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

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

ii. Implementation

While it is advisable to incorporate a definitions section, districts should do so with care.

Districts are “free to define other terms not listed in Title 5.

184

However, districts should choose

carefully what additional terms to define in the context of their EEO Plans for several reasons:



Amending district EEO Plans requires a process that includes notice to the

State Chancellor. A streamlined plan will be easier to implement and

update.



Adding definitions that are tangentially related to successful recruitment or

retention will make the EEO Plan overly cumbersome. We recommend that

districts limit the definitions section to terms necessary for the interpretation

and implementation of the EEO Plan.



Including definitions that are tangentially related could also inadvertently

create bargaining rights. Generally, hiring plans and procedures are not

matters subject to bargaining. However, by incorporating subjects that are

covered in collective bargaining agreements or impact the terms and

conditions of employment (e.g. disciplinary consequences for violating the

plan, academic freedom, etc.), districts could overly complicate their plans,

and create bargaining rights in the process.

Finally, in drafting definitions of the terms that are found in Title 5, districts should track the

Title 5 definitions, and not rely on definitions that districts are already utilizing in other policies

or procedures.

185

First, other district policies may be outdated or otherwise not conform to the

definitions in the Title 5 regulations pertaining to discrimination or EEO Plans. Second, to the

extent definitions in district policies are broader than those found in Title 5, they should not be

used. As noted in footnote 2 of the

Model Plan

, only those groups identified in the regulations

are entitled to the right to appeal or seek review by the State Chancellor. In particular, districts

whose anti-discrimination policies include groups not identified in the regulations may include

them in their EEO Plan Policy Statement (discussed below), but should not include them in their

definition of “monitored groups.” The

Model Plan

correctly identifies “monitored groups” as

those groups, identified in Title 5 for which monitoring and reporting is required

186

By using a

more expansive definition of “monitored groups,” districts will improperly identify groups for

which it will not actually engage in monitoring activities.

c. Plan Component 3: Policy Statement

i. Legal Requirements

The Title 5 regulations do not require district EEO Plans to have a policy statement.

ii. Implementation

Districts should incorporate into their EEO Plans a statement of commitment to their EEO

planning efforts and workforce diversity. This statement can be included in the Introduction

(Plan Component 1 in the

Model Plan

), eliminating the need for what the

Model Plan

identifies

as “Plan Component 3.” Whether included in the Introduction, or as a separate plan component,