ELA Update: Court rules on failure to obtain CLAD certification 

An appellate court has upheld a district’s effort to terminate a certificated employee for her failure to obtain certification to teach English learners. The case was Ripon USD v. Comm. on Professional Competence, Theresa Messick, RPI.

“This is an important case since reinforces a district’s authority, under the permissive Education Code, to require a permanent employee to satisfy additional requirements, such as CLAD (Crosscultural, Language and Academic Development), in order to continue in employment,” said Richard L. Hamilton, Director of CSBA’s Education Legal Alliance, which filed an amicus brief in support of the district.  

In this case, the California Department of Education had conducted an audit and found Ripon Unified School District out of compliance because EL students were assigned to classes taught by teachers who lacked EL certification.  In response, the district developed a plan that included an agreement with the teachers union that all certificated staff would obtain the certification or else resign or be terminated. The district agreed to pay for the training if the teacher obtained it through the County Office of Education and provided an additional stipend.  Messick, a music teacher with a lifetime credential and the only music teacher in the district, refused to obtain the training. The district eventually began termination proceedings against her for unprofessional conduct and refusal to obey district’s rules.  The Administrative Law Judge found that the district did not have the authority to terminate her, the trial court disagreed, and Messick filed this appeal.

Messick’s attorneys argued that the state laws regarding certification did not require teachers who received a credential prior to 2003 to obtain EL certification.  However, the Education Code does require districts to provide EL students with equal opportunities and that all teachers teaching EL students be certified to do so.  Districts are also subject to monitoring and penalties if they assign an EL student to teacher who is not certified. 

Ripon USD was between a rock and a hard place, Hamilton said. 

“If an EL student registered for a music class, the district was placed in an impossible situation – it could either deny the student the opportunity to take the class or risk sanctions for assigning the student to Messick,” he explained. “Without the ability to require a teacher to obtain the certification, the district would have no viable solution.”

The court agreed and held that the district’s termination was lawful.  The court also agreed with the district’s argument that the district’s EL requirement did not affect the validity of Messick’s credential.  According to the court, the credential authorizes her to teach music, but it does not guarantee her employment or tenure, nor does it preempt the district from imposing conditions on her employment to teach music.

A copy of the court decision can be found at: http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/opinions/documents/C058815.PDF