§ 2590-J — Appointment and removal of persons in the teaching and supervisory service

§ 2590-j. Appointment and removal of persons in the teaching and\nsupervisory service. 1. Persons in the teaching and supervisory service\nin all schools in the city system shall be appointed as prescribed by\nthis section.\n 2. The chancellor shall promulgate minimum education and experience\nrequirements for all teaching and supervisory service positions which\nshall not be less than minimum state requirements for certification, and\nwith the approval of the city board shall create and abolish the titles\nof all positions in the teaching and supervisory service.\n 4. (a) The chancellor shall appoint and assign teachers for all\nschools and programs under the jurisdiction of the city board from\neligible lists of prospective appointees selected by random selection\nfrom qualifying eligible lists.\n (b) The chancellor shall appoint and assign all supervisory personnel\nfor all schools and programs under the jurisdiction of the city board\nfrom persons on qualifying eligible lists.\n (c) Consistent with the provisions of sections twenty-five hundred\nninety-f, twenty-five hundred ninety-h and twenty-five hundred ninety-i\nof this article, the district superintendent shall appoint teachers for\nall schools and programs under the community district's jurisdiction who\nare assigned to the district by the chancellor from eligible lists of\nprospective appointees selected by random selection from qualifying\neligible lists. Insofar as practicable the chancellor, when making such\nassignments shall give effect to the requests for assignment of specific\npersons by the community superintendent. The community superintendent\nshall appoint such teachers to schools within such district within\nthirty days if such appointment is to be effective on a date subsequent\nthereto and within three days if such appointment is to be effective\nimmediately.\n (d) Each community superintendent shall appoint and assign all\nsupervisory personnel for all schools and programs under his or her\njurisdiction from persons on qualifying eligible lists except for those\npersonnel appointed pursuant to paragraph (d) of subdivision one of\nsection twenty-five hundred ninety-f of this article.\n (e) No person who is related within the third degree of consanguinity\nor affinity to the chancellor or to any member of the city board or to\nany community superintendent or to any member of a community board shall\ncommence employment with the city or community district of which such\nrelative is a member, chancellor or superintendent, except upon the\nconsent of two-thirds of the members of the city board or such community\nboard, as the case may be, to be determined at a public meeting of the\ncity board or such community board.\n 5. (a) The chancellor shall cause a comprehensive reading examination\nto be administered to all pupils in all schools under the jurisdiction\nof the community districts annually. Prior to October first of every\nyear each school shall be ranked in order of the percentage of pupils\nreading at or above grade level as determined by such examination, in\naccordance with rules to be promulgated by the chancellor.\n (b) If the ranking of a school under the jurisdiction of a community\ndistrict falls in the lower forty-five percent of the ranking of all\nsuch schools, as provided in paragraph (a) of this subdivision, the\ncommunity superintendent of such school (hereinafter called an eligible\nschool) may appoint teachers to such school in conformity with this\nsubdivision, any other provision of this section or chapter\nnotwithstanding, provided, that in the first year during which this\nparagraph is operative, only a school in the lower forty percent shall\nbe an eligible school.\n (c) The community superintendent of each eligible school may between\nOctober first in the year in which the foregoing examination was\nadministered and the following May first, appoint any person a teacher\nin such school for the school year commencing in September of the year\nfollowing such examination without regard to any competitive eligibility\nlists or open qualifying lists established pursuant to this section,\nprovided that such person, will on the effective date of such\nappointment, have the education and experience qualifications for\ncertification as a teacher pursuant to article sixty-one of this chapter\nand shall:\n (i) be on a qualifying eligible list or be on an existing competitive\neligible list for such position; or\n (ii) have passed a test or tests acceptable to the commissioner at a\npass mark established by the commissioner. This paragraph shall not\nrestrict the right of the chancellor to establish appropriate medical\nrequirements for all teachers. The chancellor shall cause such test or\ntests to be offered at reasonable intervals at one or more cities in the\ncommonwealth of Puerto Rico.\n (d) Such community superintendent may waive his or her rights under\nparagraph (c) of this subdivision and elect to appoint teachers under\nparagraph (c) of subdivision four of this section.\n (e) All teachers appointed under paragraph (c) of this subdivision\nshall for all purposes, have the same status, rights and duties as\nteachers appointed under paragraph (c) of subdivision four of this\nsection.\n 6. If a vacancy exists for a teaching position in any community\ndistrict for which there are no names on any appropriate eligible list\nin force, the community superintendent of such district may appoint and\nassign any person to fill such position who complies with paragraph (c)\nof subdivision five of this section.\n 6-a. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any person who\nhas served continuously as a substitute teacher in the schools of the\ncity system since the fourteenth day of September, nineteen hundred\nseventy shall be appointed to probationary service in the school he is\nserving in as of June first, nineteen hundred seventy-two effective\nSeptember sixth, nineteen hundred seventy-two provided a vacancy exists\nin the school for the school year commencing September nineteen hundred\nseventy-two and provided his name appears on an appropriate eligible\nlist in existence on June first, nineteen hundred seventy-two without\nregard to his relative standing on such list, and thereafter he shall be\nsubject to all the existing provisions of law and negotiated agreements\nin the same manner as any other appointee.\n (b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, persons awaiting\nappointment from eligible lists shall be assigned and appointed in\nranked order by the city board on September sixth, nineteen hundred\nseventy-two to those vacancies which were in existence on June first,\nnineteen hundred seventy-two and continued to be in existence on\nSeptember sixth, nineteen hundred seventy-two.\n 7. (a) No member of the teaching or supervisory staff of schools who\nhas served the full and appropriate probationary period prescribed by,\nor in accordance with law, shall be found guilty of any charges except\nafter a hearing as provided by section three thousand twenty-a of this\nchapter.\n (b) Charges may be initiated by the community superintendent against\nany such employee for any of the following offenses:\n (1) Unauthorized absence from duty or excessive lateness;\n (2) Neglect of duty;\n (3) Conduct unbecoming his position, or conduct prejudicial to the\ngood order, efficiency or discipline of the service;\n (4) Incompetent or inefficient service;\n (5) A violation of the by-laws, rules or regulations of the city\nboard, chancellor, or the community board; or\n (6) Any substantial cause that renders the employee unfit to perform\nhis obligations properly to the service.\n (c) The community superintendent, in advance of the filing of charges\nand specifications, shall inform the employee accused and the community\nboard of the nature of the complaint. No charge shall be brought outside\nthe statute of limitation period provided for in section three thousand\ntwenty-a of this chapter.\n (d) Upon the service of a copy of the charges upon such employee, the\ncommunity superintendent may recommend to the chancellor the suspension\nof any such employee. If the chancellor shall determine that the nature\nof the charge requires the immediate removal of the employee from his\nassigned duties, he may suspend such employee for a period not exceeding\nninety days pending hearing and determination of charges, provided\nhowever, that such employee shall be entitled to receive full\ncompensation during the period of suspension. In case the employee is\nacquitted, he shall be restored to his position.\n 8. The community superintendent may transfer members of the teaching\nand supervisory service without their consent within the district for\nthe following reasons only:\n (a) Disciplinary action pursuant to subdivision seven of this section,\n (b) Excess staff in a specific school,\n (c) To staff a new school, or\n (d) To fill a vacancy in another school within the district; provided,\nhowever, (i) that such transfers shall be made in inverse order of\nseniority in the school from which made, (ii) that the school to which\nthe person is transferred has a higher number of vacant positions\nsubsequent to such transfer than the school from which transferred,\n(iii) that there is no appropriate eligible list for such position, (iv)\nthat no other qualified person within the district makes application to\nfill such position, and (v) such vacancy has existed for at least two\nweeks.\n In exercising the power granted in paragraphs (b) and (c), hereof the\ncommunity superintendent shall comply with all collective negotiation\nagreements.\n 8-a. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision eight of this\nsection, a community superintendent shall request the chancellor to\ntransfer a principal pursuant to subdivision twenty-five of section\ntwenty-five hundred ninety-h of this article, or to remove or otherwise\ndiscipline the principal pursuant to section three thousand twenty-a of\nthis chapter, or to require the principal to participate in training and\nstaff development, or to take other actions to promote student\nachievement and school performance, where appropriate, consistent with\nthe obligations of the superintendent pursuant to section twenty-five\nhundred ninety-f and the provisions of section twenty-five hundred\nninety-i of this article.\n 9. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, appointments of\npersons to vacancies in teaching positions in the city system shall be\nmade in the following order:\n (1) Persons who have been displaced from other positions and persons\non preferred lists, in accordance with the provisions of section\ntwenty-five hundred eighty-eight of this chapter.\n (2) Persons on eligible lists who were employed in the city school\ndistrict who have served satisfactorily for two terms as a regular\nappointee or as a regular substitute or as a per diem certificate holder\nin any license area or four terms as a paraprofessional or school aide\nprovided that such service was not rendered more than five years prior\nto the date of promulgation of the qualifying eligible list on which\ntheir names appear.\n (3) All other persons, as otherwise provided in this chapter.\n (4) Nothing contained in subparagraphs two or three of this\nsubdivision shall be construed to prevent a community superintendent of\nan eligible school as defined in subdivision five of this section from\nelecting to appoint persons in the manner authorized in said\nsubdivision.\n (b) Subject to the provisions of subdivision two of section\ntwenty-five hundred ninety-i of this article with respect to principals,\nappointments pursuant to subparagraph two of paragraph (a) of this\nsubdivision shall be made in the manner prescribed in subdivision ten of\nsection twenty-five hundred seventy-three of this chapter and in\nsubdivision four of this section as if the persons covered by such\nsubparagraphs constituted the entire list.\n