By: Madla S.B. No. 1422
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
1-1 relating to the rights of public junior college faculty members.
1-2 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-3 SECTION 1. Chapter 130, Education Code, is amended by adding
1-4 Subchapter J to read as follows:
1-5 SUBCHAPTER J. RIGHTS OF PUBLIC JUNIOR COLLEGE FACULTY MEMBERS
1-6 Sec. 130.161. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
1-7 (1) "Faculty member" means a person who is employed by
1-8 a public junior college on a full-time basis as a member of the
1-9 faculty or staff and whose duties include teaching, research,
1-10 administration, or the performance of professional service. The
1-11 term includes professional librarians and counselors but does not
1-12 include a person employed in a predominantly managerial or
1-13 supervisory position including but not limited to chancellors,
1-14 presidents, vice-presidents, deans, and provosts.
1-15 (2) "Governing board" means the body charged with the
1-16 policy direction of a public junior college including but not
1-17 limited to a board of directors or board of regents or an
1-18 independent school district board of trustees insofar as it is
1-19 charged with the policy direction of a public junior college.
1-20 (3) "Public junior college" means any junior college,
1-21 community college, or technical college certified by the Texas
1-22 Higher Education Coordinating Board in accordance with Section
1-23 61.063 of this code.
2-1 (4) "Term contract" means any written contract of
2-2 employment for a fixed term between a public junior college and a
2-3 faculty member.
2-4 (5) "Working day" means a day on which the public
2-5 junior college's administrative offices are in operation.
2-6 Sec. 130.162. TENURE OR TERM CONTRACT REQUIRED. All faculty
2-7 members employed by a public junior college who do not have tenure
2-8 shall be employed by term contract.
2-9 Sec. 130.163. PROBATIONARY PERIOD. Faculty members shall
2-10 serve a probationary period of four consecutive academic years of
2-11 full-time employment by the public junior college before Sections
2-12 130.164 through 130.172 of this code apply.
2-13 Sec. 130.164. NOTICE OF PROPOSED NONRENEWAL. Before the
2-14 term contract of any faculty member may be nonrenewed, the
2-15 president of the public junior college or his designee shall give
2-16 the faculty member written notice of the proposed nonrenewal on or
2-17 before the April 1 preceding the end of the employment term fixed
2-18 in the contract. In the event of failure to give such notice of
2-19 proposed nonrenewal within the time herein specified, the public
2-20 junior college shall thereby be deemed to have elected to employ
2-21 such faculty member in the same professional capacity for the
2-22 succeeding academic year.
2-23 Sec. 130.165. REASONS FOR PROPOSED NONRENEWAL. On written
2-24 request to the president within 10 working days of the faculty
2-25 member's receipt of the notice of proposed nonrenewal, the faculty
3-1 member shall be entitled to a written statement of all of the
3-2 reasons for the proposed nonrenewal from the president or his
3-3 designee. The written statement of the reasons for the proposed
3-4 nonrenewal shall be given to the faculty member within 10 working
3-5 days of the written request.
3-6 Sec. 130.166. DOCUMENTATION. On written request, a faculty
3-7 member whose nonrenewal has been proposed is entitled to a copy of
3-8 every evaluation, report, or other written memorandum related to
3-9 the faculty member and the reasons for the proposed nonrenewal.
3-10 Sec. 130.167. REQUEST FOR HEARING. If the faculty member
3-11 desires to contest the proposed nonrenewal, he shall notify the
3-12 president in writing of his request for hearing within 10 working
3-13 days after his receipt of the written statement of the reasons for
3-14 the proposed nonrenewal. The request for hearing shall specify
3-15 whether the faculty member desires a hearing before a peer review
3-16 committee or whether the faculty member waives his right to a
3-17 hearing before a peer review committee and invokes his right to a
3-18 hearing before the governing board.
3-19 Sec. 130.168. PEER REVIEW COMMITTEE HEARING. (a) If
3-20 requested the public junior college shall grant the faculty member
3-21 a hearing before a peer review committee composed of faculty
3-22 members.
3-23 (b) The public junior college shall establish a fair and
3-24 impartial procedure for selecting the faculty members to serve on
3-25 the committee. The committee shall select a chair from among its
4-1 members.
4-2 (c) The committee shall establish fair and impartial
4-3 procedures for conducting the hearing.
4-4 (d) The hearing shall take place within 20 working days of
4-5 the written request for a hearing by the faculty member, but not
4-6 less than five working days after the written request.
4-7 (e) The public junior college shall not retaliate against a
4-8 faculty member for service on the committee.
4-9 (f) Within 10 working days of the completion of the hearing,
4-10 the committee shall issue a written proposed decision to the
4-11 president and the faculty member which shall contain findings of
4-12 fact and a recommendation as to whether the faculty member's
4-13 contract should be nonrenewed.
4-14 Sec. 130.169. RECOMMENDATION OF THE PRESIDENT. Within 10
4-15 working days after receiving the committee's proposed decision, the
4-16 president shall issue his written recommendation as to whether the
4-17 faculty member's contract should be nonrenewed to the chair of the
4-18 committee and to the faculty member. If the faculty member does
4-19 not make a timely request for a governing board hearing, the
4-20 recommendation of the president becomes final.
4-21 Sec. 130.170. REQUEST FOR GOVERNING BOARD HEARING. A
4-22 faculty member who has had a hearing before a peer review committee
4-23 and desires to contest the president's recommendation shall have
4-24 the right to a hearing before the governing board. The faculty
4-25 member shall make a written request to the president for such a
5-1 hearing within 10 working days of the faculty member's receipt of
5-2 the president's recommendation.
5-3 Sec. 130.171. GOVERNING BOARD HEARING. (a) Within 10
5-4 working days after the faculty member makes a written request for a
5-5 governing board hearing, the president shall fix a reasonable time
5-6 and place for the hearing, which shall be held before the proposed
5-7 nonrenewal is effective.
5-8 (b) At the hearing before the governing board, the faculty
5-9 member is entitled to be represented by counsel, to present
5-10 evidence and witnesses, to hear the evidence on which the proposed
5-11 nonrenewal is based, to cross-examine all adverse witnesses, and to
5-12 present evidence in opposition or extenuation.
5-13 (c) The governing board shall take the action it considers
5-14 lawful and appropriate and shall notify the faculty member in
5-15 writing of that action within 10 working days after the completion
5-16 of the hearing.
5-17 Sec. 130.172. APPEAL TO DISTRICT COURT. A faculty member
5-18 whose term contract is nonrenewed by a public junior college may
5-19 appeal the nonrenewal to the district court in which the public
5-20 junior college is located. The district court shall review the
5-21 nonrenewal by trial de novo.
5-22 Sec. 130.173. RIGHTS RETAINED. (a) Nothing in this section
5-23 shall reduce the rights of faculty members at public junior
5-24 colleges that have policies in place whose terms are more
5-25 beneficial than those provided by this section.
6-1 (b) Failure to invoke the procedures of this subchapter
6-2 shall not reduce the rights of a faculty member to invoke any other
6-3 procedures otherwise available to him. The findings of fact and
6-4 recommendations of a peer review committee, president, or governing
6-5 board shall not be binding on any other body, administrative
6-6 agency, or court, nor shall the doctrines of collateral estoppel
6-7 and res judicata apply to such findings of fact and
6-8 recommendations.
6-9 SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 1993.
6-10 SECTION 3. The importance of this legislation and the
6-11 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
6-12 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
6-13 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
6-14 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.