33-517 NONCERTIFICATED PERSONNEL. - Idaho Statutes

TITLE 33

EDUCATION

CHAPTER 5

DISTRICT TRUSTEES

33-517. Noncertificated personnel. The board of trustees of each school district including any specially chartered district, shall have the following powers and duties:

(1) To provide that hiring and evaluation procedures for noncertificated personnel shall be in writing and shall be available for any noncertificated employee’s review at anytime. Job descriptions for all noncertificated employees shall be written and shall be made available to employees of the district or other people seeking employment.

(2) To provide a grievance procedure for noncertificated employees of the district which meets the minimum standards of paragraphs (a) through (i) of this subsection. In the event a grievance procedure is not provided, the following grievance procedure shall apply.

(a) A grievance shall be defined as a written allegation of unfair treatment or a violation of school district policy. A noncertificated employee of the district may file a grievance about any matter related to his employment, provided that neither the rate of salary or wage of the employee nor the decision to terminate an employee for cause during the initial one hundred eighty (180) days of employment shall be a proper subject for consideration under the grievance procedure provided in this section.

(b) If a noncertificated employee files a grievance, the employee shall submit the grievance in writing to his or her immediate supervisor within six (6) working days of the incident giving rise to the grievance. The grievance shall state the nature of the grievance and the remedy sought. Within six (6) working days of receipt of the grievance, the immediate supervisor shall provide a written response to the employee.

(c) If the noncertificated employee is not satisfied with the response of the immediate supervisor or if there is no response within the time lines, the employee may appeal the grievance to the superintendent of the district or the superintendent’s designee within five (5) working days of the receipt of the response as set out in subsection (2)(b) of this section or within five (5) working days from the date the supervisor last had to respond if the noncertificated employee received no written response. Within six (6) working days of an appeal, the superintendent or his designee shall communicate with the noncertificated employee in an effort to resolve the appeal. Within five (5) working days of the communication, the superintendent or his designee shall provide a written response to the noncertificated employee.

(d) If the noncertificated employee is not satisfied with the response of the superintendent or his designee, or if there is no response by the superintendent or his designee within the time frame provided in subsection (2)(c) of this section, the noncertificated employee may request a review of the grievance by a hearing panel within five (5) working days from receipt of the response provided in subsection (2)(c) of this section if the employee received a written response, or five (5) working days from the date the superintendent last had to respond if the noncertificated employee received no written response. Within ten (10) working days of receipt of an appeal, the board of trustees shall convene a panel consisting of three (3) persons; one (1) designated by the board of trustees, one (1) designated by the employee, and one (1) agreed upon by the two (2) appointed members for the purpose of reviewing the appeal. Within five (5) working days following completion of the review, the panel shall submit its decision in writing to the noncertificated employee, the superintendent, and the board of trustees.

(e) The panel’s decision shall be the final and conclusive resolution of the grievance unless the board of trustees overturns the panel’s decision by resolution at the board of trustees’ next regularly scheduled public meeting or unless within forty-two (42) calendar days of the filing of the board’s decision, either party appeals to the district court in the county where the school district is located. Upon appeal of a decision of the board of trustees, the district court may affirm or set aside and remand the matter to the board of trustees upon the following grounds, and shall not set the same aside on any other grounds:

(i) That the findings of fact are not based on any substantial, competent evidence;

(ii) That the board of trustees has acted without jurisdiction or in excess of its powers;

(iii) That the findings by the board of trustees as a matter of law do not support the decision.

(f) A noncertificated employee filing a grievance pursuant to this section shall be entitled to a representative of the employee’s choice at each step of the grievance procedure provided in this section. The supervisor, superintendent, or the superintendent’s designee shall be entitled to a representative at each step of the grievance procedure.

(g) The time lines of the grievance procedure established in this section may be waived or modified by mutual agreement.

(h) Utilization of the grievance procedure established pursuant to this section shall not constitute a waiver of any right of appeal available pursuant to law or regulation.

(i) Neither the board nor any member of the administration shall take reprisals affecting the employment status of any party in interest.

(j) A noncertificated employee of a school district shall be required to review and sign any entries made to his personnel file. At reasonable times and places, in the presence of an appropriate district official, a noncertificated employee may inspect documents contained in his official personnel file.