Does the layoff notice I received in March mean that I will be released?

• The certified letter you received in March was sent pursuant to authorization by the Board of Education for a reduction in force (RIF). Unless your letter is rescinded for any reason, it will serve as your final termination notice, and you will be released effective June 30, 2012.

How will the “Reed” case affect the reduction-in-force?

• The case of Reed, et al. v. Los Angeles Unified School District, et al., argued that the impact of teacher layoffs at certain schools was so severe and destabilizing that it compromised the constitutional rights of students at those schools. Pursuant to judicial orders issued in that case, the District’s Board of Education has authorized retaining the services of classroom teachers at 45 designated schools, regardless of seniority.

• Per the Court-approved terms of the “Reed” case, layoff notices that would have been sent to teachers at the 45 protected schools have been redirected to teachers (based on their RIF seniority) at schools that would have otherwise received less than the District-wide average (by percentage) of such notices. “Reed” terms specify, however, that in no case can the redirected RIF notices cause a school to exceed (in percentage terms) the District-wide average.

• At this time, the “Reed” case is on appeal. However, an appellate decision has not been issued, and the trial judge's final order remains in effect.

Which schools are affected by the “Reed” case?

• Classroom teachers at the following 45 schools are judicially protected from layoff notices:


1. Muir MS
2. Burbank MS
3. Pio Pico MS
4. Clinton MS
5. Audubon MS
6. Fremont SH
7. LA School of Global Studies
8. Liechty MS
9. Markham MS
10. Gompers MS
11. Academic Performance Excellence (APEX)
12. Helen Bernstein HS
13. Drew MS
14. Westchester SH
15. Irving MS
16. 42nd Street ES
17. Santee Education Complex
18. Edison MS
19. John Mack EL
20. Foshay Learning Center
21. Garfield SH
22. Gardena SH
23. Yes Academy
24. Los Angeles Academy MS
25. 118th Street EL
26. Dr. Owen Lloyd Knox EL
27. Judith Baca Arts Academy
28. Julie Korenstein EL
29. School of Arts and Culture (CRMS #7)
30. Performing Arts Community (SRHS #2)
31. Wisdom Academy
32. Estrella EL
33. Miramonte EL
34. Bethune MS
35. Johnnie Cochran MS
36. 59th St. EL
37. King MS
38. Figueroa EL
39. Hollenbeck MS
40. 28th St. EL
41. Miguel Contreras LC
42. Dorsey SH
43. Virgil MS
44. Jordan SH
45. Huntington Park SH

How will "skipping" affect the reduction-in-force?

• Pursuant to the Education Code, the District will be deviating from seniority order to retain:
  
  
  • Certificated employees who hold National Board Certification in the subject matter they will be teaching during the 2012 - 2013 school year.
  
  
  • Certificated employees who have served in Dual Immersion programs during the 2011 - 2012 school year and who will serve in such programs during the 2012 - 2013 school year, as set forth in the Dual Language Program Resolution adopted on June 14, 2011.
  
  
  • Certificated employees who have served in an International Baccalaureate program during the 2011 - 2012 school year and who will serve in such a program during the 2012 - 2013 school year.

If I finish the BTSA Induction program in May, will I become permanent?

• Completion of the BTSA Induction program does not affect the earning of permanent status.

What will happen if I have not completed the BTSA Induction program?

• The BTSA Induction program will be extended by the amount of time you are not contracted by the District. Released teachers are not eligible to continue the program until/unless re-contracted.

• You are encouraged to retain your portfolio and evidence of work. You should be able to transfer your work if contracted by another district.

• For assistance, please contact Peggy Presley at (213) 241-5495 at the BTSA office.

Will I be able to continue my University or District Intern program?

• Interns must be in contract service in order to continue their program. District interns who are released should contact the District Intern Office. University interns who are released should contact their university.

If I am laid off, when will I receive my final salary warrant?

• The final salary warrant for released employees will be July 5, 2012.

What happens to my accrued illness account balance?

• If you are reemployed by the District within 39 months from the date of layoff, your accrued illness hours will be restored.

• If you are employed by another district within 1 year from the date of layoff, you may transfer your accrued illness hours to that district.

• If you do not become reemployed by the District within 39 months from the date of layoff, you accrued illness hours will be forfeited.

Will I continue to receive health benefits?

• In general, released teachers are eligible to elect COBRA benefits. Please direct any questions to Benefits Administration at (213) 241-4262.

• Benefits Administration will automatically send out COBRA information after July 1 to employees who receive reduction-in-force notices.

• Permanent and probationary employees who are laid off and who process for day-to-day substitute employment may qualify for ongoing health benefits if they provide service for at least one day each month during the 2012-2013 school year.

Will I be eligible for unemployment benefits?

• Released employees may call the Employment Development Department at (800) 300-5616 for information, or they may visit the EDD website at www.edd.ca.gov.

• When filing the claim, employees should provide the following employer address:

Los Angeles Unified School District
c/oTALX UC express
P.O. Box 283
St. Louis, MO 63166-0283

• Employees should be aware that giving the Beaudry address or a school site address will delay the claim.

If I am laid off, how can I be reemployed by the District?

• Permanent and probationary employees are automatically placed on a reemployment list and, as positions become available, are offered the opportunity to re-contract in order of seniority. However, permanent employees have priority rights to reemployment.

• Released provisional and intern employees are not placed on a reemployment list. Rather, they must reapply for employment, which will only be possible after the reemployment list is exhausted.

How long can I remain on the reemployment list?

• As a non-permanent/probationary employee, you will be kept on the reemployment list for 39 months from the date of layoff.

If I retire during the 39 months that I am on a reemployment list, do I remain on the list and am I able to unretire when I am reached on the reemployment list?

• Retiring from a certificated position also requires an employee to resign from the District.  This resignation is an official separation from active District service.  Individuals who resign from the District during their 39 months on a reemployment list will be removed from the reemployment list as of the effective date of their resignation.

Can a school purchase my position?

• Schools can purchase classroom and/or non-classroom positions through alternative funding sources. BUT the positions must be filled by individuals on the reemployment list in order of seniority in any given subject area. Permanent employees have priority rights to reemployment.

Will I be able to substitute?

• Yes. Released non-permanent/probationary teachers will be offered the opportunity to process as substitute teachers. They will be merged into the list of current substitutes by their hire date.

• Released non-permanent/probationary support services employees who also have a teaching credential may process as substitute teachers as well.

• We will announce the dates for substitute processing closer to the end of the school year. (Notification will be made through your LAUSD email account).

If I become a substitute teacher, will my name be removed from the reemployment list?

• No. Your name will remain on the reemployment list (for up to 39 months from the date of layoff), even if you convert to substitute status.

Will I be able to teach summer school?

• No. Released employees are not eligible to accept summer school assignments or positions.

• However, if you are interested in teaching summer school, you should apply – regardless of whether you received a layoff notice, in case the circumstances of the reduction in force change.

How can I teach other subjects?

• Teachers with Multiple Subject Credentials may wish to consider teaching middle or high school. By verifying subject-matter competence through a subject area CSET or Commission-approved subject matter program, and taking a secondary methods class, you can earn a Single Subject Teaching Credential.

• Teachers with Single Subject Credentials may qualify for subject matter competence by taking additional CSET exams.

• For more information, please call (213) 241-6520 or email credentialservices@lausd.net

• For CSET registration information, go to: www.cset.nesinc.com

How is RIF seniority determined?

• An employee’s seniority date is the year, month, and day on which the employee first rendered paid service in probationary status.
  
  
  • Permanent Employees:  If an individual was initially hired into probationary status or as a District intern, his or her first date of paid service in that capacity serves as the RIF seniority date. If an individual was initially contracted in provisional status or as a university intern, the case of Bakersfield Elementary Teachers Association v. Bakersfield City School District requires the District to use the contract date as the RIF seniority date.
  
  
  • Non-permanent/Probationary Employees:  Non-permanent/probationary employees follow the District/UTLA Collective Bargaining Agreement layoff order. Per the CBA, the order of layoff is based on seniority within status, beginning with provisional employees, then temporary contracts, then university interns, then District interns, then probationary 1 employees, then probationary 2 employees.
  
  
  • Matrix and Displacement Dates:  The District follows the CBA for matrix or displacement issues. Provisions or university intern contract dates are not used towards seniority (since the “Bakersfield” case does not apply in non-RIF contexts). District intern, probationary, and permanent contract dates are used for matrix and displacement purposes.

How is seniority determined when an employee leaves the District, then returns?

• If an employee resigns his or her employment, or leaves the District for any reason other than a layoff, then his or her seniority date is not restored upon return; rather, it begins anew.

• If the employee is laid off because of a RIF, the original seniority date is restored if the employee is recalled within 39 months of the separation date. (District/UTLA Collective Bargaining Agreement, Article XIV, Section 15.0).

What is the difference between teachers who are laid off and those who are displaced?

• Displacements occur when there is an overstaffed situation at a school (usually as a result of norming). A “Notification of Displacement” form is given to the affected employees prior to the end of the school year or prior to the norm date established by the District. The displaced teachers are then reassigned.

• Layoffs occur when the District’s Board of Education determines a need to reduce its workforce in particular subject areas or services. A “Notice of Termination” (due to RIF) is mailed to affected employees by the District.

Is there additional support available to laid off employees?

• The Employee Service Center (ESC) has been established to help all current and laid off District employees address a range of work-related issues and to access resources.

• As of January 1, 2011, benefits through the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) are being provided by Managed Health Network (MHN), the behavioral health subsidiary of Health Net, Inc. You can call toll free 800-285-7717 (or TDD: 800-327-0801), 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.