ARTICLE VII

Transfer Policy

1. The System reserves the right to reduce teaching personnel to conform to any constriction in the System or individual schools. Such constriction shall be completed by the last day of the school year. In the event of any such constriction affecting lay teachers, the System agrees to inform the Association of such action and the reasons thereof, as soon as possible, but at least thirty (30) days in advance of such constriction, and will seriously consider any recommendations that the Association may make.

All transfers and lay offs shall conform to the provisions of this contract unless otherwise mutually agreed to by the Association and the System.

1a. In the event it becomes necessary to reduce teaching personnel to conform to any constriction in the System or any individuals school(s), such reduction of teaching personnel shall be made in the following manner:

A department cannot constrict a teacher unless there are three (3) or more sections dropped. If two (2) teachers are to be constricted, eight (8) or more sections must be dropped. If three (3) teachers are to be constricted, thirteen (13) or more sections must be dropped. If four (4) teachers are to be constricted, eighteen (18) or more sections must be dropped.

Should constriction occur in a department, any reduced roster in that department may be returned to a full roster.

The System will monitor departments constricted by local schools and, with the Association, will communicate the need for sensitivity in creation of rosters for teachers new to the school.

1b. No tenured teacher shall be laid off as long as a non-tenured teacher is retained in the System in any field in which the tenured teacher is qualified. Qualifications shall be determined by teaching experience and/or academic background as defined in Article VIII, Section 4.

1c. All teachers in the System within the affected academic field shall be laid off in the order of system seniority. System seniority shall be calculated from the first date of employment, which means the first day on the job. If the date of employment is identical between two (2) or more teachers, the date of assignment shall govern. If two (2) or more teachers have the same date of assignment, then the date of the System’s interview shall be the determining factor. Conflicts in seniority listing at this point shall be resolved by random selection of drawing lots.

1d. Transfers shall proceed in strict order of system seniority within academic competency unless the transfer(s) must be made from a specific school(s), in which case the transfer shall proceed according to strict order of school seniority within academic competency among the faculty at the school(s) from which the teacher is to be transferred.

A teacher’s major department shall be defined as the one in which he/she teaches three (3) or more classes.

1e. In the event of a transfer(s) from a specific school(s), teachers shall be placed in other schools according to strict order of system seniority. The teacher(s) shall be notified of and have the opportunity to select from available openings in the System within the applicable academic competency(ies). When sufficient openings are not available, the teacher(s) shall be notified of and have the opportunity to select from positions held by teachers with lower system seniority within the applicable academic competency(ies).

For rosters that have either upper-level Mathematics, Science, Technology courses or specialized courses, the teacher claiming that roster must be able to present verification of the ability to teach the complete roster, either through course work or professional experience. The System and the Association agree that competency to teach upper-level Mathematics, Science, Technology courses or specialized courses may include professional experience as might, for example, be evidenced by a subject matter degree from an accredited college or university in that area, upper-level college credits in that area or, in the case of World Language, being a native speaker possessing a college degree. Verification will be confirmed at the time of the competency meeting held between the System and the Association. A specialized course is defined as a non-core course with active enrollment and offered in less than half of the schools.

Teachers who select a position must contact the Principal of the receiving school within one (1) week of the selection and must interview with the Principal within two (2) weeks of the selection. At the time of the interview, he/she will be made aware of and accept the school’s mission, vision, instructional program and expectations. Acceptance of the assignment shall be in writing on Exhibit K, within forty-eight (48) hours, to indicate an awareness of these expectations.

Teachers shall be permitted to decline a roster not in their primary competency without penalty.

1f. In the event of a lay off, the System shall reimburse all laid-off teachers four (4) weeks salary by October 1.

Such laid-off teachers may continue enrollment in the medical plan at their own expense for one (1) year or until they secure a full-time job, whichever occurs first.

1g. Teachers who are laid off as a result of Constriction shall be offered positions normally held by long-term substitutes.

Laid-off teachers who assume substitute positions shall receive the benefits of a full-time teacher and shall be paid on the same salary scale that they were on as full-time employees. Such teachers shall be eligible to receive the foregoing benefits, provided, however, the teachers are eligible for such benefits under the terms of each of the respective benefit plans.

The laid-off teacher who selects a substitute position shall be placed on the Constriction List each year until a permanent position is selected.

1h. No new lay teacher with comparable qualifications shall be employed to fill a vacancy in the subject area previously staffed by a lay teacher who was laid off by the System within the previous three (3) semesters (including those laid-off teachers who have assumed long-term substitute positions as provided in Section 1g) until such time as the open position has been offered according to system seniority to a qualified lay teacher who was laid off. Once such an offer is made and refused, the recall obligation no longer exists. Method of notification will be a certified letter to the last current address.

Should a provisional teacher be laid off, he/she shall be given the opportunity to be interviewed for a provisional position before the System offers the opening to a provisional new hire.

1i. A teacher involuntarily transferred due to Constriction shall be given the opportunity to return to his/her previous school provided that such return does not substantially interfere with the continuity of instruction should a comparable opening for which the teacher is qualified occur by the last day of the following school year.

A teacher involuntarily transferred after Constriction due to an administrator returning to the bargaining unit, a department head being appointed from outside the school or a teacher returning from leave as described in Article III, Section 4 may be given the opportunity to return to his/her previous school should a comparable opening occur for which the teacher is qualified and the opening occurs by the last day of the following school year. The return to the school will be by mutual agreement between the Association and the System.

1j. A teacher transferred under this section shall retain his/her school seniority in the new assignment.

1k. The System will meet with the Association regarding the application of the procedures in this Article.

2. A teacher has the right to request a permanent transfer, temporary transfer or a teacher swap. Such requests shall be made in accordance with Section 2a and shall be honored as soon as the requested position becomes available, provided that the opening is within the teacher’s academic competency, and provided that the teacher is otherwise qualified. Transfers shall be given on the basis of highest system seniority. The teacher shall interview at the school to which he/she is transferring. In no case shall a teacher be discriminated against for requesting a transfer. A transfer request shall not be honored during the school year except at the option of the System.

Beginning with the 2012-2013 school year, a teacher with two (2) consecutive Distinguished, Proficient and/or Basic evaluations has the right to request a permanent transfer, temporary transfer or a teacher swap. Such requests shall be made in accordance with Section 2a and shall be honored as soon as the requested position becomes available, provided that the opening is within the teacher’s academic competency, and provided that the teacher is otherwise qualified. Transfers shall be given on the basis of highest system seniority. The teacher shall interview at the school to which he/she is transferring and sign Exhibit K. In no case shall a teacher be discriminated against for requesting a transfer. A transfer request shall not be honored during the school year except at the option of the System.

Upon transfer, a teacher with ten (10) or more years of school seniority will be granted his/her previously acquired school seniority in his/her new school. A teacher with fewer than ten (10) years of school seniority upon transfer will surrender his/her previously acquired school seniority.

Teacher Swap

Each spring, a listing of teachers desiring voluntary transfers will be published. If there are two (2) teachers in the same discipline who wish to “swap” positions, they may do so after an interview by each receiving school with the proviso that the transfer would be permanent and that the school seniority of the lower teacher would apply to both in their new positions.

If both teachers have ten (10) or more years of school seniority, both will assume the lesser school seniority of the two.

Temporary Transfer

A teacher may request a temporary (one year) transfer to a school which has an opening for a long-term substitute in the teacher’s area(s) of competency. This transfer may take place only after an interview at the receiving school. The permanent teacher would receive his/her regular salary and benefits and would maintain system and school seniority. A long-term substitute would be hired at the teacher’s home school. At the end of the year, the teacher would return to his/her home school.

2a. Applications for permanent transfer, temporary transfer or teacher swap must be made in writing to the System by April 1 of any school year. Such applications shall include preferred school(s) and subject area(s). Requests submitted after this date will also be given consideration, if possible, but no transfer shall be made after August 15 except at the option of the System.

2b. A list of all known available openings shall be sent to the Association by July 9 each year.

2c. A list of applicants for transfer, including a designation of the school(s) and subject area(s) requested, shall be supplied to the Association within thirty (30) days under the applicable date in Section 2a above.

2d. A list of all openings and all of the transfers so made, including a designation of the schools to which transferred and in what subject areas, shall be supplied to the Association by October 1 of each year.

2e. Any tenured teacher who has requested and received a transfer for the last school year shall not be entitled to another transfer for the next school year. Such transfer, if made, shall be at the discretion of the System.

3. The System agrees to establish guidelines for the constriction or transfer of Guidance Directors, full-time guidance counselors and Information Media Specialists (Librarians).

4. All transfers and lay offs and the procedures involved shall conform to the provisions of this contract and all appropriate Constriction Guidelines unless mutually agreed to by the Association and the System.