Governing Board of Ripon Unified School District v. Commission on Professional Competence

We address in this appeal a school district’s authority to impose a new condition of employment on its teachers in order to satisfy a legislative mandate. State law requires all public school students who are not fluent in English to be taught by teachers who have been certified to teach such English learners. A school district must also ensure that English learners have equal access to all of a school’s programs.

To meet these directives, plaintiff Governing Board of Ripon Unified School District (District) adopted a rule requiring all of its teachers to become certified to teach English learners. It also entered into an agreement with the teachers union to impose this requirement as well as pay for the cost of the training and provide an additional stipend. Failure to comply with the directive would ultimately result in termination.

Real party in interest Theresa Messick is the only music teacher at Ripon High School. She refused to obtain the certification, and the District eventually began proceedings to terminate her employment. An administrative law judge determined the District lacked authority to impose the requirement on Messick, but the trial court granted the…