Association of Texas Professional Educators

Home  |  Resources  |  ATPE News  |  Summer 2011  |  Legal Opinions

Other Useful Links

• Membership benefits
• Education news
• Legislative news
• Essentials

Legal Opinions

Details, details, details

Understanding additional vs. supplemental contractual duties

By Lance Cain, staff attorney

Many classroom teachers take on roles in addition to their primary duty. Some teachers coach. Others drive a bus. Still others tutor after school. These additional responsibilities are not always desired. Educators often ask whether they can be required to perform a duty they do not want or be forced to give up a duty they do want. The answer lies in the interplay between the educator’s contract and the duty itself.

Can I be required to tutor students after school or on Saturdays?
Duties such as tutoring or attending department meetings are generally considered additional duties because (1) they don’t take too much time; (2) they’re the kind of tasks an educator might expect to have to do; and (3) they’re not compensated for separately. Educator contracts universally state that the contracting educator may be assigned additional duties, so the principal or supervisor can assign them to the educator as long as they are reasonable. In this context, reasonable means that the duty is the type of task educators generally do or traditionally have done. Because tutoring is a traditional educator task, it would likely be considered a reasonable additional duty, as long as it did not require too many hours outside of the normal working day.

There is, of course, a lot of gray area concerning the point at which a duty becomes too big to be reasonable. The considerations include: Does everyone do it? Has it “always” been done? How closely connected is it to the primary job? How many hours outside of normal working hours does it take? Is it to be performed on a non-workday? What other additional duties are also required? Are there specific personal reasons, such as significant family obligations, that are seriously affected by the duty?

Should I receive a stipend for serving as yearbook sponsor?
Supplemental duties are distinguished from additional duties in that they take more time or have more responsibility attached than additional duties; therefore, the educator receives additional compensation for performing them.

Each district decides locally which duties deserve compensation and how much it will be. Because there is no definite line for when a job is big enough to warrant extra pay, a particular job, such as yearbook sponsor, might be a compensated supplemental duty in one district but not in another. Also, because a supplemental duty is not usually a part of the educator’s contract, either the educator or the district may usually terminate the duty at any time—so long as there is not a separate contract covering the duty. If the duty is terminated, the related compensation will often be affected, but there are rules that might limit a resulting pay reduction, particularly when the district is the party terminating the duty.

Can my coaching duties be terminated mid-year? How will my pay be affected?
Sometimes an extra responsibility is added into an educator’s employment contract so that the contract governs both, creating a dual contract. This gives the educator more legal rights regarding the additional position and makes it more difficult for both the district and the educator to terminate the separate duty without the other’s agreement.

The most common example of a dual contract is the “teacher/coach” contract. Because the contract’s terms govern both duties, what the contract says is important. For instance, if only the general term “coach” is used in the contract, the educator can likely be reassigned to any coaching position at any time though complicated rules govern what may happen to the coach’s pay. A more specific description, such as “Head Football Coach,” creates a right to that more specific position. In any case, however, the contract protects only the pay for a position. The district may remove the actual duties at any time as long as the educator continues to receive the proper compensation. Finally, although the district must usually prove that it has good cause to terminate the coaching duty in a dual contract, if the district does prove good cause, this frequently means the district may terminate the entire contract, thus ending employment with the district completely.

Is the sheet I received at the start of the year listing salary and positions considered a contract?
A district might enter into a separate contract for a supplemental duty, but it is also common for districts to provide staff with information sheets that are not legally binding. It is important to closely read both your contract and any additional documents you receive. Even two lawyers might disagree on the legally binding nature of separate agreements. For the separate sheet to be a contract, it usually has to be signed by both the educator and an authorized agent of the district.

What if I have more questions?
The scenarios above illustrate some common issues, but there are many other possibilities. Your rights might depend on the interaction of several different documents, laws or policies. In this case, it is important to get good individual legal advice. For help with these or other issues, eligible ATPE members should not hesitate to contact the ATPE Member Legal Services Department.