§ 2590-j. Appointment and removal of persons in the teaching and
supervisory service. 1. Persons in the teaching and supervisory service
in all schools in the city system shall be appointed as prescribed by
this section.

2. The chancellor shall promulgate minimum education and experience
requirements for all teaching and supervisory service positions which
shall not be less than minimum state requirements for certification, and
with the approval of the city board shall create and abolish the titles
of all positions in the teaching and supervisory service.

4. (a) The chancellor shall appoint and assign teachers for all
schools and programs under the jurisdiction of the city board from
eligible lists of prospective appointees selected by random selection
from qualifying eligible lists.

(b) The chancellor shall appoint and assign all supervisory personnel
for all schools and programs under the jurisdiction of the city board
from persons on qualifying eligible lists.

(c) Consistent with the provisions of sections twenty-five hundred
ninety-f, twenty-five hundred ninety-h and twenty-five hundred ninety-i
of this article, the district superintendent shall appoint teachers for
all schools and programs under the community district's jurisdiction who
are assigned to the district by the chancellor from eligible lists of
prospective appointees selected by random selection from qualifying
eligible lists. Insofar as practicable the chancellor, when making such
assignments shall give effect to the requests for assignment of specific
persons by the community superintendent. The community superintendent
shall appoint such teachers to schools within such district within
thirty days if such appointment is to be effective on a date subsequent
thereto and within three days if such appointment is to be effective
immediately.

(d) Each community superintendent shall appoint and assign all
supervisory personnel for all schools and programs under his or her
jurisdiction from persons on qualifying eligible lists except for those
personnel appointed pursuant to paragraph (d) of subdivision one of
section twenty-five hundred ninety-f of this article.

(e) No person who is related within the third degree of consanguinity
or affinity to the chancellor or to any member of the city board or to
any community superintendent or to any member of a community board shall
commence employment with the city or community district of which such
relative is a member, chancellor or superintendent, except upon the
consent of two-thirds of the members of the city board or such community
board, as the case may be, to be determined at a public meeting of the
city board or such community board.

5. (a) The chancellor shall cause a comprehensive reading examination
to be administered to all pupils in all schools under the jurisdiction
of the community districts annually. Prior to October first of every
year each school shall be ranked in order of the percentage of pupils
reading at or above grade level as determined by such examination, in
accordance with rules to be promulgated by the chancellor.

(b) If the ranking of a school under the jurisdiction of a community
district falls in the lower forty-five percent of the ranking of all
such schools, as provided in paragraph (a) of this subdivision, the
community superintendent of such school (hereinafter called an eligible
school) may appoint teachers to such school in conformity with this
subdivision, any other provision of this section or chapter
notwithstanding, provided, that in the first year during which this
paragraph is operative, only a school in the lower forty percent shall
be an eligible school.

(c) The community superintendent of each eligible school may between
October first in the year in which the foregoing examination was
administered and the following May first, appoint any person a teacher
in such school for the school year commencing in September of the year
following such examination without regard to any competitive eligibility
lists or open qualifying lists established pursuant to this section,
provided that such person, will on the effective date of such
appointment, have the education and experience qualifications for
certification as a teacher pursuant to article sixty-one of this chapter
and shall:

(i) be on a qualifying eligible list or be on an existing competitive
eligible list for such position; or

(ii) have passed a test or tests acceptable to the commissioner at a
pass mark established by the commissioner. This paragraph shall not
restrict the right of the chancellor to establish appropriate medical
requirements for all teachers. The chancellor shall cause such test or
tests to be offered at reasonable intervals at one or more cities in the
commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

(d) Such community superintendent may waive his or her rights under
paragraph (c) of this subdivision and elect to appoint teachers under
paragraph (c) of subdivision four of this section.

(e) All teachers appointed under paragraph (c) of this subdivision
shall for all purposes, have the same status, rights and duties as
teachers appointed under paragraph (c) of subdivision four of this
section.

6. If a vacancy exists for a teaching position in any community
district for which there are no names on any appropriate eligible list
in force, the community superintendent of such district may appoint and
assign any person to fill such position who complies with paragraph (c)
of subdivision five of this section.

6-a. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any person who
has served continuously as a substitute teacher in the schools of the
city system since the fourteenth day of September, nineteen hundred
seventy shall be appointed to probationary service in the school he is
serving in as of June first, nineteen hundred seventy-two effective
September sixth, nineteen hundred seventy-two provided a vacancy exists
in the school for the school year commencing September nineteen hundred
seventy-two and provided his name appears on an appropriate eligible
list in existence on June first, nineteen hundred seventy-two without
regard to his relative standing on such list, and thereafter he shall be
subject to all the existing provisions of law and negotiated agreements
in the same manner as any other appointee.

(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, persons awaiting
appointment from eligible lists shall be assigned and appointed in
ranked order by the city board on September sixth, nineteen hundred
seventy-two to those vacancies which were in existence on June first,
nineteen hundred seventy-two and continued to be in existence on
September sixth, nineteen hundred seventy-two.

7. (a) No member of the teaching or supervisory staff of schools who
has served the full and appropriate probationary period prescribed by,
or in accordance with law, shall be found guilty of any charges except
after a hearing as provided by section three thousand twenty-a of this
chapter.

(b) Charges may be initiated by the community superintendent against
any such employee for any of the following offenses:

(1) Unauthorized absence from duty or excessive lateness;

(2) Neglect of duty;

(3) Conduct unbecoming his position, or conduct prejudicial to the
good order, efficiency or discipline of the service;

(4) Incompetent or inefficient service;

(5) A violation of the by-laws, rules or regulations of the city
board, chancellor, or the community board; or

(6) Any substantial cause that renders the employee unfit to perform
his obligations properly to the service.

(c) The community superintendent, in advance of the filing of charges
and specifications, shall inform the employee accused and the community
board of the nature of the complaint. No charge shall be brought outside
the statute of limitation period provided for in section three thousand
twenty-a of this chapter.

(d) Upon the service of a copy of the charges upon such employee, the
community superintendent may recommend to the chancellor the suspension
of any such employee. If the chancellor shall determine that the nature
of the charge requires the immediate removal of the employee from his
assigned duties, he may suspend such employee for a period not exceeding
ninety days pending hearing and determination of charges, provided
however, that such employee shall be entitled to receive full
compensation during the period of suspension. In case the employee is
acquitted, he shall be restored to his position.

8. The community superintendent may transfer members of the teaching
and supervisory service without their consent within the district for
the following reasons only:

(a) Disciplinary action pursuant to subdivision seven of this section,

(b) Excess staff in a specific school,

(c) To staff a new school, or

(d) To fill a vacancy in another school within the district; provided,
however, (i) that such transfers shall be made in inverse order of
seniority in the school from which made, (ii) that the school to which
the person is transferred has a higher number of vacant positions
subsequent to such transfer than the school from which transferred,
(iii) that there is no appropriate eligible list for such position, (iv)
that no other qualified person within the district makes application to
fill such position, and (v) such vacancy has existed for at least two
weeks.

In exercising the power granted in paragraphs (b) and (c), hereof the
community superintendent shall comply with all collective negotiation
agreements.

8-a. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision eight of this
section, a community superintendent shall request the chancellor to
transfer a principal pursuant to subdivision twenty-five of section
twenty-five hundred ninety-h of this article, or to remove or otherwise
discipline the principal pursuant to section three thousand twenty-a of
this chapter, or to require the principal to participate in training and
staff development, or to take other actions to promote student
achievement and school performance, where appropriate, consistent with
the obligations of the superintendent pursuant to section twenty-five
hundred ninety-f and the provisions of section twenty-five hundred
ninety-i of this article.

9. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, appointments of
persons to vacancies in teaching positions in the city system shall be
made in the following order:

(1) Persons who have been displaced from other positions and persons
on preferred lists, in accordance with the provisions of section
twenty-five hundred eighty-eight of this chapter.

(2) Persons on eligible lists who were employed in the city school
district who have served satisfactorily for two terms as a regular
appointee or as a regular substitute or as a per diem certificate holder
in any license area or four terms as a paraprofessional or school aide
provided that such service was not rendered more than five years prior
to the date of promulgation of the qualifying eligible list on which
their names appear.

(3) All other persons, as otherwise provided in this chapter.

(4) Nothing contained in subparagraphs two or three of this
subdivision shall be construed to prevent a community superintendent of
an eligible school as defined in subdivision five of this section from
electing to appoint persons in the manner authorized in said
subdivision.

(b) Subject to the provisions of subdivision two of section
twenty-five hundred ninety-i of this article with respect to principals,
appointments pursuant to subparagraph two of paragraph (a) of this
subdivision shall be made in the manner prescribed in subdivision ten of
section twenty-five hundred seventy-three of this chapter and in
subdivision four of this section as if the persons covered by such
subparagraphs constituted the entire list.