33-517. NONCERTIFICATED PERSONNEL. The board of trustees of each school district, including any specially chartered district and any Idaho public charter school, shall have the following powers and duties:

(1) To provide that hiring and evaluation procedures for noncertificated personnel shall be in writing and shall be available for any noncertificated employee’s review during regular business hours. Job descriptions for all noncertificated employees shall be written and shall be made available to employees of the district or other people seeking employment.

(2) To provide a grievance procedure for noncertificated employees of the district which meets the minimum standards of paragraphs (a) through (i) of this subsection. In the event a grievance procedure is not provided, the following grievance procedure shall apply.

(a) A grievance shall be defined as a written allegation of:

(i) A violation of current written board approved school district policy;

(ii) A violation of current written school procedures;

(iii) A violation of the current written board approved employee handbook;

(iv) A condition or conditions that jeopardize the health or safety of the employee or another; or

(v) Tasks assigned outside of the employee’s essential job functions and for which the employee has no specialized training.

A noncertificated employee of the district may file a grievance about any matter related to his or her employment, only if it directly relates to any of the grounds for a grievance provided for in paragraph (a)(i) through (v) of this subsection. However, neither the rate of salary or wage of the employee nor the decision to terminate an employee for cause during the initial one hundred eighty (180) days of employment shall be a proper subject for consideration under the grievance procedure provided in this section. For the purposes of this section, "current" means as of the date of the incident giving rise to the grievance.

(b) If a noncertificated employee files a grievance, the employee shall submit the grievance in writing to the district’s human resources administrator within six (6) working days of the incident giving rise to the grievance. The grievance shall state the nature of the grievance and the remedy sought. Within six (6) working days of receipt of the grievance, the district’s human resources administrator shall schedule an informal grievance meeting with the grievant, the employee against whom the grievance is filed, respective advocates, as well as a district administrator who will not be involved in the statutory grievance process. The purpose of the meeting shall be to attempt to find a resolution to the employee grievance.

(c) If a resolution is not reached during the informal grievance meeting, the individual against whom a grievance is filed shall file a written response to the employee grievance within six (6) working days after the conclusion of the informal grievance meeting. Thereafter, the employee may appeal the grievance to the superintendent of the district or the superintendent’s designee within six (6) working days of the receipt of the written response or within six (6) working days from the date the written response was due if the noncertificated employee received no written response. Within six (6) working days of an appeal, the superintendent or his designee shall provide a written response to the noncertificated employee.

(d) If the noncertificated employee is not satisfied with the response of the superintendent or the designee, or if there is no response by the superintendent or the designee within the time frame provided in subsection (2)(c) of this section, the noncertificated employee may request a review of the grievance by a hearing panel within six (6) working days from receipt of the response provided in subsection (2)(c) of this section if the employee received a written response, or six (6) working days from the date the superintendent or designee last had to respond if the noncertificated employee received no written response. Within ten (10) working days of receipt of an appeal, a panel consisting of three (3) persons; one (1) designated by the superintendent, one (1) designated by the employee, and one (1) agreed upon by the two (2) appointed members for the purpose of reviewing the appeal. Within ten (10) working days following completion of the review, the panel shall submit its decision in writing to the noncertificated employee, the superintendent, and the board of trustees.

(e) The panel’s decision shall be the final and conclusive resolution of the grievance unless the board of trustees overturns the panel’s decision by resolution at the board of trustees’ next regularly scheduled public meeting or unless, within forty-two (42) calendar days of the filing of the board’s decision, either party appeals to the district court in the county where the school district is located. Upon appeal of a decision of the board of trustees, the district court may affirm or set aside and remand the matter to the board of trustees upon the following grounds, and shall not set the same aside on any other grounds:

(i) That the findings of fact are not based on any substantial, competent evidence;

(ii) That the board of trustees has acted without jurisdiction or in excess of its powers;

(iii) That the findings by the board of trustees as a matter of law do not support the decision.

(f) A noncertificated employee filing a grievance pursuant to this section shall be entitled to a representative of the employee’s choice at each step of the grievance procedure provided in this section. The person against whom the grievance is filed, the superintendent or the superintendent’s designee shall be entitled to a representative at each step of the grievance procedure. None of these individuals will be qualified to sit on the advisory grievance panel.

(g) The timelines of the grievance procedure established in this section may be waived or modified by mutual agreement.

(h) Utilization of the grievance procedure established pursuant to this section shall not constitute a waiver of any right of appeal available pursuant to law or regulation.

(i) Neither the board nor any member of the administration shall take reprisals affecting the employment status of any party in interest. The employee filing a grievance shall not take any reprisals regarding the course of the outcome of the grievance nor take any reprisals against any party or witness participating in the grievance.

(j) A noncertificated employee of a school district shall be provided a personnel file consistent with the provisions of section 33-518, Idaho Code.

History:

[33-517, added 1989, ch. 195, sec. 1, p. 490; am. 2014, ch. 166, sec. 1, p. 468.]