Hibbing Educ. Ass'n v. Public Employment Relations Bd.

• Decision Date: 21 June 1985
• Docket Number: No. C5-83-1580,C5-83-1580
• Citation: 369 N.W.2d 527
• Parties: 121 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 3545, 25 Ed. Law Rep. 1240 HIBBING EDUCATION ASSOCIATION, Respondent, v. PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS BOARD, petitioner, Relator.
• Court: Minnesota Supreme Court

Page 527

369 N.W.2d 527

121 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 3545, 25 Ed. Law Rep. 1240

HIBBING EDUCATION ASSOCIATION, Respondent, v. PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS BOARD, petitioner, Relator.

No. C5-83-1580.

Supreme Court of Minnesota.

June 21, 1985.

Syllabus by the Court

Under the Public Employment Labor Relations Act, paraprofessional teaching aides, not required to be licensed as teachers by the board of teaching or the state board of education or by the employing school district, were properly certified as a separate bargaining unit.

Hubert H. Humphrey III, Atty. Gen., Erica Jacobson, Asst. Atty. Gen., St. Paul, for relator.

Donald W. Selzer, Jr., St. Paul, for respondent.

Heard, considered and decided by the court en banc.

KELLEY, Justice.

The Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) appeals from a decision of the Court of Appeals reversing the PERB's affirmation of a bargaining unit determination by the director of the Bureau of Mediation Services (BMS) establishing a separate bargaining unit for paraprofessionals in Independent School District No. 701 (the Hibbing school district). ¹ We reverse and remand.

For the 1982-1983 school year the Hibbing school district hired eight people to work as Title I paraprofessionals. The Title I program is a federally funded program designed to supplement regular classroom instruction of certain elementary school students performing at a level of one-half year to one year behind their classmates in reading and mathematics.

The Hibbing Federation of Teachers (HFT) filed a petition with the Bureau of Mediation Services (BMS) for the designation of an appropriate bargaining unit for those paraprofessionals, and requested that a separate bargaining unit be established for the Title I paraprofessionals employed by the school district. The Hibbing Education Association (HEA) appeared to oppose the proposed separate certification, and contended that the paraprofessionals should be included within the teacher bargaining unit represented by it. Following several hearings the director of the BMS issued a unit determination establishing a separate bargaining unit for the paraprofessionals. HEA appealed the unit determination to PERB pursuant to Minn.Stat. § 179A.05, subd. 4(b) (1984). ² PERB affirmed the BMS determination.

In reversing the PERB, the Court of Appeals held that PERB committed error by failing to consider the job functions of the paraprofessionals in arriving at its decision. Thus, the issue raised here is whether the BMS and PERB are required by the Public Employment Labor Relations Act, Minn.Stat. § 179A.01 et seq. (1984) to consider the job functions of employees in making bargaining unit determinations for teacher bargaining units.

We commence our analysis by noting that the construction of a statute such as the Public Employment Labor Relations Act is clearly a question of law. In such a case, the decision of the administrative agency (here the PERB) is fully reviewable by this court. See, No Power Line, Inc. v. Minnesota Environmental Quality Council, Inc., 262 N.W.2d 312, 320 (Minn.1977); Blue Earth County Welfare Dept. v. Cabellero, 302 Minn. 329, 341, 225 N.W.2d 373, 380 (1974).

Minn.Stat. 179A.03, subd. 2 (1984) (the Public Employment Labor Relations Statute) defines the appropriate bargaining unit for school districts as "all the teachers in the district." Subdivision 18 of this same statute defines "teacher" as:

Subd. 18. Teacher. "Teacher" means any public employee other than a superintendent or assistant superintendent, principal, assistant principal, or a supervisory or confidential employee, employed by a school district: (1) in a position for which the person must be licensed by the board of teaching or the state board of education; or (2) in a position as a physical therapist or an occupational therapist.

Minn.Stat. § 179A.03, subd. 18 (1984) (Emphasis added).

The two subdivisions of the statute clearly mandate that if the paraprofessionals are "in a position for which the person must be licensed by the board of teaching or the state board of education," they belong in the bargaining unit represented by the HEA. Correlatively, if licensure is not required, paraprofessionals belong not in the teachers' unit, but in a separate bargaining unit.

Notwithstanding presentation of considerable evidence that these paraprofessionals in the district made many decisions with respect to educational techniques to be used, developed plans and teaching materials, and performed other functions traditionally performed by teachers, the fact remains that they did not occupy positions for which licensure was mandated by the board of teaching or the state board of education. Uncontradicted evidence from the manager of the Title I program for the state department of education was that persons working in school districts under the Title I program did not need to be certified licensed teachers. Under the program the local school boards were vested with sole authority to determine the required qualifications of paraprofessionals, i.e. whether they needed licensure. Some school districts have no licensed personnel working in Title I programs. The Hibbing school district had no requirement for licensure, although some of the paraprofessionals were, in fact, licensed. Indeed, the HEA concedes that the state department of education and the board of teaching have no licensure category entitled "Title I Paraprofessional." Based upon this undisputed evidence, the PERB correctly concluded that the eight paraprofessionals were...