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HomeMy WebLinkAbout5040 Certified Staff TransfersINSTRUCTION 5040 Page 1 of 6 Bonneville Joint School District No. 93 TRANSFER OF CERTIFICATED EMPLOYEES 1. Purpose The Board of Trustees recognizes the importance of assigning certified staff to positions that best meet the educational needs of students while maintaining an equitable balance of experience and qualifications throughout the District. This policy outlines procedures for voluntary transfers, involuntary transfers, and reassignments within a school to ensure consistency, transparency, and educational quality across all schools. 2. General Provisions a. Assignments shall be based on the needs of the District, the qualifications of the candidate, and, when possible, the preferences of the employee. b. No employee shall be assigned to a position for which they are not appropriately certified, endorsed, or highly qualified. c. Transfers may occur at any time during the year; however, voluntary transfers are discouraged after August 1 unless mutually agreed upon by administrators. 3. Reassignments Within a School a. When a position within a school becomes available, building principals may reassign staff who are currently assigned to their school to a vacant position for the following school year based on the following conditions:. i. The reassignment aligns with the educational needs of the students and school program, and ii. The teacher is certified and endorsed for the assignment. b. Such reassignments may either be voluntary or involuntary. i. Voluntary reassignments: Building principals shall consider staff members who submit a written request for voluntary reassignment before posting a position as vacant or making an involuntary reassignment to the position. 1. While considering requests from staff members, principals have the discretion to make reassignments based on their professional judgment of what is in the best interest of the school and students. ii. Involuntary reassignments: Building principals may involuntarily reassign teachers to vacant positions within their school if they determine the reassignment is in the best interest of the school and its students, provided that: 1. An elementary teacher (Kindergarten - 6th grade) has not been involuntarily reassigned to a different grade level within the past three (3) years; INSTRUCTION 5040 Page 2 of 6 Bonneville Joint School District No. 93 2. A secondary teacher (7th - 12th grade) has not been involuntarily reassigned to a new content area within the past two (2) years; 3. The Superintendent / designee may approve exceptions to these provisions based on extenuating circumstances. 4. Voluntary Transfers to Another School in the District a. Vacancy Notification i. All known job vacancies, including required endorsements and skill levels, will be posted on the District’s employment website. ii. Positions will be posted for ten (10) calendar days unless 1. a vacancy for the current school year occurs after August 1st, or 2. the Superintendent or designee approves an exception to this based on extenuating circumstances. b. Employee Process i. To be considered for a voluntary transfer, certificated employees must submit a job application for a specific position through the District’s job application system. 1. Employees on a Category 2, Category 3, or renewable contract may apply using the internal candidate application. 2. Certificated staff members on a Category 1 contract must apply using the external candidate application. 3. Each application is valid only for the specific vacancy. Candidates will need to submit applications to be considered for other available positions in the District. c. Administrator Process i. When evaluating internal applicants for a job vacancy, principals must consider: 1. Certification and endorsements 2. Qualifications and experience 3. Program needs of the District and school 4. Balance of staff and extracurricular needs INSTRUCTION 5040 Page 3 of 6 Bonneville Joint School District No. 93 ii. At a minimum, principals will provide a pre-screening interview to all internal candidates employed on a Category 2, Category 3, or renewable contract who have the appropriate certification and endorsements for that position. 1. Building principals may use written questionnaires, phone interviews, or in-person interviews to conduct pre screening interviews. 2. A detailed interview may be offered to top candidates. iii. Building principals will submit recommendations for transfer using the New Hire Request form. d. Department of Human Resources i. The Executive Director of Planning and Personnel / designee will review transfer recommendations to ensure that the recommended employee has the correct certification and endorsement for the assignment, ii. If the recommended staff member meets all of the requirements for the position, the recommendation will be forwarded to the Board of Trustees to be included on the next regular meeting consent agenda. 5. Staff Reductions and Involuntary Transfers Process When it becomes necessary to reduce certificated staff at a school or within a program due to declining enrollment or other operational factors, and voluntary solutions have not sufficiently resolved the staffing imbalance, the following process shall be followed: a. Determination of Reductions i. The Superintendent or designee shall determine the number of certificated positions to be reduced, categorized by school site, department, and/or program. b. Identification of Eligible Staff Members i. All certificated staff members currently assigned to the identified area of reduction shall be included in a lottery process to determine which staff members will be involuntarily transferred to another school. c. Exemptions from Lottery Prior to conducting the lottery, two types of exemption requests may be submitted: i. Principal Retention Requests: Building principals may submit a request to exempt up to 33% of eligible staff from the lottery, based on educational need, team dynamics, impact on INSTRUCTION 5040 Page 4 of 6 Bonneville Joint School District No. 93 student learning, leadership roles, specialized assignments, or extracurricular assignments. ii. Hardship Exemption Requests: Any staff member who has been identified as being eligible for the lottery may submit a written request to be removed from the lottery based on one or more of the following hardship criteria: 1. Family Care Responsibilities: A significant impact on the employee’s ability to care for a dependent family member; 2. Medical or Disability Considerations: A health condition, including any disability for which the District is currently providing accommodations, that would be adversely affected by a transfer; 3. Extenuating Circumstances: Other unique or compelling hardships that would make the transfer substantially more difficult for the employee than their colleagues. iii. Review and Final Selection 1. Exemptions and Final Determination a. The Superintendent / designee shall review all principal retention requests and employee hardship exemption requests. Based on this review, a final determination will be made regarding which staff members will be exempted from the lottery. b. No more than 40% of qualifying staff members may be exempted from the lottery process in total. 2. Lottery Selection a. All identified staff members who have not been exempted from the lottery process will be given a unique identification number that will be used in a randomized selection process. b. The Superintendent or designee will select identification numbers one at a time until the number of certificated positions to be reduced, categorized by school site, department, and/or program has been reached. c. Once the number has been reached, the selected teachers will be identified by their unique number and notified in writing of their selection to be transferred. 3. Placement of Selected Teachers INSTRUCTION 5040 Page 5 of 6 Bonneville Joint School District No. 93 a. The Superintendent / designees shall make the final determination on placement for all involuntary transfers with the following guidelines: i. If a selected teacher is qualified for more than one vacant position within the District, they may submit a ranked list of preferred placements. ii. If more than one selected teacher requests the same vacant position as their ranked first choice, the receiving principal or program supervisor may interview all interested candidates and submit a ranked recommendation list to the Superintendent / designee who will make the final placement decision. 6. Transfers Due to Extraordinary Circumstances Whenever the Board of Trustees determines that extraordinary circumstances — such as a school closure or other significant reduction in staffing —render the provisions of this policy impractical, it may provide alternative guidance appropriate to the situation through a duly adopted resolution. 7. Definitions: a. Reassignment: The assignment of a staff member to a different grade level or content area within the same school. b. Transfer: The assignment of a staff member to a new position at a different school or program than their current assignment. Transfers do not include assignments that require a different certification, such as moving from an instructional position to a pupil services or administrative position. 8. Legal References a. Idaho Code § 33-514 – Issuance of annual contracts b. Idaho Code § 33-514A – Limited category contracts c. Idaho Code § 33-515 – Renewable contracts d. Idaho Code § 33-522A – Reduction in force defined 9. Cross References a. Policy 5010: Hiring Process and Criteria b. Policy 5015: Certified Staff Provisions for Employment c. Policy 5830: Reduction in Force d. Policy 5200: Code of Ethics e. Policy U-4301: Uniform Grievance Policy Adopted: 06-17-2005 Reviewed: 01-17-2018 Revised: 12-11-2024 INSTRUCTION 5040 Page 6 of 6 Bonneville Joint School District No. 93 06-10-2025 07-09-2025 Cross Reference: Pledge of Allegiance/National Anthem #2185 Legal Reference: Idaho Code § 33-512(10) Governance of Schools Idaho Code § 33-1602 (2)(3) United States constitution, National Flag and Colors, National anthem, “America”, Citizenship, Civics test Idaho Code § 33-143 Display Of Flags And Banners On Public School Property 36 U.S.C. §§ 172–180 Patriotic Customs