2018 ACSA Personnel Institute

From video surveillance to smart phone cameras, every moment of the school day can be captured in a photo or video clip. How do you train staff to protect privacy? Students and employees can "opt out" of having their images posted online, but how do you observe that request without breaching confidentiality? What if parents are snapping photos and posting to the school's Facebook page? Can you tell them whose photos shouldn't be used? How can you get posts removed without bruised feelings and broken laws?
Gretchen Shipley and Lori Chiu, attorneys, Fagen Friedman & Fulfrost, will take administrators through the quickly evolving world of ed tech law.

This training will focus on practical advice for processing and investigating the various complaints that school districts receive, including Title IX, UCP, discrimination and harassment, and complaints against district employees. We will provide a step-by-step overview of the investigative process, from initial receipt of the complaint and initiating an investigation, through reporting the outcome and corrective action. We will provide effective tips for handling investigations and share best practices and advice on how to avoid the most common mistakes that occur during school investigations.

This presentation will explain the changing status of the law regarding wage discrimination, equal pay requirements, and the role of prior salary when determining initial salary placement for new hires and salary placement for promotions.

Calling a lawyer is almost as popular as a getting a dental cleaning or a smog check, but consulting with your attorney to strategize before tackling thorny issues can prevent or contain fallout.
Seth Eckstein, attorney, Fagen Friedman & Fulfrost, and Tara Gard, Deputy Chief of Talent, Oakland USD, will discuss how and when to effectively seek legal guidance.

It has been noted that “entry into the Education Code is painful” and “large parts of the Education Code are not meant to be understood” – and this was the California Court of Appeal speaking.  This session will break down the otherwise indecipherable provisions of the Education Code as it relates to the fundamental rules of certificated and classified employment.  Targeted for both emerging and advanced HR practitioners, we will cover fundamentals such as how the Education Code establishes the certificated and classified services, as well as advanced scenarios, such as the subtle yet significant distinctions in how the Education Code treats topics such as employee classifications (including temporary and short-term employees), leaves of absences, seniority, permanent status, 39-month rehire rights, layoffs, and bumping with respect to certificated and classified personnel.  This presentation will also cover how school districts can prepare and align their bargaining strategies to achieve consistency and compliance with the Education Code. 

Social media, downloading of computer applications, and more can easily result in privacy violations. Ensuring privacy and safety for our students and employees while also allowing for educational growth often conflict.  Unintentional mistakes are common exposing your employees and district to liability and violations of FERPA and civil rights.  The Human Resource Department is critical to address issues pertaining to your employees and students rights, privacy, and potential discipline.   Amelia Vance, a nationally known expert on privacy joins ACSA's Legislative Advocate, Laura Preston, to highlight issues that school administrators are facing in the ever evolving changes in technology  and privacy.

Public employees are a fantastic group of workers but, every now and then, an employee engages in egregious conduct that requires an expedient response from the human resources department. What will you do when an employee . . . engages in offensive online conduct? . . . brings a firearm or knife to campus? . . . is suspected of having pornography on a classroom computer? . . . has written romantic text messages to a student? . . . is suspected of stealing District equipment or supplies? This workshop will provide attendees with the legal framework for addressing these questions and an interactive opportunity for human resources professionals to discuss the preferred approach at their respective districts.

Performance management, if done effectively, can minimize the risk of discrimination claims. Although an employee’s disability may have no bearing on unsatisfactory performance or other misconduct, in many cases it does.

When discipline and disabilities collide, the discipline may run afoul of federal and State disabilities laws. Join us to discuss how to properly manage the intersection of disabilities, discipline and documentation. We will explore common situations employers encounter, such as:

• · When can employers discipline an employee for disability-caused misconduct?
• · What can employers do if an employee is unable to meet performance standards due to a disability?
• · Should employers rescind disciplinary action after receiving information the conduct was caused by a disability?