Cobb County School District Administrative Rules

RATIONALE/OBJECTIVE:

Each Cobb County School District (District) employee is assigned to a position which meets the needs of the District, commensurate with the employee's training, certification, years of experience and other appropriate factors. The District reserves the right to reassign employees to other duties, positions or locations within the District.

RULE:

The Human Resources Division provides the following written guidelines and procedures for the reassignment of employees.

A. ASSIGNMENT/REASSIGNMENT OF FAMILY MEMBERS:
1. Assigning members of the immediate family to the same school or division of the

District should be approved by Human Resources Division. Under no circumstances

will an employee be assigned to supervise the activities or evaluate the performance

of someone in his/her immediate family.
2. Immediate Family:

a. The immediate family is defined as:

(1) Spouse;

(2) Children;

(3) Mother;

(4) Father;

(5) Brother;

(6) Sister;

(7) Grandmother;

(8) Grandfather;

(9) Grandchild;

(10) Mother-in-law;

(11) Father-in-law;

(12) Sister-in-law;

(13) Son-in-law;

(14) Daughter-in-law;

(15) Brother-in-law;

(16) Sister-in-law; or

b. Any relative living in the household of the employee.

c. This Rule includes all step relatives as identified in this above.

B. EMPLOYEES MAY BE REASSIGNED FOR THE FOLLOWING REASONS:
1. Cobb County Board of Education (Board) approval of:

a. Instructional changes based upon reorganization; or
b. Attendance zone changes due to movement of the student population, or the

opening or closing of schools.
2. Loss, reduction or addition of approved programs which create different personnel

        needs.
    3. Changes in student enrollment in a school or a specific program.
    4. When in the best interests of the District in order to meet the needs and requirements

of the District.

C. EMPLOYEE REASSIGNMENT WILL FOLLOW THESE PROCEDURES:
1. Exempt Employees:

a. Employees who receive a District approved supplement in whole or in part (i.e.

yearbook sponsor, coach, department head) for the school year in question are

protected from reassignment.

b. Employees who are the only members of a department (i.e. music, art) or who are

the only qualified employees of a specialty course (i.e. Advanced Placement

Calculus) are protected from reassignment.
2. Determination of Needs:

a. The Principal/Supervisor will evaluate the program for his/her school/department

and the resulting personnel needs.

b. These personnel needs will be reviewed and approved by the Area Assistant

Superintendent.
c. Human Resources Division will reassign identified employees in affected areas

to meet the school’s new personnel requirements.

3. Identification of Affected Employees:

        The affected area for certified employees is determined as follows:
        a. Special Education (K-12) (i.e. learning disabled, behavior disordered) by program.
        b. High School (i.e. math 6-12, biology 6-12, broad field science 6-12) by certification
           field.
        c. Middle School:

(1) Spring (End of School Year):

At the end of the school year, employees shall be identified by:

(a) Area (i.e., PE, Art, Connections classes such as Art, FACS, etc.); or

(b) Identified subject area (i.e. social studies,

reading, mathematics, science, etc.) - Certifications must

be appropriate.

(2) Fall (After School Year Begins):

After the first day students report, employees shall be identified by:

(a) Area (i.e., PE, Art, Connections classes such as Art, FACS, etc.); and

then by

(b) Grade level (6^th, 7^th or 8^th) first.); and then by

science, etc.) - Certifications must be appropriate.

d. Elementary School by Primary (Grades K-3) and Intermediate (Grades 4-5)

inclusive of the Early Intervention Program (EIP) before the first day students

            report.
        e. Elementary School by Grade (i.e. 3rd, 5th) inclusive of the Early Intervention
            Program (EIP) beginning the first day students report.

4. Seniority:

The Principal/Supervisor will identify the employee from the affected area who has

the least District seniority. District seniority is determined by the employee’s hire date

in the District. Specifically:
a. District hire date will be the effective start date of the employee’s current, regular

position excluding the orientation dates, if applicable.
b. Human Resources Division will determine and provide the hire date of all employees

in the affected area and will verify which employee has the least District seniority.
c. If two or more employees have the same:

(1) Hire date, the employee with the latest recommendation date stated on the

Employee Action Form (EAF) from the Principal or supervisor for employment

will be determined to have the least District seniority.

(2) Recommendation date, the employee with the latest date of application for

employment will be determined to have the least District seniority.

(3) If a tie still exists, the employee with the least District seniority will be

determined by lot.

d. An approved, long-term leave of absence does not interrupt District seniority, but

does not add to accumulated seniority.

e. An employee who resigns, retires, or whose long-term leave of absence is

terminated loses all District seniority rights. If the employee is rehired, District

seniority begins anew on the rehire date.
5. Fractional Positions:

If reassignment of a .50 employee is necessary, the Principal will identify the

employees who work .50 or less in the affected area and then designate the employee
who has the least District seniority as the reassignee. Human Resources Division will

determine the reassignee if there are no .50 or less employees in the affected area.
6. Effective Date:

Reassignments will be effective with the new contract year.

7. Post-Reassignment Procedures:

a. Once a transferee moves to his/her new school, he/she may be subject to

reassignment for the first semester due to loss of program or a decrease in student

enrollment at the reassignee’s new school. This prevents a newly transferred

teacher/employee with more District seniority from displacing a

teacher/employee currently on staff.
b. If an employee has been reassigned and a vacancy occurs in his/her original

location up to five days before the first day that teachers/employees new to the

District report, the Principal/Supervisor must contact the reassignee and offer

him/her the opportunity to return. The reassignee has 24 hours to decide.

D. OPENING/CLOSING OF SCHOOLS:

    Employee reassignment due to the opening or closing of schools will follow these
    procedures:
    1. Human Resources Division will provide a written guide to employees and

principals/supervisors outlining the reassignment process and will assist employees

        and principals/supervisors in the implementation process.
    2. The reassignment process will not create more than a ten percent loss in staff in any
        school’s overall teacher/employee population.

E. DISTRICT PREROGATIVE:

The Superintendent may direct the Human Resources Division to make exceptions to the

above assignment/reassignment provisions when:

1. It is in the best interest of the District in order to meet the needs and requirements of

the District.

2. It is necessary to meet NCLB’s requirement of equitable distribution of Highly Qualified

teachers in all school throughout the county.

F. HARASSMENT:
Administrative transfers may be granted when harassment or retaliation toward the

employee by any other administrator or staff members has been substantiated by a

Human Resources investigation.

Reclassified an Administrative Rule: 9/1/04
Revised: 4/13/05; 11/14/07