UNDERSTANDING TEACHER TIME—Your Rights and Responsibilities

Every school year begins with new assignments, timetables and schedules. Whether you are a classroom teacher, a part-time teacher or a school leader, understanding how teacher time is calculated is essential to ensuring assignments are fair, transparent and consistent with the collective agreement.

Teacher time is a shared responsibility. School leaders develop assignments, and teachers should understand how their assignable and instructional time is calculated. Reviewing teacher time should not happen only when there is a concern. It should be part of a normal, collaborative conversation at the beginning of the school year and revisited when assignments change.

The Joint Interpretation Bulletin (JIB) on Assignable and Instructional Time remains the primary resource for interpreting teacher-time provisions. This Worth Knowing highlights the principles every teacher should understand as the school year begins. 

Teachers cannot accept additional instruction during their unassigned time if it does not count toward the maximum. While one may wish to accept the added instruction to help with timetable challenges at their school, professional service must be counted and compensated. Further, doing so sets a precedent and expectations for others. 

Calculating part-time FTEs can be quite confusing. Your FTE = how much you get paid. Make sure you are appropriately compensated for the professional service you provide based on your FTE. It is crucial to know what is factored into your assignment to ensure you have an accurate FTE. 

Questions about your assignment?
Contact Teacher Employment Membership Support (TEMS) at 1-800-232-7208.
#WeAreATA 

Teacher time provisions are among the most important workload protections in Alberta collective agreements. They establish limits on assigned time and help ensure teaching assignments are developed fairly, transparently and sustainably.

Understanding teacher time is not about keeping score or creating conflict. It is about ensuring that teachers and school leaders have a shared understanding of how time is calculated, so concerns can be identified and resolved early.

Know the Limits
The maximum annual limits remain as follows:
• Assignable time: 1,200 hours for a full-time teacher
• Instructional time: 916 hours for a full-time teacher

Some school divisions have established lower operational limits. For example, Edmonton Public currently uses maximums of 1,040 assignable and 896.2 instructional hours. These lower limits are not contained in the collective agreement and are therefore not grievable if the division does not adhere to them.

Instructional time forms part of assignable time. Assigned class coverage or other required duties during scheduled unassigned time must therefore be accounted for.

The 1,200- and 916-hour limits are maximums, not targets. However, the collective agreement permits divisions to assign teachers up to those maximums. Teachers should understand how their assignment has been calculated and ask questions when they are uncertain whether all assigned duties have been properly included.

A Shared Responsibility
School leaders are responsible for developing assignments that meet operational needs and comply with the collective agreement. Teachers are responsible for understanding their assignments, reviewing how their time has been allocated and seeking clarification when necessary.

Teacher-time conversations should be collaborative, respectful and solution-focused.Their purpose is to ensure that
• assigned time is transparently documented;
• assignable and instructional time are calculated correctly;
• potential overassignment or discrepancies are identified; and
• concerns can be resolved as early as possible.

The objective is clarity and resolution, not confrontation.

What Counts Toward Teacher Time?
Many required activities may count toward assignable time, including
• classroom instruction and assigned class coverage;
• supervision;
• staff meetings;
• parent–teacher interviews;
• IPP and student support meetings;
• assigned professional development;
• assigned duties before or after the instructional day;
• assigned transition time; and
• assigned duties during lunch periods.
Generally, if a teacher is required to perform a duty or attend an activity at a specific time and place, that time should be considered when calculating assignable time. 

Part-Time Teachers: Know the Difference
Part-time assignments can be particularly confusing because assignable and instructional time are not calculated in the same way.

A part-time teacher’s FTE is determined in relation to the typical assignable time of a full-time teacher at the school. Once the FTE is established, it is used to calculate the teacher’s assignable and instructional limits.

Assignable Time
Assignable time is based on the typical full-time teacher’s assignable time. If the typical fulltime teacher is assigned 1,100 hours and the teacher is 0.5 FTE, then the following calculation applies:
0.5 × 1,100 = 550 assignable hours

Instructional Time
Instructional time is calculated using the teacher’s FTE and the 916-hour collective agreement maximum, not the typical instructional assignment of a full-time teacher. For the same 0.5 FTE teacher, the following calculation applies:
0.5 × 916 = 458 instructional hours

Where a division chooses to apply a lower operational instructional maximum to part-time teachers, that provides an additional benefit to those teachers. However, the collective agreement calculation remains based on the 916-hour maximum. 

The Key Distinction 
Assume the typical full-time teacher has 1,100 assignable hours | 850 instructional hours.  A 0.5 FTE teacher would have the following hours:  550 assignable hours = 0.5 × 1,100 458 instructional hours = 0.5 × 916  The instructional limit is not calculated as 0.5 × 850. This distinction is important when teachers and school leaders review part-time assignments.  Questions to Ask About Your Assignment  When reviewing your assignment, consider the following:
• How was my assignable time calculated?
• Have all assigned duties been included?
• How was my instructional time determined?
• If I am part-time, how was my FTE established?
• Have assigned activities later in the year already been included?
• If my assignment changes, how will my time be recalculated? 

These questions support a professional conversation about how assigned time has been allocated and recorded. 

Start the Conversation Early 
Teacher time should be reviewed early in the school year and revisited whenever assignments change or additional duties are added. 

Resolving concerns early is particularly important because the collective agreement does not provide for additional payment beyond 1.0 FTE. If an overassignment is identified late in the school year, there may be limited opportunity to adjust the teacher's schedule to address time already worked. 

Teacher time is a negotiated collective agreement protection and must be respected. Early conversations help ensure teachers and school leaders have the same information and understand the assignment, so they can resolve concerns before they become difficult to address. 

​Teachers with questions about their assignment, assignable or instructional time, or part-time calculations should contact Teacher Employment Membership Support (TEMS) at 1-800-2327208 for advice and assistance. 

To view previous Worth Knowing documents, please visit this link.