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Committee forwards SB 494 to Appropriations after debate over neutral appeal rights for classified employees
Summary
SB 494 would give classified K–12 employees the right to have disciplinary appeals heard by an administrative law judge rather than the local school board; the committee accepted amendments but several districts and associations opposed the measure citing fiscal and local control concerns.
Sen. Cortese presented SB 494, a parity bill to give classified school employees the right to a third‑party disciplinary appeal before an administrative law judge. The Assembly Higher Education Committee passed the measure as amended to Appropriations after testimony from the California School Employees Association (CSEA) and opposition from school districts and associations that raised fiscal and implementation concerns.
Why it matters: Supporters framed SB 494 as a due‑process and parity measure: teachers currently have third‑party appeal rights and classified employees in many districts do not. Navneet Prier of CSEA described cases where school boards who initiated discipline then denied fair appellate review. Supporters said neutral adjudication would increase fairness and trust.
Opposition and concerns: The Community College League of California, California School Boards Association and several county offices of education opposed or raised concerns. They said the bill imposes a one‑size‑fits‑all mandate across nearly 944 districts, could be costly (estimated commission cost for all appeals), and could undermine locally negotiated labor agreements and personnel commissions. Witnesses cited an estimate that if all terminated classified employees appealed, costs could reach roughly $4.26 million statewide (about $7,000 per appeal) and noted many districts are small and rural.
Committee result: Committee accepted amendments to narrow or clarify certain processes and passed SB 494 as amended to Appropriations (motion recorded). Members asked for ongoing fiscal analysis and noted the bill does not apply to existing personnel commissions.
