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

Compulsory leave under this section is unpaid, unless the employee posts a bond. If the

employee is subsequently acquitted, or the charges dismissed, the district must reimburse the

employee for the cost of the bond (if posted) or pay the employee for the period of absence. The

duty to reimburse does not apply, however, if the district seeks to reinstate the acquitted

employee, and he or she fails or refuses to return to work.

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.

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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.

3. C

LASSIFIED

MPLOYEES

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.

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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.

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.

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