Your Ally

Overworked and Overextended: How Can Members Turn to ATPE for Support?

BY JENNIFER GORDON

ATPE Staff Attorney R ight now, educators are sharing a common sentiment with us: They are overextended. Staffing shortages, burdensome extra training requirements, adjustments to scheduled hours, and more have educators spread thin. Although we cannot always address the root cause of these challenges, the ATPE Member Legal Services Department is a resource that members need to know they can call on.* Let’s discuss the most common challenges educators are reporting this year and how we can assist.

For classroom teachers, one of the most frequent inquiries we get concerns extra work outside of the scheduled workday. The state-mandated Reading Academies require many classroom teachers to work additional hours over the course of the year above and beyond their regular schedule. Far more teachers are simply being asked to stay later, come earlier, or pick up the work of two classrooms. All of these requirements can be overwhelming, and educators often want to know at what point they can object.

We often hear members refer to duties being assigned as beyond their “contract hours.” However, most educator contracts in Texas do not state what those hours are; rather, contract language often simply requires work at “hours and dates to be set by the district.” Dates are generally specified by the board-adopted district calendar, and the expected daily hours are determined at the campus level, though some work can be required beyond the set schedule—within reason.

Although teachers are “exempt” employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and thus can be expected to regularly work beyond 40 hours without extra compensation, these “additional duties” are not without limit. The commissioner of education has responded to teacher appeals in the past by setting the limit as one of “reasonableness”—a

definition that often requires analysis and sometimes argumentation. ATPE attorneys are often called on to assist members with this analysis and to present arguments against the unreasonableness of a particular assignment or directive. For paraprofessionals, administrative workers, and other hourly employees considered “nonexempt” by the FLSA, time worked over 40 hours is “overtime” and should be compensated accordingly. ATPE attorneys are available to assist eligible associate members with overtime claims and other hourly pay issues. Reassignment is another common concern this year. Professional educators and support staff are being called on to perform duties or teach classes they did not plan for and may have never anticipatTHE STATE-MANDATED READING ACADEMIES

REQUIRE MANY CLASSROOM TEACHERS TO WORK ADDITIONAL HOURS OVER THE COURSE

OF THE YEAR ABOVE AND BEYOND THEIR REGULAR SCHEDULE. TEACHERS ARE SIMPLY BEING ASKED TO STAY LATER, COME EARLIER, OR PICK UP THE WORK OF TWO CLASSROOMS. ed. Determining whether a reassignment is lawful or allowed by an educator’s contract is a matter ATPE attorneys assist with regularly, too. In addition to changes in their overall assignments, some educators report being assigned duties during their conference period. The law requires most public school districts to provide 450 minutes of uninterrupted planning time every 10 days. We hear from many teachers who are used to being occasionally flexible about duties or meetings during their conference time; yet, this year they are finding those demands for flexibility to be more regular than occasional. In such cases, we can assist an educator as needed to address these concerns, informally or otherwise. continued on page 31

*Eligibility, terms, conditions, and limitations apply. Visit atpe.org/protection to view important disclosures and current details of the insurance policy. Staff attorney services are provided separate from the Educators Professional Liability Insurance Program.