Question:

My principal is not happy with my work. I was forced to sit through a meeting so the principal and another school administrator could tell me all the things I am doing wrong. I don't think it was fair to have two against one. Don't I have the right to bring someone with me to be on my side?

Answer

Question:

The school board does not want to issue paychecks but I do not want direct deposit. What can I do? Answer

Question: I left public school teaching when my children were young. I did tutoring, worked in private schools and kept my teaching license. Now that my children are in school, I am happy to return to full-time public school work. But I am nervous. My principal said I had a “break in service” that allows him to fire me. Answer

Question: I am hoping to get a job in another school division but worry I won’t have salary or health insurance over the summer Answer

Question: The School Board is raising teacher salaries but younger, less experienced teachers are getting bigger raises than older teachers with years of experience.  Isn’t this discrimination? Answer

Question: Who is allowed to look at my personnel file? Must I be told who looked at my file, when, or why? Answer

Question: After signing up for family insurance coverage, my husband took a new job that offers him insurance. Can I make changes in my coverage during the school year? Answer

Question:

I am often required to perform duties or attend meetings during my planning period. Is that legal? Answer

Question: One of my students threatened to stab me and beat me up in the parking lot. My principal wants to allow the student back into school and into my classroom. What can I do? Answer

Question: I am expecting a baby at Christmas and plan to go on leave with pay using accumulated sick leave. Will I be charged sick days for the winter holidays when school is closed? And can my Principal insist that I work up to the last day before the winter holiday and submit lesson plans while I am out? Answer

Question: Is my job protected if I volunteer to work out-of-state with hurricane victims? Answer

Question: As a teacher and coach I sometimes wait with students who need a ride home after practice. My principal suggested I drive kids in my car. Do you think I should give kids a ride? Answer

Question: I am a confused new teacher. I was hired by the principal at my neighborhood school and spent a lot of time this summer planning and preparing for the class I expected to teach. But just before the start of school I was moved to a different school building and a different grade. I did not have time to redo everything, and feel vulnerable because the new principal does not know me. Answer

Question: The School Board does not want to issue paychecks but I do not want direct deposit. What can I do? Answer

Question: Christmas is coming and I have lots of questions. Can I decorate my classroom, have my students read or write about the holiday, invite parents to a holiday assembly? Answer

Question: I read a newspaper story about schools paying coaches overtime. Now a law firm is advertising meetings. What is this about? Can I get overtime?   Answer

Question: I am pregnant and was placed on bed rest because of complications. I asked about getting leave from the local sick leave bank but was told the bank can’t be used for pregnancy or child care.  Answer

Question: I teach kindergarten and have a diabetic student in my class. The student goes to the school nurse for blood sugar checks and insulin injections. But the Principal wants me trained to perform the blood sugar checks and insulin injections so I can do them when the nurse is not available. I don’t want to use needles and give shots, what can I do.   Answer

Question: The school board just adopted a new dress code for students.  Now the Board wants to adopt a dress code for teachers. I don’t think the board should tell adult teachers how to dress. Is it legal to impose a dress code on teachers? Answer

Question: I am part of a team teaching at a K-6 school with autism. My team has a 6th grade autism student who is physically hurting teachers. His behaviors include: butting with head and knocking down, fingers around throat, pinching, and scraping. What rights do the teachers have to teach and not be hurt? His dad died this summer and mom is also black and blue, but refusing to do anything but leave him with us. He is becoming too much for us. We have removed almost all students from the same room leaving him alone with a single teacher. What are our options? Answer

Question: I think budget worries at the state and local level are going to mean more students in my classroom. What is the law on class size? Answer

Question: My principal spoke to me after I used school e-mail to ask a colleague out. The principal said the message violated school board policy and I should never use the school computer that way again. Is this standard policy? Answer

Question: My principal wants every teacher to join the Parent Teacher Organization and come to meetings. I am taking graduate courses and can’t attend PTO meetings in the evening. What can I do? Answer

Question: My wife and I teach in the same Virginia school division. We are adopting a baby. Can we each take leave? Does the summer recess count as leave? Will we get paid? Will we still have group insurance if we are not paid? Can we use sick leave? What if our baby has medical problems? Answer

Question: For the past year I have rented a storage unit near my school that I have used exclusively to store some of my educational materials that I use in my classroom. Is the rent that I pay for that storage unit deductible as an Employee Business Expense on IRS Form 2106? Answer

Question: One of my technical center students told me he is going to court soon for a very serious offense. He would not tell me the charges but he is not allowed to go back to his job in the apprenticeship program. I am concerned that this student is still in my class and would like to get more information about his police record. Answer

Question: Old man winter hit hard this year and school has been closed many days because of snow and ice. Do students have to make up lost instructional time? Can teacher pay be cut if students do not make the time up? Answer

Question: Can I be required to provide lesson plans for a collection of instructional materials that my school system is developing? I know I am required to prepare lesson plans, but why should the system get to make money by publishing my work to sell to other teachers? Answer

Question: I have a question about tenure. I began working for a Virginia school division on November 11, 1999. Am I entitled to a new tenured contract on November 11, 2002 when I have completed three years of teaching service? Answer

Question: I am a happily married elementary school teacher caught in the middle of a nasty divorce. The divorced parents of a student in my class both want to be involved with the student’s education but want nothing to do with each other. To make matters worse, they are both remarried and each objects to my having anything to do with the other’s new spouse. What do I do? Answer

Question: I teach High School. I am getting tired of students and their parents questioning grades. I am happy to review assignments and student work, and can be convinced to change a grade after going over the student’s work. But more recently I have been asked to give alternative assignments to students who did poorly, or did not even complete the original assignment. As a teacher shouldn’t I have final authority over assignments and grades? Answer

Question: Our local association is trying to raise money to award a scholarship to a future educator. Can we run a raffle? Answer

Question: Every year the school division sends me a form at the beginning of second semester asking if I intend to return next school year. I like my job but would also like to look around at other teaching positions that may pay better or be closer to my home. I don’t want to quit the job I have without finding another. But this form makes it sound like I have to make up my mind to stay or go before I even get the chance to look. Am I stuck? Answer

Question: I was lucky to inherit some real estate in the same locality where I am employed as a teacher. There is no mortgage on the property so I pay the taxes directly. Unfortunately I fell behind and now the local tax collector has threatened that I won’t get a paycheck. I know I owe the money but how can they take my paycheck? Answer

Question: I teach chorus and vocal music in a public high school. I get conflicting opinion about whether I can have the chorus perform religious music such as Christmas Carols. I love the repertoire and think students learn a great deal from performing it. But I worry that the religious content may make some students uncomfortable. Answer

Question: I am a teacher, a military veteran and a member of the reserves. Is my job protected if I am called up for active duty? Answer

Question: I have taught in this county for more than 20 years. I want a job in administration and have the qualifications. An assistant principal from my school retired at the end of last school year. I told my principal that I was really interested, but an inexperienced teacher got the job. The position was never posted or advertised, and I was never even interviewed. Is that legal? Answer

Question: I am a teacher in Virginia. I would like to write a letter about the upcoming election to my local newspaper but I don’t want it to hurt my job. May I express my opinion in the local paper on a political issue? Answer