Educator Rights

Every employer shall furnish employment and a place of employment that is safe and healthful for the employees therein. Every employer shall furnish and use safety devices and safeguards, and shall adopt and use practices which are reasonably adequate to render such employment and place of employment safe and healthful. Every employer shall do every other thing reasonably necessary to protect the life, safety, and health of employees.

The purpose of section 49079, the notification statute, is to protect teachers by requiring school officials to provide teachers with information regarding dangerous pupils in their classes.

A pupil may be detained for up to one hour after school for disciplinary reasons except a pupil may not be detained so as to miss regular bus transportation. Pupils may not be detained during lunch for disciplinary purposes.

A teacher may suspend any pupil from his/her class or class period for any act listed above for the day of suspension and the day following. The suspension must be immediately reported to the principal and the student sent to the principal for further action. The teacher must also request a parent/teacher conference with a counselor regarding the suspension as soon as possible. The pupil shall not be returned to the class from which the pupil was suspended without the concurrence of the teacher and principal.

Whenever any employee of a school district is attacked, assaulted, or physically threatened by any pupil, it should be the duty of the employee, and the duty of any person under whose direction or supervision the employee is employed in the public school system who has knowledge of the incident, to promptly report the incident to the appropriate law enforcement authorities of the county or city in which the incident occurred. Failure to make the report shall be an infraction punishable by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars.

Any parent, guardian, or other person whose conduct in a place where a school employee is required to be in the course of his or her duties materially disrupts classwork or extracurricular activities or involves substantial disorder is guilty of a misdemeanor.

No employee shall be laid off or discharged for refusing to perform work in unsafe conditions.

Every person who, with intent to cause, attempts to cause, or causes, any officer or employee of any public or private educational institution or any public officer or employee to do, or refrain from doing, any act in the performance of his duties, by means of a threat, directly communicated to such person, to inflict an unlawful injury upon any person or property, and it reasonably appears to the recipient of the threat that such threat could be carried out, is guilty of a public offense punishable by a fine not exceeding ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or by imprisonment, or in a county jail not exceeding one year, or by both that fine and imprisonment.

A copy of each individual educational program shall be maintained at each school site where the pupil is enrolled.

Protects educators and other staff who assist a parent of a special education student from being intimidated, threatened, or coerced by the local education agency (LEA).

When an educator does not agree with the IEP they can dissent from the IEP: (1) Verbalize to the IEP team what part of the IEP they do not agree and strongly urge this to be recorded in the meeting notes; (2) Write the word "Dissenting" after their signature on the IEP; (3) Prepare a written report stating your objections to the proposed IEP and ask that it be attached to the proposed IEP; (4) Notify the local association president of the dissenting action.

When a special needs student causes serious bodily injury to a teacher the proper response in such a situation is: (1) making an immediate report to law enforcement; (2) suspending the student for up to 10 days; (3) convening the student's IEP team for a behavioral assessment; and (4) moving the student to an interim alternative placement for up to 45 days. The County Office/District may suspend a special needs student for up to ten days in a school year.