Policy 413-R Professional Staff Assignment and Transfers Regulations

The purpose of this document is to encourage cooperation, mutual respect and effective and open communication between teachers and administrators, and to enhance a fair and equitable process for staff assignments.

A. Vacancy: A vacancy shall exist when there are more positions than teachers to whom District 284 has a contractual obligation. Vacancies will generally result from a termination, resignation, or the creation of a new position.

B. Open Assignment: An open assignment shall exist when a reduction-in-force has caused an unassigned position and there are sufficient staff to whom the district has a contractual obligation to fill the position.

C. Temporary Assignment: A temporary assignment shall exist when a staff member is granted a leave of absence.

D. Transfer: A transfer is a change in assignment which meets one or more of the following criteria:

1. A move from one building to another.

2. A move of grade level in elementary school and middle school.

3. A move from one area of certification to another. (Not applicable to special education)

E. Voluntary Transfer: A voluntary transfer is a change in assignment which has been requested or implemented with the affected staff member’s consent.

F. Involuntary Transfer: An involuntary transfer is a change in assignment made without the consent of the affected staff member.

G. Qualified Candidates: Qualified candidates shall be determined by application of the criteria posted for a position. Internal candidates will be given first consideration in all situations.

H. Seniority: Seniority, or senior, is the placement of the staff member on the district seniority list.

I. Eligible Employees: Any staff member who is currently employed with a contract of .5 FTE or greater is eligible to apply to any position for which they are qualified.

J. Job Postings:

1. A job posting shall be defined as an announcement of a vacancy, an open assignment, or a temporary assignment. It includes a job description which identifies the essential functions of the work to be performed, the responsibilities and skills necessary to complete these tasks, and the qualifications needed.

2. Job postings are available online and will be displayed for a minimum of five (5) work days. Positions will be concurrently posted internally and externally. Internal and external applicants will be interviewed at the same time. Internal applicants will be considered for open positions.

3. Beginning July 1, positions will be posted until filled and the 5 day posting period may be waived.

4. Positions will be posted by the building/departments as soon as feasible.

5. All positions will be posted or communicated via building email as determined in collaboration with building administration and Human Resources. The intent is to ensure transparency and to offer a fair and equitable process.

6. Human Resources reserves the right to require postings for specific positions. (e.g. Student Support Specialist) These positions are exempt from Section B. Building Staff Realignment.

Principals may realign their staff as necessary within their respective buildings before available positions are posted District-wide. The realignments that take place within the buildings are considered transfers, subject to Section F, but with no postings required.

A. Each spring Building Principals/Supervisors will notify all appropriately licensed building staff of known vacancies and overages or shortages via email. The Association President will be notified concurrently of such said conditions in all buildings.

B. Principals/Supervisors will seek teachers who have a desire or who volunteer to be realigned within their current building or transfer to another open assignment out of their building. Those teachers should notify their respective building principal or supervisor via email within or up to five (5) working days of the notification of vacancies or overages, or shortages.

C. In the case of a shortage of positions, or if there is an insufficient number of volunteers for realignment of building transfer the following options will be considered: 1) The least senior teacher in the grade level, team, or department shall be involuntarily transferred or 2) the principal in collaboration with Human Resources will make the best decision based on student need. In these situations, the WEA should be notified.

D. Staff are not eligible for positions that increase their current FTE during the building realignment process.

E. Building staff realignment is repeated when an open position becomes available during the spring, for next year’s openings and over the summer. (With the exception of 10, g)

This is the assignment process when the district has too few staff members to fill available positions.

A. Vacancy Definition: See Section A.1.

B. Posting: In accordance with Section A.10.

C. Application: Staff members desiring transfer to posted vacancies must apply within the posting period. No request will be carried over from one posting to another.

D. Staff Members Returning from Leave: Staff members returning from a partial or a full-year leave may return to their original position if it is available. If the position is not available, staff members will need to apply for vacancies at the time of posting. Staff members returning from Mobility Leave will need to apply for vacancies at the time of posting.

E. Procedure for Transfer: All applications will be given consideration by a staffing committee. The appropriate administrator of the school to which transfer is requested may arrange contacts with all applicants. Reasonable effort will be made to honor a staff member’s request for transfer when the staff member is well qualified for the new position and such transfer is compatible with the building/program needs at both ends of the transfer and with the overall staffing needs of the District. Transfer decisions will be made and applicants notified as promptly as possible. If two or more applicants are considered to be equally qualified, transfer will be awarded to the most senior candidate. Transfer decisions will be made and applicants notified as promptly as possible.

F. Transfer Request Denial: In the event a staff member is not transferred as requested, the staffing manager or building principal will share with that person the rationale for denial upon determination of the decision not to exceed five (5) working days.

G. Involuntary Transfer: If there is no well qualified transfer applicant for a vacant position, the District may choose to hire from outside or to involuntarily transfer from within. When transferring involuntarily, the District will identify all staff members who hold appropriate licensure and then apply the posted criteria to determine who is most qualified. If two or more staff members are equally qualified, the least senior shall be involuntarily transferred.

H. Reconsideration: Involuntary transferees may request written rationale for the transfer or a meeting with the appropriate administrator to petition reconsideration and to seek or provide additional information. Requests must be made in writing within five (5) working days of the receipt of notice of involuntary transfer.

This is the assignment process when the district has sufficient staff members to fill all positions.

A. Open Assignment Definition: See Section A.2.

B. Annual Staffing: No later than May 1st, or the first workday thereafter, the District shall post all assignments known at that time to be open for the next school year.

C. Posting: In accordance with Section A.10.

D. Persons Returning from Leave: Staff members returning from a year long leave may return to the position they vacated if it is available. All other staff members must apply for open assignment positions at the time of the posting.

E. Application: See Section C.3

F. Procedure for Transfer: All applications will be given consideration. The appropriate administrator to whom the transfer is requested may arrange contacts with applicants. Reasonable effort will be made to honor a staff member’s request for transfer when the staff member is qualified for the new position and said transfer is compatible with the building/program needs at both ends of the transfer and with overall staffing needs of the
District. Transfer decisions will be made and applicants notified as promptly as possible.

G. Transfer Request Denial: In the event a staff member is not transferred as requested, the staffing manager or building principal will share with that person the rationale for denial within five (5) days of said decision.

H. Involuntary Transfer: If there are no well qualified applicants for vacant positions, the District will identify all staff members who hold appropriate licensure and then apply the posted criteria to determine who is most qualified. Transfers must be compatible with the building/program needs at both ends of the transfer and with overall staffing needs of the District. Staff members who are identified for involuntary transfer will receive immediate notice.

I. Reconsideration: Staff members who are notified of an involuntary transfer may request an opportunity to meet with the appropriate administrator to seek reconsideration of the transfer decision and to provide additional information. Such a request must be made to the appropriate director within five (5) working days after receiving written notice of involuntary transfer. 

A. Temporary Assignment Definition: See Section A.3.

B. Procedure: In filling a temporary assignment, the District will follow the steps outlined for filling a vacancy or an open assignment. Exceptions due to time constraints may apply.

C. Duration: A temporary assignment will cease upon return of the incumbent to the District or upon the end of the school year.

D. The staff member holding the temporary assignment may then be subject to a voluntary or involuntary transfer or open assignment provided that the school district has a contractual obligation to provide continued employment.

Only one transfer, whether voluntary or involuntary, in a two-year period shall be permitted, with the following exceptions:

A. Mutual agreement

B. Circumstances related to boundary changes

C. Circumstances in which staff members are filling temporary assignments

D. A teacher, with prior knowledge, is transferred to fill a position which results in a one year increase in student population at a particular grade level in a building

E. Situations identified under Section G

The District will not be required to follow provisions of the Transfer Regulation under the following circumstances:

A. Transfers resulting from formal evaluations of staff members whose levels of performance are less than satisfactory.

B. In buildings where departments or grade levels rotate assignments on an annual basis. (i.e. looping, etc.)

C. Those staff members returning from a sabbatical leave will be reassigned to the position they had before going on sabbatical leave.

D. Those staff members returning from a Peer Coach position will be reassigned to the position they had prior to their peer coaching assignment if it is available.

Changes to this Regulation will be through the Meet and Confer process.

• Adopted: November 11, 1985
• Modified: June 6, 1986
• Modified: January 9, 1992
• Modified: May 6, 1992
• Modified: April 20, 1993
• Modified: July 12, 2004
• Modified: July 1, 2007
• Modified: January 23, 2014
• Modified: January 10, 2022
• Last Reviewed: January 10, 2022

• Policy 413 - Professional Staff Assignment and Transfers