Before You Leave the District
Unemployment
Check your personnel file before you leave a district. Check your credentials to confirm the status of your certificate renewal and make sure you obtain any information, paperwork or signatures needed before you leave. Get professional references from colleagues for future use. Remove personal data or other material from the school computer using a personal drive. Do not violate FERPA by downloading protected information.
If losing your job wasn’t your fault (e.g. Induction/Annual Contracts, Reduction in Force/Layoffs) you may be eligible to receive unemployment benefits. The decision to approve or deny unemployment is made by the unemployment office, not the district. However, information provided by your district can cause you to be ineligible, if they misrepresent the reason your employment ended. Quitting a job without good cause, being terminated for cause, retiring, or resigning may cause you to be ineligible for unemployment benefits or be subjected to a waiting period penalty before benefits begin.
Get it in Writing
COBRA
Teachers or school employees should make sure that agreements reached about job changes are in written form. A well-meaning HR employee may give a verbal approval and then fail to follow-through. Use caution in assuming that an e-mail is an official response. Make sure your principal knows about your move. This may seem obvious, but if you have been talking to HR you should not assume the principal is aware of all of the details. Don’t pack your room and move before your move is officially confirmed and approved.
The SC Employment Security Commission is now the SC Department of Employment and Workforce. Their website is full of helpful information. http://www.sces.org/ The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) health benefit provides continuation of group health coverage that otherwise might be terminated. This allows you to continue your health coverage with no interruption in benefits and treatment. Go to http://www.dol.gov. By law, your school district was required to provide this information to you.
www.thescea.org
Contracts & Year End Employment Decisions
Teacher Contracts
Resignation
A Word of Caution for NBCTs
A National Board Certified teacher may lose the incentive by transferring to a position that takes them out of the classroom. There are a variety of positions in districts and schools that are called “coordinator”, “facilitator”, “coaches”, “specialists”, and so forth. These positions are typically not classroom positions or they may be split between traditional teaching and other duties. Before a NBCT transfers to a new position, he or she should confirm whether the NBC incentive will be affected. Get it in writing!
Don’t breach your contract! The consequences are serious. Before signing a contract, read it carefully and make sure it is correct, including the type of contract and number of days. A Continuing Contract teacher moving into a different position should be aware of the type of contract they are asked to sign. Anything other than a Continuing Contract may not provide due process rights. Teachers must sign their contract by the deadline, unless they do not want employment in the district the following year. Use caution when signing contracts early. Verbal promises from the district that a teacher can be released later if may not be legally binding.
Certification Issues
Teachers who sign a contract but are not qualified are taking a risk. If the district grants time to meet certification requirements, get it in writing and follow through! If it is discovered that certification is not in order, the educator may have to scramble to get certified and not enough time to complete the coursework. The district may be unwilling to wait. There a shared responsibility to make sure these errors do not occur but in the end, teachers are held legally responsible for their certification.
All “thinking” must be done before submitting a resignation. Once the resignation is submitted, districts rarely allow the employee to change their mind. Regardless of the circumstances, resignations are VOLUNTARY. No one is forced to resign. Do not make this decision in haste or during a conflict. If an employee feels pressured to resign immediately, he should insist on time to consider the decision. Call The SCEA. Get agreements that were made - in exchange for a resignation - in writing before resigning. Get written recommendations from colleagues. Review the personnel file. Tie up any loose ends.
Change in Assignment New Position - Different Work Teachers who accept a part time position or a non-certified position, should understand how this will impact benefits, retirement, certificate renewal, and NBC incentives (if applicable). Teachers who move into a noncertified/classified position like a Teacher Aide, may find it difficult to return to teaching. Some districts bar the teacher from being considered for rehire to a full time teaching position for a period of time, like two years.
To receive the incentive, the educator must be: o School-based o Non-supervisory o Non-administrative o Work with classroom teachers in an instructional or curriculum coordinator capacity o Any other school based personnel not requiring principal/administrative supervisory certification If you are a NBCT who works as a “coordinator”, “facilitator” or some similar position, you should use caution if you are expected to act in any supervisory capacity. Regardless of job titles, you could jeopardize your NBC stipend. Review your contract carefully to make sure the contract type is not “administrator”. If you agree to an administrator contract, you will lose your NBC incentive.