Know Your Rights! Excessing

September 2023

Excessing = Reduction of Staff

Excessing is a type of bi-annual involuntary transfer process that is done to achieve a reduction of staff due to declining enrollment or loss of funding at the site.  On rare occasions, excessing is also used to address credential mismatches.  The term in the union contract is “transfer to reduce staff.”

Being excessed IS NOT THE SAME as being laid off

A member who is notified that they’ll be transferred to reduce staff (“excessed”) will still have a job in SDUSD, but the location of the job will change. On the other hand, a layoff notice means that the member might not have a job in SDUSD.  Layoffs are governed by state law (Ed Code), and have strict procedures and timelines that the district must adhere to (they typically only happen in the spring, for example).  

The window for excessing only opens twice a year

Transfers to reduce staff (“excessing”) can only happen at two times:

• The end of one school year for the next school year, with written notification before the start of the May Post, and
• In the fall until October 31.

Excessing is based on seniority

Instead of allowing the supervisor to play favorites, the union contract establishes rules about who is to be transferred should there be a need to transfer to reduce staff (“excess”). Here are the steps:

1. The supervisor determines, based on enrollment, the subject area or program to be reduced.  There used to be a restriction at the elementary schools to “levels” (TK-3 or 4-6) from which the administration had to excess from, but that was negotiated out of the contract last school year, and no longer applies.  At elementary schools, the elementary UTK – 6th grade “program” is considered as one entity.  Involuntary transfers (“excessing”) utilize strict seniority across the entire school site now when there is a reduction in staff needed.  
2. The supervisor must ask for volunteers to achieve the desired reduction in staff.
3. If there is no volunteer, the member with the least seniority in the subject area or in the affected program is to be involuntarily transferred (“excessed”).

Exercising seniority rights to stay

The member to be transferred (“excessed”) may be able to exercise seniority rights to stay at the site. To exercise seniority rights, the member must meet two requirements:

1. Recent experience: The member has taught in SDUSD in a different subject program for at least 2 school years in the last 9, or 1 school year in the last 5.
2. Seniority: The member must be more senior than another member who works in the subject or program in which they wish to exercise seniority rights.

Only the member who is selected by administration for an involuntary transfer (“ excessing”) can decide if they want to exercise seniority rights (if eligible) to stay. The supervisor can’t exercise seniority rights for them.

How do excessed staff get a new position in the fall?

Human Resources utilizes an electronic process that allows unit members to rank all available positions for which they are qualified and credentialed in order of preference.  HR will notify employees of the staffing process and the timeline for staffing on the day prior to the electronic distribution of positions.  HR will assign these unit members in seniority order according to preference.  Unit members have forty-eight (48) hours to rank the available positions.  If a unit member does not submit a preference by the deadline, the unit member will be assigned to a vacancy by HR. 

What are the timelines for fall excessing this year?

What should we do if our rights aren’t respected?

Talk with the AR (Association Representative) at your worksite, review this KYR article and read the applicable contract sections. Our union contract has a process for enforcing our rights — the grievance procedure. The next step you and your AR might take is a grievance meeting with the supervisor.

SOURCE: SDEA Contract, Section 12.5.1