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

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Name that Section: Frequently Used Education Code and Title 5 Sections for Community College Districts
©2018 (c) Liebert Cassidy Whitmore
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3. CALCULATING THE “67 PERCENT THRESHOLD” FOR P ART-TIME
EMPLOYMENT
To calculate the “67 percent of the hours per week considered a full-time assignment,” a district
may generally look to the number of hours per week that corresponds to 67 percent of the hours
of classroom instruction considered a full-time assignment. The Education Code specifically
excludes service in “professional ancillary activities, including, but not necessarily limited to,
governance, staff development, grant writing, and advising student organizations” from counting
towards attainment of contract or regular status unless otherwise provided for in a collective
bargaining agreement applicable to a person employed under this section.40 Additionally, service
as a substitute on a day-to-day basis may not be used for purposes of calculating eligibility for
contract or regular status.41
For example, if a temporary employee teaches in a discipline where 15 hours of classroom
instruction a week is considered a full-time assignment, and the hourly rate employee renders ten
hours of classroom instruction a week, the Education Code is deemed satisfied. If that same
hourly rate employee renders 11 hours of classroom instruction per week for more than two
semesters within any three consecutive years, that hourly rate employee would be entitled to
classification as a probationary or regular employee.
However, an instructor hired as a temporary employee but teaching more than 67% (formerly
60%) of full-time assignment during fall semester and as a temporary sabbatical replacement
during spring semester had to be classified as a contract or probationary employee when she was
rehired full-time for the following school year.42
In short, following the guidelines below will assist districts in adhering to the 67 percent
threshold:
 Persons employed for 67% or less of the hours per week of a full-time
assignment may be employed indefinitely as temporary employees.
 Persons employed for 67% or less of the hours per week of a full-time
assignment may be employed without regard to the two-semester, three-
quarter limitation of Section 87482.
 If a temporary employee exceeds the 67% threshold, he or she thereafter
may possibly be classified as a probationary or tenured employee.
 To compute the 67% threshold, the faculty load may be averaged over an
academic year, but only where the employee has an annual employment
contract. In the usual case, where temporary employees are hired each
semester, districts should be cautious to prevent a faculty member in any
week from exceeding 67%.
 Rights to tenure cannot be waived by the employee or his or her
representative if the employee would otherwise have those rights based
upon statute.