirty days' written notice prior to     211          

such termination.  On the recommendation of the superintendent     212          

the contract or contracts of any supervisor employed pursuant to   213          

this division may be suspended for the remainder of the term of    214          

any such contract if there is a reduction of the number of         215          

approved supervisory teachers allocated to the service center      217          

pursuant to section 3317.11 or 3319.17 of the Revised Code.        218          

      (F)  A board may establish vacation leave for any            221          

individuals employed under this section.  Upon such an                          

individual's separation from employment, a board that has such     222          

leave may compensate such an individual at the individual's        223          

current rate of pay for all lawfully accrued and unused vacation   225          

leave credited at the time of separation, not to exceed the        226          

amount accrued within three years before the date of separation.   227          

In case of the death of an individual employed under this          228          

section, such unused vacation leave as the board would have paid   229          

to the individual upon separation under this section shall be      230          

paid in accordance with section 2113.04 of the Revised Code, or    231          

to the estate.                                                     232          

      Section 2.  That existing section 3319.02 of the Revised     234          

Code is hereby repealed.                                           235          

      Section  3.  This act is hereby declared to be an emergency  237          

measure necessary for the immediate preservation of the public     238          

peace, health, and safety.  The reason for this necessity is that  239          

the administrative contracts of some school psychologists are      240          

about to expire, and an immediate effective date for this act      241          

will permit school districts to renew their administrative         242          

contracts and retain them, as well as recruit new psychologists.   243          

                                                          7      


                                                                 
Therefore, this act shall go into immediate effect.                244