Senate Bill 2584

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.



    Florida Senate - 2000                                  SB 2584

    By Senator Cowin





    11-1463-00                                         See HB 1453

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to excluding school

  3         administrative personnel from collective

  4         bargaining; providing legislative findings;

  5         providing a statement of compelling state

  6         interest; amending s. 228.041, F.S.; revising

  7         definitions; amending s. 236.685, F.S.;

  8         revising a definition; amending s. 447.203,

  9         F.S.; revising definitions; clarifying an

10         application to school administrative personnel

11         of an exclusion from collective bargaining;

12         providing an effective date.

13

14  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

15

16         Section 1.  Legislative findings and statement of

17  compelling state interest.--

18         (1)  The Legislature finds that:

19         (a)  At the time the reference to section 228.041(10),

20  Florida Statutes, was placed in section 447.203(4), Florida

21  Statutes, as one of the managerial employees' exclusions from

22  collective bargaining, the Florida School Code's definition of

23  administrative personnel consisted of a listing of several job

24  titles, including superintendents and principals, together

25  with the job descriptions of such personnel.

26         (b)  In chapter 96-269, Laws of Florida, the Florida

27  School Code's definition of administrative personnel in s.

28  228.041(10), Florida Statutes, was substantially lengthened

29  and revised, without reenacting the cross-reference in section

30  447.203(4)(a)6., Florida Statutes, to refer to the revised

31  definition, and the same term was defined differently in

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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida Senate - 2000                                  SB 2584
    11-1463-00                                         See HB 1453




  1  section 236.685(2)(a), Florida Statutes. In addition, in

  2  chapter 96-269, Laws of Florida, the definition of managers in

  3  section 228.041(39), Florida Statutes, was substantially

  4  lengthened and revised, and the same term was defined

  5  differently in section 236.685(2)(f), Florida Statutes.

  6         (c)  As a result of the amendments in chapter 96-269,

  7  Laws of Florida, the Florida School Code now contains

  8  different definitions of administrative personnel and

  9  different definitions of managers.

10         (d)  Due to the revisions made to definitions in

11  chapter 96-269, Laws of Florida, without incorporating

12  specific cross references as required by the law of this

13  state, as provided in the preface to the Florida Statutes, and

14  due to the multiple definitions of identical terms that now

15  create conflict within the Florida School Code itself, it is

16  no longer clear what the reference in section

17  447.203(4)(a)6., Florida Statutes, means and whether the

18  reference meets the heavy burden of vindicating a compelling

19  state interest in the most minimally necessary manner.

20         (e)  Public employees generally have the right to

21  bargain collectively, under section 6, Article I of the State

22  Constitution, and the courts of this state have found that

23  this right to collective bargaining is a fundamental right.

24         (f)  Despite the right of public employees to

25  collective bargaining, an exclusion from collective bargaining

26  for managerial employees has long been justified under basic

27  tenets of labor law as a method of ensuring that an employer

28  has the undivided loyalty of the employer's representatives.

29  Recently the Florida Supreme Court affirmed the exclusion from

30  collective bargaining for managerial employees in Service

31  Employees International Union, Local 16, AFL-CIO v. Public

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    Florida Senate - 2000                                  SB 2584
    11-1463-00                                         See HB 1453




  1  Employees Relations Commission, et al., No. SC 94427, 2000 WL

  2  31835 (Fla.), (Decided January 13, 2000).

  3         (g)  The Legislature has historically itemized the

  4  criteria for the managerial employees' exclusion from

  5  collective bargaining in section 447.203, Florida Statutes, as

  6  part of the Public Employees Relations Act.

  7         (h)  Section 447.203(4)(a)6., Florida Statutes,

  8  specifically lists as managerial employees excluded from

  9  collective bargaining administrative personnel under the

10  definition in the Florida School Code, section 228.041(10),

11  Florida Statutes.

12         (i)  There is a heavy burden on the state to justify

13  the applicability of any provision in section 447.203, Florida

14  Statutes, that is part of the managerial employees' exclusion

15  from the constitutional right to collective bargaining. Any

16  such exclusion must vindicate a compelling state interest by

17  minimally necessary means.

18         (j)  Consequently, the Legislature finds it essential

19  to conform and clarify the definitions in the Florida School

20  Code to clarify and incorporate the specific cross reference

21  in the Public Employees Relations Act and to restipulate that

22  the managerial employees' exclusion in section

23  447.203(4)(a)6., Florida Statutes, must include the specified

24  classes of administrative personnel that are minimally

25  necessary for effective management from the school district

26  through the school level.

27         (2)  It is a matter of compelling state interest that

28  the specified classes of administrative personnel remain

29  within the managerial exclusion from collective bargaining due

30  to the many managerial duties such personnel perform.  The

31  process of school improvement and accountability is a

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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida Senate - 2000                                  SB 2584
    11-1463-00                                         See HB 1453




  1  continuous process and, in order to realize the fundamental

  2  value of education, requires a flexible, cohesive management

  3  structure from the district through the school levels which is

  4  not subject to the conflicting, fluctuating interests inherent

  5  in the realities of collective bargaining.

  6         Section 2.  Subsections (10) and (39) of section

  7  228.041, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:

  8         228.041  Definitions.--Specific definitions shall be as

  9  follows, and wherever such defined words or terms are used in

10  the Florida School Code, they shall be used as follows:

11         (10)  ADMINISTRATIVE PERSONNEL.--"Administrative

12  personnel" means deputy superintendents, assistant

13  superintendents, area superintendents, assistant principals,

14  vice principals, and principals includes personnel who perform

15  management activities such as developing broad policies for

16  the school district and executing those policies through the

17  direction of personnel at all levels within the district.

18  Administrative personnel are generally high-level, responsible

19  personnel who have been assigned the responsibilities of

20  systemwide or schoolwide functions, such as superintendents,

21  assistant superintendents, deputy superintendents, principals,

22  assistant principals, vocational center directors, and others

23  who perform management activities.  Broad classifications of

24  administrative personnel are as follows:

25         (a)  District-based instructional

26  administrators.--Included in this classification are persons

27  with district-level administrative or policymaking duties who

28  have broad authority for management policies and general

29  school district operations related to the instructional

30  program.  Such personnel often report directly to the

31  superintendent and supervise other administrative employees.

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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida Senate - 2000                                  SB 2584
    11-1463-00                                         See HB 1453




  1  This classification includes assistant, associate, or deputy

  2  superintendents and directors of major instructional areas,

  3  such as curriculum, federal programs such as Title I,

  4  specialized instructional program areas such as exceptional

  5  student education, career education, and similar areas.

  6         (b)  District-based noninstructional

  7  administrators.--Included in this classification are persons

  8  with district-level administrative or policymaking duties who

  9  have broad authority for management policies and general

10  school district operations related to the noninstructional

11  program. Such personnel often report directly to the

12  superintendent and supervise other administrative employees.

13  This classification includes assistant, associate, or deputy

14  superintendents and directors of major noninstructional areas,

15  such as personnel, construction, facilities, transportation,

16  data processing, and finance.

17         (c)  School administrators.--Included in this

18  classification are:

19         1.  Principals or school directors who are staff

20  members performing the assigned activities as the

21  administrative head of a school and to whom have been

22  delegated responsibility for the coordination and

23  administrative direction of the instructional and

24  noninstructional activities of the school. This classification

25  also includes vocational center directors.

26         2.  Assistant principals who are staff members

27  assisting the administrative head of the school.  This

28  classification also includes assistant principals for

29  curriculum and administration.

30         (39)  MANAGERS.--"Managers" means instructional and

31  noninstructional employees with some includes those staff

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    Florida Senate - 2000                                  SB 2584
    11-1463-00                                         See HB 1453




  1  members who perform managerial and supervisory functions,

  2  although primarily responsible for while usually also

  3  performing general operations functions.  This category

  4  includes only district-based employees.  Managers may be

  5  either instructional or noninstructional in their

  6  responsibility.  They may direct employees' work, plan the

  7  work schedule, control the flow and distribution of work or

  8  materials, train employees, handle complaints, authorize

  9  payments, and appraise productivity and efficiency of

10  employees.  This classification includes coordinators and

11  supervisors working under the general direction of those staff

12  identified as district-based instructional or noninstructional

13  administrators.

14         Section 3.  Paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section

15  236.685, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:

16         236.685  Educational funding accountability.--

17         (2)  As used in this section, the term:

18         (a)  "Administrative personnel" means deputy

19  superintendents, assistant superintendents, area

20  superintendents, assistant principals, vice principals, and

21  principals those employees responsible for management

22  functions such as the development of broad policies and

23  implementation of those policies through the direction of

24  personnel.  This classification includes instructional and

25  noninstructional employees at the district and school level.

26         Section 4.  Paragraph (d) of subsection (3), paragraph

27  (a) of subsection (4), and subsection (5) of section 447.203,

28  Florida Statutes, are amended to read:

29         447.203  Definitions.--As used in this part:

30         (3)  "Public employee" means any person employed by a

31  public employer except:

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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida Senate - 2000                                  SB 2584
    11-1463-00                                         See HB 1453




  1         (d)  Those persons who are designated by the commission

  2  as managerial or confidential employees pursuant to criteria

  3  contained in this section herein.

  4         (4)  "Managerial employees" are those employees who:

  5         (a)  Perform jobs that are not of a routine, clerical,

  6  or ministerial nature and require the exercise of independent

  7  judgment in the performance of such jobs and to whom one or

  8  more of the following applies:

  9         1.  They formulate or assist in formulating policies

10  which are applicable to bargaining unit employees.

11         2.  They may reasonably be required on behalf of the

12  employer to assist in the preparation for the conduct of

13  collective bargaining negotiations.

14         3.  They have a role in the administration of

15  agreements resulting from collective bargaining negotiations.

16         4.  They have a significant role in personnel

17  administration.

18         5.  They have a significant role in employee relations.

19         6.  They are included in the definition of

20  administrative personnel as defined contained in ss. s.

21  228.041(10) and 236.685(2)(a).

22         7.  They have a significant role in the preparation or

23  administration of budgets for any public agency or institution

24  or subdivision thereof.

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26  However, in determining whether an individual is a managerial

27  employee pursuant to either paragraph (a) or paragraph (b),

28  above, the commission may consider historic relationships of

29  the employee to the public employer and to coemployees.

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    Florida Senate - 2000                                  SB 2584
    11-1463-00                                         See HB 1453




  1         (5)  "Confidential employees" are persons who act in a

  2  confidential capacity to assist or aid managerial employees as

  3  defined in subsection (4).

  4         Section 5.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a

  5  law.

  6

  7            *****************************************

  8                       LEGISLATIVE SUMMARY

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      Revises definitions of administrative personnel and
10    managers to clarify an application to school
      administrative personnel of an exclusion from collective
11    bargaining to preserve the exclusion of such personnel
      from collective bargaining.
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