Name That Section - Frequently Used Education Code and Title 5 Sections for Community College Districts

Districts should note that nothing in this section precludes serving the employee with a Notice of Changes if the employee is acquitted. Conviction of a crime requires proof “beyond a reasonable doubt.” Thus, a district may have sufficient evidence of conduct warranting dismissal (i.e. a preponderance of the evidence) although there was insufficient evidence to convict. However, the district would have to establish grounds to dismiss. 283 e. Access to Criminal Records Education Code section 87013 provides procedures for accessing the criminal records of academic employees. The section states that for academic employees that have not previously been employed by a California school or community college district, the governing board may within 10 working days of the date of employment, require the employee to have identification cards prepared by a local law enforcement agency. The cards include fingerprints and a description of the employee. Local law enforcement then forwards the cards to the Department of Justice, which prepares a criminal history of the employee if there is one. The Department of Justice provides the report to the local law enforcement agency, which excerpts all information regarding any convictions, and forwards that information to the district governing board. a. Conviction of Sex Offenses or Controlled Substance Offenses As with academic employees, the Education Code prohibits hiring or retaining any classified employee who has been convicted of a sex or controlled substance. 284 Also similar to the provisions applying to academic employees, the Education Code provides limited circumstances under which the prohibition against employment does not apply. However, the circumstances are more narrowly drawn, and differentiate between controlled substance and sex offenses. For classified staff and applicants convicted of a sex offense , employment is permitted only where the “conviction is reversed and the person is acquitted of the offense in a new trial or the charges against him or her are dismissed.” A certificate of rehabilitation or pardon resulting in dismissal, or other proof of rehabilitation, does not overcome the conviction for the purposes of employment in the classified service. 3. C LASSIFIED E MPLOYEES

For classified staff and applicants convicted of a controlled substance offense , the Education Code provides the following bases on which a convicted employee may be employed:

 The conviction has been reversed and the person acquitted of the offense in a new trial or the charges against him or her are dismissed; or  The district governing board determines, from the evidence presented, that the person has been rehabilitated for at least five years. 285

In the latter case, the governing board has the authority to determine the type and manner of presentation of the evidence. The governing board’s determination as to whether or not the person has been rehabilitated is final.

Name that Section: Frequently Used Education Code and Title 5 Sections for Community College Districts ©2019 (c) Liebert Cassidy Whitmore 94