Reasonable assurance in written, verbal, or implied form that provides a school employee with notice that it is the "intent of the district to have the individual return in the same capacity during the upcoming school year or term."
This means that a person with reasonable assurance, no matter what position they are in, understands that while they will be unemployed during the district's traditional break, they will be returning to work for the district when the next school year or term resumes.
School employees working under continuing contracts are considered reasonable assurance and should be found ineligible for benefits during the summer months as long as their contract is intact for the upcoming school year and there are no other mitigating factors that could cause them to be eligible for unemployment.
Example: If an individual working for a school district during the 2020-2021 school year and has a reasonable assurance of returning to work for the same or a different school district or another type of educational institution for the 2021-2022 school year, he or she is ineligible for benefits during the summer of 2021.
- Note: Certain requirements must be met for the reasonable assurance provision to apply. The economic terms and conditions of the individual's job for the 2020-2021 school year must not be substantially less than the economic terms and conditions of the individual's job in the 2020-2021 school year. If the individual is a teacher, the job for the 2020-2021 school year must be an instructional, research, or administrative position. There may be an exception to the reasonable assurance rule if the individual also worked for a non-school employer.
It depends. Individuals can be denied benefits if their reasonable assurance letter returns them to a similar or same capacity position prior to a break. For instance, a teacher could be assigned to another professional position making them ineligible for UC benefits. However, a teacher reassigned to a cafeteria employee would not be an acceptable reasonable assurance position and the individual could be eligible for UC benefits.*
The following table may help you determine your classification type:
| School Employee Categories | Example |
|---|---|
| Professional | School employees serving in an instructional, research, or principal administrative capacity |
| Nonprofessional | School employees serving as:
Note: When such service(s) are performed by employees of a contracted outside the company, UC Law does not apply to company employees. |
| ESA (employee of a governmental agency/entity established to provide services to an educational institution) | Employees of intermediate units, school crossing guards, and special school police |
Reasonable assurance disqualification will not apply. Substitute work is less than your former full-time job.
They may*, but only if:
- They are terminated for something other than willful misconduct;
- They quit your job due to a necessitous and compelling reason;
- They are demoted for reasons other than willful misconduct, reject the demotion, and are terminated or deemed to have resigned your position;
- They are not provided with a bona fide job offer for the following semester (Reasonable Assurance example)
From time to time, an employee of a school district or private school will not offer a new contract at the end of the school year. In some cases, the employee is terminated. In other cases, the employee is offered a new position for the following year.
Suppose the new position offers the teacher fewer hours/a inferior position and less pay, and the teacher accepts the new position. The teacher may be eligible for unemployment during the summer months between semesters, provided they were paid on a 36-week cycle for the immediately preceding school year.
EXAMPLE: Ms. Doe is a full-time Principal who, during the school year 2021-2022, was paid $72,000 in 36 equal payments of $2,000 beginning September 1, 2021, and ending May 31, 2022.
In May 2022, Ms. Doe is informed that she will become a full-time teacher paid $45,000 per year in the future. She accepts this offer.
Ms. Doe can file for and receive unemployment for June, July, and August 2022.
Yes, you would be considered unemployed through no fault of your own. However, you must meet all other eligibility requirements. When you notify us that you no longer have a job, we will verify with your school employer that they withdrew the offer of employment. You may also be eligible to receive retroactive benefits depending on the type of work you performed.*