 WORTH KNOWING The Nature of Teaching Duties (Part 2)—Duties in Classroom Instruction and the Role of Professional Time Along with instructional time and assignable time, teachers have a professional responsibility for activities such as planning, preparation, marking and reporting. A 2015 survey conducted by RA Malatest & Associates Ltd for the Ministry of Education examined teacher workload and found that an “average of approximately 80 minutes of additional activity accompanies each 60 minutes of instruction.” Assignable time caps have existed for a long time and were added to all collective agreements in the first round of central bargaining in the 2012–16 round of bargaining. However, the professional time teachers spend to meet their practice obligations is unregulated. In general, professional timecan be defined as the time that is directed by teachers themselves. Professional time • The when and the where determined by the teacher • Time outside of the school day • Time free from instruction • Before and after school, unless assigned supervision or expected to be somewhere • Weekends and holidays Teachers have a duty to prepare adequately for daily teaching assignments and to plan each subject’s semester/year work to promote orderly development and progress. Planning units and creating instructional materials are professional time, because the teacher decides on the plan and materials for their students. To conscientiously prepare lessons, the teacher must know exactly what is to be attempted from the beginning to the end of each lesson period. This is why planning is so time-consuming. As teachers should have a clear idea of how they and their students will accomplish the objectives, the teacher must make decisions about the method of presentation; proportions of teacher and student activity; student assignments, both in class and for homework; and other materials and instructional supports that will be used. It would be absurd to attempt here to specify the length or nature of this preparation, since it will vary widely depending on the subject, the topic, and the experience and qualifications of the teacher. Additionally, no two teachers could, or should, present a lesson in exactly the same way. The methods by which a professional person practices are a matter for individual decision. It follows, then, that the amount of professional time allocated to preparation will also be individual to each teacher. WORTH SHARING The methods by which a professional person practices are a matter for individual decision, so it follows that the amount of professional time allocated to preparation will also be individual to each teacher. #WEAREATA 
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 WORTH KNOWING Eligible Educator School Supply Tax Credit (Line 46900) Unfortunately, it appears that teachers who claimed Line 46900--Eligible educator school supply tax credit(Line 46900) on their 2021 tax return will experience delays with their Notice of Assessment (and subsequent refunds). The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has informed teachers who have inquired about their returns that they would not be processing the 2021 tax returns for anyone who has claimed Line 46900 until the Royal Assent of Bill C-8 has been passed. Bill C-8 includes an increase in the School Supplies Tax Credit from 15 per cent to 25 per cent. Based on inquiries by the Canadian Teachers’ Federation/Fédération canadienne des enseignantes et des enseignants (CTF/FCE), it appears that due to the combined effect of the late fall economic update that included the increased commitment, the late tabling of the bill to legislate the change and the minority government scenario, the government has been unable to pass this piece of legislation in the timeline they expected. As a result, teachers who claimed Line 46900 for their 2021 tax return should expect to see a delay of their Notice of Assessment. The CTF/FCE has reached out to the Government of Canada to express their dissatisfaction that this expected delay was not communicated sooner and that other options outside of an indefinite delay until the Royal Assent of Bill C-8 were not explored. The CTF/FCE have written to staff in the Minister of Finance’s Office, the Minister of National Revenue’s Office and the Commissioner of Revenue’s Office. To date, only the Minister of National Revenue’s staff have responded and, while they recognized the severity of the issue and have agreed to provide support, they have encouraged the CTF/FCE to work directly with the Commissioner of Revenue. If you are experiencing these delays, you are encouraged to contact the CTF/FCE’s Advocacy and Government Relations Coordinator, Mark Garcia via e-mail at mgarcia@ctf-fce.ca. Additionally, if you wish to express your concerns about these delays and the lack of communication from the CRA or the Government of Canada, you are encouraged to contact your local Member of Parliament to advocate for better channels of communication between the federal government and the CTF/FCE. WORTH SHARING Teachers who claimed Line 46900--Eligible educator school supply tax credit for their 2021 tax return should expect to be seeing a delay of their Notices of Assessment. If you are experiencing these delays, you are encouraged to contact the CTF/FCE’s Advocacy and Government Relations Coordinator, Mark Garcia via e-mail at mgarcia@ctf-fce.ca. #WEAREATA   WORTH KNOWING Pension Termination Benefits / Commuted Values Teachers who have not registered for online statements from the Alberta Teachers’ Retirement Fund (ATRF) receive their pension information statements each January in the mail. The document describes current pension status and provides valuable information on the individual teacher’s ATRF benefit. Information in this statement includes an estimation of the termination benefit. Some teachers noted a decrease on the reported estimate of their termination benefit in their last annual statement. The main driver behind increases or decreases in termination benefits (commuted value) is the change in interest rates. The Canadian Institute of Actuaries (CIA) calculate commuted values using many factors. Two of these are interest and inflation rates. These rates change from month to month based on the movement in bond yields from the Bank of Canada. As net bond yields rise, commuted value decreases and vice versa. While a commuted value may change, lifetime pension payable to a plan member remains the same. The increase in interest rates from the Bank of Canada is usually the main factor behind the decreases in commuted values. As interest rates have increased over recent months, there has been a corresponding decrease in commuted value. Recently, new CIA standards and updated assumptions have been implemented, accounting for some of these changes to commuted values. Changes in commuted values also depend on the member’s age, service and other factors. ATRF includes messages on their estimate calculator in MyPension, which reminds plan members that commuted values can fluctuate significantly. It also states that these amounts are estimates, not the final actual benefit amounts. Final figures are provided once a teacher terminates employment and applies for benefits upon retirement. Commuted value only matters if a teacher is no longer an active member of the plan and plans to withdraw their funds. The Alberta Teachers’ Association’s most common advice is not to withdraw funds. WORTH SHARING While a commuted value may change from month to month, the lifetime pension payable to a plan member who does not withdraw their commuted value from the plan will remain the same. #WEAREATA   The Nature of Teaching Duties (Part 1) The COVID-19 pandemic has undeniably altered the work of teaching, and many Alberta teachers are feeling stretched past their limits. Clarifying the nature of teaching duties can help teachers manage the responsibilities of the profession and balance the ever-increasing demands on them. Teaching duties are all the professional tasks encountered by teachers in the course of their activities related to the instruction of students, including
Sections 196 and 197 of the Education Act form the legislative basis for these duties. Education Act 196(1) A teacher while providing instruction or supervision must (a) provide instruction competently to students; (b) teach the courses of study and education programs that are prescribed, approved or authorized pursuant to this Act; (c) promote goals and standards applicable to the provision of education adopted or approved pursuant to this Act; (d) encourage and foster learning in students; (e) regularly evaluate students and periodically report the results of the evaluation to the students, the students’ parents and the board; (f) maintain, under the direction of the principal, order and discipline among the students while they are in the school or on the school grounds and while they are attending or participating in activities sponsored or approved by the board; (g) subject to any applicable collective agreement and the teacher’s contract of employment, carry out those duties that are assigned to the teacher by the principal or the board. (2) At any time during the period of time that a teacher is under an obligation to the board to provide instruction or supervision or to carry out duties assigned to the teacher by a principal or the board, a teacher must, at the request of the board, (a) participate in curriculum development and field testing of new curriculum; (b) develop, field test and mark provincial achievement tests and diploma examinations; (c) supervise student teachers. The Act further implies an expectation for teachers to carry out such general supervision of their students as may be required by law, by regulation or by agreement, in order to assist to a reasonable extent with the school program as agreed to by the staff. This expectation extends to cooperating with other teachers in the best interests of students and generally to acting as an engaged member of the school’s educational team. While collective agreements provide Alberta teachers with limits on their assignable and instructional time, many duties required of teachers to fulfill their obligations fall into the category of professional time. In general, this professional time can be defined as the time that is directed by the teacher, including decisions about when and where the duties are done. Tasks that fall under professional time include the following:
The work time for these functions is not regulated in collective agreements, but they are obligations of the profession under the Education Act. WORTH SHARING Along with instructional time and assignable time, teachers have a professional responsibility for activities such as planning, preparation, marking and reporting. The work time for these functions is not regulated in collective agreements, but they are obligations of the profession under the Education Act. #WEAREATA   WORTH KNOWING Pension Contribution Reductions for 2022 Every year the Alberta Teachers’ Retirement Fund (ATRF) develops an annual report that covers a wide variety of topics, including ATRF’s investment results, funding status, member services statistics and financial reporting. In 2021, ATRF continued to manage the challenges presented by the ongoing pandemic and the transfer of assets to the Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo), while still providing excellent service to members and excellent value for Alberta teachers and plan sponsors. ATRF’s 2021 annual report, Together Through Change, provides teachers with detailed information on the following topics:
Management of Contribution Rates Effective September 1, 2022, the total rates for the Teachers’ Pension Plan will be reduced by two per cent of salaries (one per cent for the Government of Alberta and one per cent for teachers). Several considerations went into this decision, including
Managing the plan’s funded status requires making long-term decisions that maintain the health of the plan, with proactive measures in place in anticipation of future challenges. There are three main levers for the management of funded status of any pension plan. The first is the level and type of benefits offered, which are the plan sponsors’ decision. The ATRF board manages the two remaining levers to achieve long-term sustainability. First is the funding policy and setting the contributions paid by teachers and the government/employer, which determines how the plan is funded, and second is the investment policy, which sets out how the assets are invested. Contributions and investments provide capital with which to pay plan benefits as they become due and to fund the operations of ATRF. WORTH SHARING ATRF regularly works with the plan’s actuary to assess contribution rates as part of its broader accountability to manage plan sustainability and funding. Effective September 1, 2022, the total rates for the Teachers’ Pension Plan will be reduced by two per cent of salaries, which will result in a one per cent increase to teachers’ net pay. Teachers can access more information in the ATRF 2021 annual report. #WEAREATA  |
Updates from ATA ProvincialArchives
May 2022
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