Court ruling clarifies status of teachers during summer break
Published: June 22, 2016
California Unemployment Insurance Code § 1253.3 provides that unemployment benefits are not payable to credentialed public school personnel for any week between two successive academic years if there is a contract or a reasonable assurance that the employee will return to the district for the upcoming year. But what is an academic year? Does summer school count as an academic year? How California defines academic year or term may determine whether teachers are eligible for unemployment benefits during the summer, paid in part by school districts.
In 2011, 26 members of United Educators of San Francisco employed as substitute teachers and paraprofessional classified employees applied for unemployment benefits for the period between May 28 and August 15. Five years after the applications were made for unemployment benefits, the California Court of Appeal this month decided that school employees who have received a reasonable assurance of employment for the following school year are on “summer break,” and are not entitled to unemployment compensation during the break. Justice Dondero wrote, “[w]e are not unsympathetic to the loss of wages incurred during periods of academic hiatus. However, in effect what the claimants in this case are requesting is that the government should provide them with a full year’s income because they have agreed to work and be paid for only 41 weeks each year.”
Additionally, the appellate court found that summer school is not an “academic term” or “year” within the meaning of § 1253.3. In doing so, it cited to Education Legal Alliance’s amicus brief, noting that the California Department of Education treats the traditional academic calendar to mean the period when school is regularly in session for all students, and does not include summer school. The full opinion is available here: http://www.courts.ca.gov/opinions/documents/A142858.PDF.