Overview
This bill establishes a new process for negotiating teacher employment contracts. It prohibits teachers from striking and specifies a timeline for school boards to negotiate contracts with bargaining representatives for teachers. School boards and teachers are authorized to negotiate contracts during the three-month period preceding September 1 in each year, and in the event negotiations fail to produce an agreement in the even-numbered year, the school board is required to request final-offer, total-package mediation. The bill also repeals statutory language setting a January 15 deadline for teachers’ collective bargaining agreements.
Section-by-Section Summary
Section 1 [Nonessential Employees.] precludes teachers from requesting interest arbitration.
Section 2 [Teacher Contracts.] requires school boards to negotiate with representatives of teachers during the three-month period preceding September 1 in each year, when school is not in session. If negotiations do not produce an agreement in the odd-numbered year, they must be suspended, and the terms of the preceding collective bargaining agreement will remain in effect during the remainder of the bargaining cycle. If the parties do not reach agreement in the even-numbered year, the school board is required to request final-offer, total-package to be determined by an arbitrator selected by the Bureau of Mediation Services.
Section 3 [When Authorized.] prohibits teachers from striking.
Section 4 [Notice.] conforms statutory language to the changes made in section 3 by eliminating references to conditions under which teachers may strike.
Section 5 [Repealer.] repeals the section establishing a January 15 teacher contract deadline, including the state-aid penalty for failing to meet that deadline (Minnesota Statutes, section 123B.05), and the provision establishing conditions under which teachers may strike (Minnesota Statutes, section 179A.18, subdivision 2).
Section 6 [Effective Date.] makes the entire bill effective beginning July 1 in 2013, and applies it to all teacher collective bargaining agreements entered into or modified after July 1, 2013.
TSB/rdr
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