Common use of Procedures for District-Initiated Transfers-Excessing Clause in Contracts

Procedures for District-Initiated Transfers-Excessing. a. The principal/program manager shall first inform the certificated staff members within the building or program about the need for excessing transfers and explain reasons for the need. The principal/program manager will then call for volunteer staff to transfer. Staff members that volunteer for transfer are placed on the transfer list and have all rights as District-initiated transfers. i. Staff who are in a program may submit their interest on a form created by the District, no later than February 28th. This will indicate preferences for the following school year. This form shall be used when considering placement. ii. If it is determined by the District that a position(s) shall be reduced or eliminated the District shall notify those impacted staff by email and provide them the opportunity to complete and/or amend their preferences. iii. Prior to the final determination to transfer members as a result of the reduction, elimination, or excessing of a position, the District shall review all of the submitted forms to consider members preferences. b. If not enough qualified staff volunteer to transfer, then staff to be excessed will be selected according to the following procedures: i. For the purposes of District-Initiated Transfers-Excessing, total teaching seniority shall mean teaching experience and education as recognized by the current Certificated Seniority, Layoff and Recall list. ii. Excessed staff members within an elementary school building will be the staff members with the least total teaching seniority within the grade span: K-5 or Specialists (elementary PE, music, District Teacher- Librarian). iii. Excessed staff members within Echo Xxxx will be the staff members with the least total teaching seniority within the school. iv. Excessed staff members within a Middle School building will be those with the least total teaching seniority by department. Staff members will be considered members of one (1) department based on the majority of their assignments for the year. 1. Staff members with 0.5 FTE and 0.5 FTE assignments between two (2) departments will be part of the department for the assignment in which they are evaluated. 2. Prior to the excessing procedure, staff members with at least three (3) years of satisfactory teaching experience within the past five (5) years in a department other than their current assignment will be granted, upon request, a transfer to the department to which they were previously assigned (if no more than two (2) years from the transfer request), if their total teaching seniority exceeds that of any member of that department. v. Excessed staff members within a High School building will be staff members with the least total teaching seniority by department. Staff members will be considered members of one (1) department based on the majority of their assignments for the current year. vi. If the staff member selected through the above criteria performs an assignment that cannot be performed by another staff member (e.g., Russian language), then the next least senior staff member shall be chosen for District-Initiated Transfer-Excessed. vii. During District-Initiated Transfers-Excessing, team members will be considered as individual staff members. c. An excessed staff member under provisions of this section (District-Initiated Transfer, but not leaves) shall be assured of at least two (2) years' placement in the new position; unless the new position is eliminated, the staff member initiates a transfer that is granted, or the staff member is affected by the Layoff provisions of this Agreement. d. If an excessed staff member has been placed, he/she may return to the original building if a position within his/her span/subject area from which he/she was transferred becomes available by October 1 of the second year after being transferred (for example, a staff member transferred in May 2018, has the right to return up to October 1, 2020). e. This return takes precedence over the staff initiated voluntary transfer procedure. However, in returning to the original building, the District initiated excessed staff member is subject to District-Initiated Transfer-Excessing procedures for the following year. f. Staff will be offered the right to return to the original building in reverse order of being excessed, i.e., the staff excessed last shall be given the first offer to return. Once a staff member declines a position from which he/she was transferred, the District-Initiated transfer rights to return have been waived. g. In a year in which the District institutes excessing in a building as a result of declining enrollment, no new courses may be added if the adding of courses increases the number of staff members who will be excessed. h. In a year in which the District institutes excessing as a result of adverse financial conditions, no new courses will be added that the current staff at that school are not qualified to teach. However, if one (1) high school (Liberty) is excessing through District-initiated transfer and another (Issaquah High) is not, the second high school (Issaquah High) is not limited by the additional course-offering clause. i. Except when opening a new school, staff members who were excessed will be placed in a position before staff- initiated transfer requests are considered. If the District-initiated transfer placement does not match the staff member’s transfer request, he/she will be offered additional positions according to his/her transfer request, as long as such positions are vacant. Once placed in a requested vacant position, that position will be considered the excessed staff member’s assignment for the next year. Only when opening a new school or schools, staff- initiated transfers to the new school or schools, shall occur prior to the District- Initiated Transfer-Excessing procedures.

Procedures for District-Initiated Transfers-Excessing. a. The principal/program manager shall first inform the certificated staff members within the building or program about the need for excessing transfers and explain reasons for the need. The principal/program manager will then call for volunteer staff to transfer. Staff members that volunteer for transfer are placed on the transfer list and have all rights as District-initiated transfers. i. Staff who are in a program may submit their interest on a form created by the District, no later than February 28th. This will indicate preferences for the following school year. This form shall be used when considering placement. ii. If it is determined by the District that a position(s) shall be reduced or eliminated the District shall notify those impacted staff by email and provide them the opportunity to complete and/or amend their preferences. iii. Prior to the final determination to transfer members as a result of the reduction, elimination, or excessing of a position, the District shall review all of the submitted forms to consider members preferences. b. If not enough qualified staff volunteer to transfer, then staff to be excessed will be selected according to the following procedures: i. For the purposes of District-Initiated Transfers-Excessing, total teaching seniority shall mean teaching experience and education as recognized by the current Certificated Seniority, Layoff and Recall list. ii. Excessed staff members within an elementary school building will be the staff members with the least total teaching seniority within the grade span: K-5 or Specialists (elementary PE, music, District Teacher- Librarian). iii. Excessed staff members within Echo Xxxx will be the staff members with the least total teaching seniority within the school. iv. Excessed staff members within a Middle School building will be those with the least total teaching seniority by department. Staff members will be considered members of one (1) department based on the majority of their assignments for the year. 1. Staff members with 0.5 FTE and 0.5 FTE assignments between two (2) departments will be part of the department for the assignment in which they are evaluated. 2. Prior to the excessing procedure, staff members with at least three (3) years of satisfactory teaching experience within the past five (5) years in a department other than their current assignment will be granted, upon request, a transfer to the department to which they were previously assigned (if no more than two (2) years from the transfer request), if their total teaching seniority exceeds that of any member of that department. v. Excessed staff members within a High School building will be staff members with the least total teaching seniority by department. Staff members will be considered members of one (1) department based on the majority of their assignments for the current year. vi. If the staff member selected through the above criteria performs an assignment that cannot be performed by another staff member (e.g., Russian language), then the next least senior staff member shall be chosen for District-Initiated Transfer-Excessed. vii. During District-Initiated Transfers-Excessing, team members will be considered as individual staff members. c. An excessed staff member under provisions of this section (District-Initiated Transfer, but not leaves) shall be assured of at least two (2) years' placement in the new position; unless the new position is eliminated, the staff member initiates a transfer that is granted, or the staff member is affected by the Layoff provisions of this Agreement. d. If an excessed staff member has been placed, he/she may return to the original building if a position within his/her span/subject area from which he/she was transferred becomes available by October 1 of the second year after being transferred (for example, a staff member transferred in May 2018, has the right to return up to October 1, 2020). e. This return takes precedence over the staff initiated voluntary transfer procedure. However, in returning to the original building, the District initiated excessed staff member is subject to District-Initiated Transfer-Excessing procedures for the following year. f. Staff will be offered the right to return to the original building in reverse order of being excessed, i.e., the staff excessed last shall be given the first offer to return. Once a staff member declines a position from which he/she was transferred, the District-Initiated transfer rights to return have been waived. g. In a year in which the District institutes excessing in a building as a result of declining enrollment, no new courses may be added if the adding of courses increases the number of staff members who will be excessed. h. In a year in which the District institutes excessing as a result of adverse financial conditions, no new courses will be added that the current staff at that school are not qualified to teach. However, if one (1) high school (Liberty) is excessing through District-initiated transfer and another (Issaquah High) is not, the second high school (Issaquah High) is not limited by the additional course-offering clause. i. Except when opening a new school, staff members who were excessed will be placed in a position before staff- initiated transfer requests are considered. If the District-initiated transfer placement does not match the staff member’s transfer request, he/she will be offered additional positions according to his/her transfer request, as long as such positions are vacant. Once placed in a requested vacant position, that position will be considered the excessed staff member’s assignment for the next year. Only when opening a new school or schools, staff- initiated transfers to the new school or schools, shall occur prior to the District- Initiated Transfer-Excessing procedures.