Do temporary teachers have the right to seniority in re-hiring?

Do temporary teachers laid off by a school district have the right to be re-hired by seniority? Some laid off temporary teachers in a Sacramento area school district believe that they do have that right and they have gone to court to try to prove it.

I expect that they will lose.

Here is the article from the Sacramento Bee:

http://www.sacbee.com/education/story/2236338.html

Folsom Cordova district sued over teacher rehiring
By Diana Lambert
dlambert@sacbee.com

Published: Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2009 - 12:00 am

Five teachers laid off because of budget cuts and the Folsom Cordova Education Association are suing the Folsom Cordova Unified School District board of trustees.

The suit, filed Sept. 18, contends that jobs that should have gone to laid-off teachers went to others. The California Education Code requires that districts put all laid-off teachers on a rehire list and to hire from it on the basis of seniority, according to the suit.

The teachers said the district did hire some laid-off teachers for temporary jobs, but did not hire them in order of seniority.

Folsom Cordova district officials say the education code offers them latitude in choosing temporary teachers.

"If it's a placeholder for a teacher on leave, we are able to put a teacher in that place that we think is best for that position," said Stephen Nichols, school district spokesman. "It is not governed by the same rules."

The plaintiffs are asking the court to order the district to use the rehire list for any available assignment � temporary or substitute � and to rehire by seniority, to pay their court costs and to pay damages to all union members who may have lost benefits and wages because of the district's actions.