Thursday, May 11, 2023 | 5:58 p.m.
The Nevada Supreme Court sided today against Clark County School District principals in a lawsuit over authority on teacher placement, which they had argued goes against state decentralization law that should give schools more authority in that area.
The state’s high court on Thursday sided with CCSD after the Clark County Association of School Administrators and Professional-Technical Employees (CCASAPE), or the principals’ union, appealed a 2021 Clark County District Court decision likewise saying that central administration could require principals to take on teachers who had lost their positions during the district’s semiannual “surplus” process, when enrollment shifts make some staff redundant at their sites.
The schools’ lawsuit had asserted school district central administration does not have unilateral authority to place teachers on campuses over building leader consent or preferences.
The principals said direct district placement over principal objection violated the state’s sweeping decentralization law that is supposed to put more power in individual CCSD schools.
CCSD argued that collective bargaining agreements still applied. The lower courts agreed with the district.
“(A) local school precinct’s authority to select teachers for itself parallels that which the superintendent of a large school district previously enjoyed,” Chief Justice Lidia Stiglich wrote for the court in an 11-page decision. “Because the school district’s authority was subject to collective bargaining, the local school precinct’s authority is likewise limited, meaning its selection decisions, too, must comply with collectively bargained-for terms.”
“The Clark County School District is pleased that the Nevada Supreme Court affirmed our intent, interpretation, and practice,” Superintendent Jesus Jara said in a statement Thursday. “Our interpretation of the law with regard to the application of collective bargaining agreements is upheld, and we look forward to continuing to work with our union partners to place staff according to the best interests of our students and their academic success.”
CCASAPE Executive Director Jeff Horn said in a statement that the union “is disappointed with the recent Nevada State Supreme Court decision that will limit a principal’s autonomy to select the most effective staff at each school. Even with this decision, principals will continue to do what is in the best interest of Clark County School District students, which is to ensure that only the most impactful support professionals, educators, and administrators are instructing our students.”
In 2015, the Nevada Legislature passed a law giving CCSD principals more control over schools and budgets. State lawmakers followed up in 2017 with the more detailed Assembly Bill 469, which cemented how CCSD would institute the power shift starting with the 2017-18 school year.
The reorganization law gives principals authority to select teachers and most other school staff, balance their site’s budgets, and procure most equipment, services and supplies. CCSD’s central office retains control over busing, food services, payroll, information technology, utilities, police services, custodial and maintenance, capital projects, administration of certain federally guaranteed programs like special education – and union negotiations. Other sections of law say that statute subjects "the policies for the transfer and reassignment of teachers" to collective bargaining.
CCASAPE, though, argued that not only does the state decentralization law not allow CCSD to assign staff to a school but that language in the bill giving rise to the law said the law's provisions must prevail over any other conflicting law — namely, law on negotiated employment terms.
The principals gave several examples of being forced to bring on problematic teachers, including educators who allegedly verbally abused and put their hands on students.
The court, however, said that the plain language of the decentralization law "provides for a local school precinct to enjoy only the authority to select teachers for itself that CCSD previously enjoyed. Because CCSD’s authority is subject to its existing collective bargaining agreements, the authority transferred to local school precincts is likewise limited. The plain language of the relevant statutes does not indicate an intention by the Legislature… to interfere with CCSD's collective bargaining responsibilities."
The Clark County Education Association and the Education Support Employees Association, unions that represent teachers and support staff, respectively, also opposed the principals’ suit.
Horn clarified that the decision only impacts staff placed during a surplus period, when staff are involuntarily displaced from their school sites. Principals can still select or reject potential new hires or teachers who seek to voluntarily transfer to a different CCSD school.
