§18A-4-8i. Seniority rights for professional educators and school service personnel in cases of intercounty transfer arrangements.

Notwithstanding any other provisions of this code to the contrary, if students are required to attend school in a county other than the county of their residence as a result of an intercounty transfer arrangement, then the following terms, rules and procedures shall apply:

(a) For the purposes of this section, the following terms have the following meanings:

(1) "Intercounty transfer arrangement" means those cases in which students are required to attend school in a county other than the county of their residence;

(2) "Receiving county" means the county, other than the county of residence, where students are required to attend school; and

(3) "Sending county" means the county of residence of students involved in intercounty transfer arrangements.

(b) The state board shall determine the number of professional educator and school service personnel positions to be created in facilities receiving students or in any facility affected by an intercounty transfer arrangement. The state board shall prepare a certified list of positions and shall provide the list to both the sending and receiving counties involved in the intercounty transfer arrangement.

(c) The state board shall prepare a certified list containing the names and seniority of the professional educators and service personnel in the sending county whose employment has been terminated as a result of an intercounty transfer arrangement. Those eligible to appear on the certified list shall be limited to the following classifications of employees:

(1) Those persons whose positions were eliminated as a direct result of an intercounty transfer arrangement and: (i) Who choose not to exercise their right to displace another employee with lesser seniority; or (ii) whose seniority is insufficient to allow them to displace other employees; and

(2) Those persons, as determined by the state board, who would have retained a position with the sending county if the intercounty transfer arrangement had not occurred.

(d) The receiving county may not fill any position on the list of positions created pursuant to the provisions of subsection (b) of this section until the receiving county has received the list of employees created pursuant to the provisions of subsection (c) of this section. When the receiving county has been provided copies of both the certified list of positions and the certified list of employees, the receiving county shall begin filling the vacancies by selecting employees from the certified list. In filling these positions, the receiving county shall comply with all provisions of law relevant to the filling of professional educator or service personnel vacancies.

(e) For the remainder of the school year immediately following the effective date of an intercounty transfer arrangement, but in no case less than six months, the receiving county may fill positions on the certified list of positions only by selecting employees from the certified list of employees.

(f) For the purposes of this section only, professional educators and service personnel whose names appear on the certified list of employees created pursuant to the provisions of subsection (c) of this section and who are hired by the county board of the receiving county shall accrue seniority in both the sending and the receiving counties during the time in which they continue to be employed by the county board of the receiving county.

(g) The state board shall promulgate legislative rules to implement the provisions of this section pursuant to the provisions of article three-b, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code. The rules shall be filed with the office of the Secretary of State no later than October 1, 1997.