Diablo Valley College Faculty Senate v. Contra Costa Community College District

This case concerns whether the Education Code or applicable regulations required a community college district to engage in collegial consultation with a college’s academic senate before effecting an administrative reorganization. In September 2001, the president of Diablo Valley College (DVC) announced that, as part of a districtwide reorganization, professional deans would be hired for managerial positions previously filled on a part-time basis by faculty members. The Diablo Valley College Faculty Senate (Faculty Senate) complained this change could not be undertaken without its consent, based on regulations requiring collegial consultation for policies relating to “academic and professional matters.” (Cal. Code Regs., tit. 5, §§ 53200, 53203, subd. (a).) After several unsuccessful complaints to the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges (Chancellor), which resulted in a series of legal opinions from the Chancellor concluding the reorganization did not impose a duty of collegial consultation, the Faculty Senate filed a petition for writ of mandate against the Contra Costa Community College District (District) and its governing board (Board) and a complaint for…