§ 72-2218 — Definitions

As used in this act, and amendments thereto:
(a) The term "persons" includes one or more individuals, organizations, associations, corporations, boards, committees, commissions, agencies, or their representatives.
(b) "Board of education" means the state board of education pursuant to its authority under K.S.A. 76-1001a and 76-1101a, and amendments thereto, the board of education of any school district, the board of control of any area vocational-technical school and the board of trustees of any community college.
(c) "Professional employee" means any person employed by a board of education in a position which requires a certificate issued by the state board of education or employed by a board of education in a professional, educational or instructional capacity, but shall not mean any such person who is an administrative employee and, commencing in the 2006-2007 school year, shall not mean any person who is a retirant from school employment of the Kansas public employees retirement system, regardless of whether an agreement between a board of education and an exclusive representative of professional employees that covers terms and conditions of professional service provides to the contrary.
(d) "Administrative employee" means, in the case of a school district, any person who is employed by a board of education in an administrative capacity and who is fulfilling duties for which an administrator's certificate is required under K.S.A. 72-255, and amendments thereto; and, in the case of an area vocational-technical school or community college, any person who is employed by the board of control or the board of trustees in an administrative capacity and who is acting in that capacity and who has authority, in the interest of the board of control or the board of trustees, to hire, transfer, suspend, layoff, recall, promote, discharge, assign, reward or discipline other employees, or responsibly to direct them or to adjust their grievances, or effectively to recommend a preponderance of such actions, if in connection with the foregoing, the exercise of such authority is not of a merely routine or clerical nature, but requires the use of independent judgment.
(e) "Professional employees' organizations" means any one or more organizations, agencies, committees, councils or groups of any kind in which professional employees participate, and which exist for the purpose, in whole or part, of engaging in professional negotiation with boards of education with respect to the terms and conditions of professional service or for the purpose of professional development or liability protection.
(f) "Representative" means any professional employees' organization or any person it authorizes or designates to act in its behalf or any person a board of education authorizes or designates to act in its behalf.
(g) "Professional negotiation" means meeting, conferring, consulting and discussing in a good faith effort by both parties to reach agreement with respect to the terms and conditions of professional service.
(h) "Mediation" means the effort through interpretation and advice by an impartial third party to assist in reconciling a dispute concerning terms and conditions of professional service which arose in the course of professional negotiation between a board of education or its representatives and representatives of the recognized professional employees' organization.
(i) "Fact-finding" means the investigation by an individual or board of a dispute concerning terms and conditions of professional service which arose in the course of professional negotiation, and the submission of a report by such individual or board to the parties to such dispute which includes a determination of the issues involved, findings of fact regarding such issues, and the recommendation of the fact-finding individual or board for resolution of the dispute.
(j) "Strike" means an action taken for the purpose of coercing a change in the terms and conditions of professional service or the rights, privileges or obligations thereof, through any failure by concerted action with others to report for duty including, but not limited to, any work stoppage, slowdown, or refusal to work.
(k) "Lockout" means action taken by a board of education to provoke interruptions of or prevent the continuity of work normally and usually performed by the professional employees for the purpose of coercing professional employees into relinquishing rights guaranteed by this act and the act of which this section is amendatory.
(l) (1) "Terms and conditions of professional service" means: (A) Salaries and wages, including pay for duties under supplemental contracts; hours and amounts of work; vacation allowance, holiday, sick, extended, sabbatical and other leave, and number of holidays; retirement; insurance benefits; wearing apparel; pay for overtime; jury duty; grievance procedure, including binding arbitration of grievances; disciplinary procedure; resignations; termination and nonrenewal of contracts; reemployment of professional employees; terms and form of the individual professional employee contract; probationary period; professional employee appraisal procedures; each of the foregoing being a term and condition of professional service, regardless of its impact on the employee or on the operation of the educational system; (B) matters which relate to privileges to be granted the recognized professional employees' organization, including, but not limited to, voluntary payroll deductions; dissemination of information regarding the professional negotiation process and related matters to members of the bargaining unit on school or college premises through direct contact with members of the bargaining unit; reasonable leaves of absence for members of the bargaining unit for organizational purposes, such as engaging in professional negotiation and partaking of instructional programs properly related to the representation of the bargaining unit; any of the foregoing privileges which are granted the recognized professional employees' organization through the professional negotiation process shall not be granted to any other professional employees' organization; and (C) such other matters as the parties mutually agree upon as properly related to professional service including, but not limited to, employment incentive or retention bonuses authorized under K.S.A. 72-2244, and amendments thereto.
(2) Nothing in this act, and amendments thereto, shall authorize any professional employees' organization to be granted the exclusive privilege of access to the use of school or college facilities for meetings, the use of bulletin boards on or about the facility or the use of school or college mail systems.
(3) Nothing in this act, and amendments thereto, shall authorize the diminution of any right, duty or obligation of either the professional employee or the board of education which have been fixed by statute or by the constitution of this state. Except as otherwise expressly provided in this subsection (l), the fact that any matter may be the subject of a statute or the constitution of this state does not preclude negotiation thereon so long as the negotiation proposal would not prevent the fulfillment of the statutory or constitutional objective.
(4) Matters which relate to the duration of the school term, and specifically to consideration and determination by a board of education of the question of the development and adoption of a policy to provide for a school term consisting of school hours, are not included within the meaning of terms and conditions of professional service and are not subject to professional negotiation.
(m) "Secretary" means the secretary of labor or a designee thereof.
(n) "Statutory declaration of impasse date" means July 31 in the current school year.
(o) "Supplemental contracts" means contracts for employment duties other than those services covered in the principal or primary contract of employment of the professional employee and shall include, but not be limited to, such services as coaching, supervising, directing and assisting extracurricular activities, chaperoning, ticket-taking, lunchroom supervision, and other similar and related activities.

Legislative History

L. 1970, ch. 284, § 1; L. 1976, ch. 314, § 1; L. 1977, ch. 248, § 1; L. 1979, ch. 226, § 1; L. 1980, ch. 220, § 1; L. 1989, ch. 216, § 1; L. 1990, ch. 255, § 1; L. 2002, ch. 167, § 4; L. 2004, ch. 179, § 94; L. 2006, ch. 143, § 4; L. 2009, ch. 72, § 1; L. 2013, ch. 52, § 2; L. 2015, ch. 92, § 12; July 1.