CTA is co-sponsoring legislation, AB 438, introduced by Assembly Member Eloise Gómez Reyes (D-San Bernardino) that would provide classified school employees the same rights as certificated employees when it comes to layoff notice and hearing rights.

Currently, certificated employees must receive layoff notice by March 15 for the following academic year; classified employees can be laid off any time of year with 60 days’ notice. Nearly 80 percent of classified employees are women. They are the most diverse group of employees working in schools and are the lowest-paid.

“California’s educators honor the services of classified school employees, who partner with us on a daily basis to provide our 6 million students with a quality public education,” says CTA President E. Toby Boyd. “A student’s school day begins with the first school bus ride in the morning and ends when the custodian turns off the lights at night. One of the many hard lessons of this pandemic has been acknowledging the divide that exists in our communities and also in our workplaces. That is why we are co-sponsoring this bill. We believe that in the unfortunate event layoff notices are issued, classified employees should count on professional rights that provide more stability as they strive to provide for their own families.”