First Regular Session Seventieth General Assembly STATE OF COLORADO INTRODUCED LLS NO. 15-0428.01 Brita Darling x2241 SENATE BILL 15-094 SENATE SPONSORSHIP Kefalas, HOUSE SPONSORSHIP Salazar, Senate Committees House Committees State, Veterans, & Military Affairs A BILL FOR AN ACT Concerning employment of community college faculty, and, in connection therewith, promoting excellence within community colleges by improving the working conditions, compensation, and benefits of faculty. Bill Summary (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced and does not reflect any amendments that may be subsequently adopted. If this bill passes third reading in the house of introduction, a bill summary that applies to the reengrossed version of this bill will be available at http://www.leg.state.co.us/billsummaries.) The bill requires colleges in the state system of community and technical colleges (state system), on and after a certain date, to classify as faculty all employees with teaching responsibilities, including part-time teaching responsibilities. Once classified as faculty, the employees will have the same responsibilities, benefits, and freedoms of regular faculty, commensurate with the employee's education, training, experience, and teaching skill, including participation in non-teaching activities and professional development, job security issues such as health care and retirement benefits, and access to due process, grievance procedures, and academic freedom. The state board for community colleges and occupational education (state board) will collaborate with faculty and college administrators to determine how to achieve an inclusive faculty structure with respect to faculty responsibilities, benefits, and freedoms. The bill includes provisions relating to seniority in determining course assignments and allows the seniority system to be replaced after a period of time with a new process to assign courses. The bill requires the state board to collaborate with faculty and college administrators to create a fiscally sustainable multi-year plan to achieve comparable compensation among all faculty. On and after the effective date of the bill, employees with 90 or more credit hours teaching in the state system have the due process provided to regular faculty. Finally, the bill requires college administrators to ensure that all faculty have the opportunity to participate in faculty governance meetings relating to faculty matters and on the state-level advisory council. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Colorado: SECTION 1. In Colorado Revised Statutes, add 23-60-202.7 as follows: 23-60-202.7. Community college faculty - legislative declaration - employment. (1) The general assembly hereby finds and declares that: (a) The Colorado system of community and technical colleges offers quality, cost-effective academic and technical programs to residents of our state; (b) An experienced, educated faculty is essential to maintain the quality of education provided by the Colorado system of community and technical colleges; (c) A post-secondary quality education for Colorado's residents is essential for the economic and civic vitality of the state; (d) Students benefit from a stable and supported faculty workforce that is focused on teaching excellence; (e) Students benefit from a faculty workforce that is free to meaningfully participate in faculty business and governance; (f) Improved working conditions and fair compensation practices, including salaries that are commensurate with faculty education, training, experience, and teaching skill, will encourage both recruitment and retention of high-quality faculty; and (g) Students benefit when community colleges recruit and retain high-quality faculty by implementing good business practices that are fair and responsive to the entire faculty workforce. (2) (a) On and after June 30, 2016, all employees with teaching responsibilities, including part-time teaching responsibilities, must be classified as faculty of the state system of community and technical colleges, referred to in this section as the "state system". (b) (I) When course assignments are available, each college shall permit faculty members to teach up to a full-time workload, with preference given first to faculty members who were hired on a full-time basis prior to the effective date of this section, and second to faculty on the basis of seniority. (II) Seniority is determined based upon the number of course hours that a faculty member has taught in the relevant field of expertise, starting with his or her initial teaching appointment in the state system. (III) The seniority system for course assignments may be replaced with a faculty-developed and faculty-approved system for assigning courses no sooner than three years after the effective date of this section. (c) (I) Employees considered faculty pursuant to paragraph (a) of this subsection (2) must be treated the same as regular faculty, commensurate with the employee's education, training, experience, and teaching skill, with respect to responsibilities, benefits, and freedoms of regular faculty, including, but not limited to: (A) Meaningful participation in faculty nonteaching activities, such as curriculum development, student advising, course assignments and workload processes, and department and all-college governance meetings, with mutually determined compensation for these nonteaching activities; (B) Job security issues, such as health care and retirement benefits, continued employment, multi-year contracting, career paths, unemployment insurance, and compensation for course cancellations; and (C) Access to due process, grievance procedures, and academic freedom and intellectual inquiry. (II) The board shall engage in a collaborative process with respect to achieving inclusive faculty responsibilities, benefits, and freedoms pursuant to subparagraph (I) of this paragraph (c) that includes the board, the colleges, and faculty. (3) On and after June 30, 2016, the board, in conjunction with the colleges, shall implement a fiscally sustainable multi-year plan to compensate employees with teaching responsibilities who were classified as adjunct instructors prior to the effective date of this section. The intent of the plan is to achieve a comparable level of compensation, including salaries that are commensurate with faculty education, training, experience, and teaching skill, to attract and retain high-quality faculty who can deliver high-quality education to students in the state system. (4) Upon the effective date of this section, employees with teaching responsibilities who are classified as adjunct instructors and who have taught at least ninety credit hours in the state system since their initial appointment must have access to due process available to all regular faculty. (5) On and after June 30, 2016, each college president shall ensure that all faculty have an equal opportunity to participate in the college's faculty governance meetings in order to meaningfully engage in decision-making regarding faculty matters. The board shall ensure that all faculty may participate on the state faculty advisory council. SECTION 2. Safety clause. The general assembly hereby finds, determines, and declares that this act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, and safety.