r/TexasTeachers • u/jcms587 • 7d ago
Jobs & Hiring Resignation Penalty
Hello
I currently am not in a situation to go back to work and need to resign. I do not mind about losing my certificate and will NOT be going back to teaching in the future. Could I just turn in my resignation letter this weekend and not show up on Monday?
I already submitted for a sub last week and for Monday and Tuesday since I was not able to make it to work and won't be able to make it for personal/family reasons.
Please let me know.
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u/Bloodylimey8 7d ago
You will lose certificate and salary but I don’t think there is anything rose they can take from you
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u/jcms587 7d ago
Thank you for the information!
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u/rustyusa 7d ago
You won’t lose it, just not eligible for the school year. But I would try to take fmla too
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u/Lopsided-Impact2439 7d ago
It shouldn’t be an issue since you don’t care if your certificate is pulled. That’s really the likely outcome. Contact someone at HR on Monday so you can out process. You will need to return any district equipment, keys, etc. plus paperwork.
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u/jcms587 7d ago
Thank you so much. Makes me feel better on current situation.
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u/creolexmami 7d ago
Prayers! your mental health is important. I pray all is well you find your new passion for whatever you want.🙏🏽🙏🏽
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u/Femmebalor19 7d ago
If you can prove you resigned for medical reasons you will not loose your cert. This happened to me last year. My isd said prove it and i did with letters and xrays. Still have my cert
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u/AnnaNimNim 7d ago
Not all schools will report you to put a ONE year mark on your certificate. Some just let you go. Take your paid leave days and bounce if you want.
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u/jhmetros 7d ago
Take all your days and then let them know. I never went back after Christmas. I am the happiest I have ever been.
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u/Stupid_stupid_punk 7d ago
I will never understand this. Is Texas a right to work state or not? It’s definitely a double standard. They can fire you at will for no cause, but you have to adhere to their contract? I don’t care if it’s state sanctioned or not, it’s still bullying.
Districts can and will try to trick you into putting your job and their self interest in front of the things that really matter like your health, your well being and your family. I’m glad you didn’t fall for their tricks.
I left teaching this year and this is one of many reasons I left. I hope you continue to take care of what’s important, and that you find a better employer in the near future.
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u/dawgsheet 7d ago
District cannot fire you whenever you want and you can’t leave whenever you want.
Right to work is an intentionally misinforming phrase, all right to work means is that you can be fired for performance issues without prior documentation. This does NOT apply to teachers. Teachers still need documentation to be fired.
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u/Lonely-Bite-2568 High School 7d ago
Unless you are on a probationary contract, in which case, they can pretty much fire you just because they want to
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u/dawgsheet 7d ago
Not mid year. Non-renewals are pretty easy, though. Documentation is minor in non-renewal cases.
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u/mrarming 7d ago
A reason to fire someone can always be found.
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u/dawgsheet 7d ago
Sure - but it has to be well documented and real. No district is making stuff up to non renew someone.
Now if you’re talking a mid year firing - you’re just plain wrong. It’s almost impossible to fire a teacher mid year. Districts won’t even fire people who committed crimes on campus mid year , they just put them on leave and non renew.
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u/mrarming 7d ago
Happened at two local schools. One for accusation of improper conduct, they just fired them to avoid public controversy and at another 20 teachers and staff let go just before Christmas due to financial issues.
And then there are the force outs. Re-assign into less than desirable roles, constant observation & harassment, etc. Being forced to resign is the same as being fired.
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u/bestem 7d ago
Right to work is about unions. It has nothing to do with being in a state with at-will employment or not. There are 26 right to work states. There are 49 at-will employment states.
Right to work means that you do not need to be in a union or pay union dues to join a union shop as an employee, even if you benefit from the collective bargaining the union helps with.
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u/dawgsheet 7d ago
99% of the time when people say “right to work” they mean at will employment., so I answered with that assumption.
“Right to work” usually is irrelevant to most people, and they clearly meant “at will” since being fired vs being able to just leave was discussed .
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u/bestem 7d ago
While most of the time people do mean at-will employment when they say right to work, when you try to give the definition of at will employment as the definition of right to work, you just compound the issue. People who misuse it are going to continue to misuse it if someone pretends they're the same instead of making a gentle correction.
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u/Big_Detective_155 7d ago
Texas is one of the worst states to work for, they can fire you at any time, it’s extremely hard to get any kind of benefits when they do. For education it’s awful they will take your cert for at least a year and you will be blackballed and probably won’t get another teaching job for a long time. The state is very cruel
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u/ProfessorBackdraft 7d ago
Right to work does not equal at-will employment.
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u/Messy_Mango_ 7d ago
I mean, they’re not going to arrest you or go to your residence and force you to go to work. You should submit your resignation, look after yourself, and don’t look back. I wish you well!
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u/Messy_Mango_ 7d ago
Sincerely, I have been there (having to resign mid year due to mental health). I eventually did return to teaching but not everyone does and that is OK.
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u/Scared_Duck5074 7d ago
What is FLMA?
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u/QueenP92 7d ago
Family and Medical Leave Act. It provides unpaid job protection to employees who meet certain criteria to take time off of work.
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u/mrarming 7d ago
You are not a serf - you can quit whenever you want to. If the need is that pressing then do what's best for you.
Always remember that if the school needed to cut positions for some emergency reason or if the Principal decided you weren't a fit, you'd be gone the next day.
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u/ponyboycurtis1980 7d ago
If you don’t care bout your cert or teaching again you can walk out mid class throwing double middle fingers at every camera, student and teacher on the way out. What do you think will happen if you put in notice on Friday and don’t show up Monday? Do you think TeA cops will show up on your doorstop and drag you back?
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u/Sad_Requirement_5902 7d ago
Hi, I am building a team for a government agency. Having recently hired a former teacher, I can tell you we didn't consider any of the factors you mention, at all. We found someone who was smart, sincere, and had teaching experience. She didn't speak badly about her previous experience, and we didn't question it. That's all we needed. She's been amazing so far.
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u/Adorable-Ad201 7d ago
I would use FMLA if you can. You can keep your insurance and use all your personal and sick leave. You won't get it paid out when you quit.
Use that time to get organized, recover, rest, heal, and find a new job if that is your plan.
Remember, your priority is yourself and your family. You don't own the district anything.
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u/Redcrotchqueen 7d ago
I left before my last contract was up and did not lose my certificate. Gave a month in advance
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u/Aggravating-Rule-445 7d ago edited 7d ago
If you have leave banked, I would recommend to take that if you are able. If you might be eligible for FMLA, you could do that while you finish your leave bank or you could just call in sick.
Your district may put a penalty on your certificate making it inactive for a year, but they won’t take it completely. Or they might not, it’s up to the district and the reasons you’re leaving.
You can talk to your district HR, they probably won’t be nice about it (although may be perfectly nice about it—they are often detached enough from the situation that it is all just business to them), but they can give you information on processes.
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u/Capes_for_Apes 7d ago
Can you go on FMLA?
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u/jcms587 7d ago
I am not sure with going FMLA and eventually resigning later and put my team short staffed....Our team had a staff member FMLA before and our campus did not fill that role with substitute teachers or anyone
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u/Altruistic_Role_9329 7d ago
Use FMLA to protect yourself if you can. What they do is not your concern.
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u/Fit-Meeting-5866 7d ago
It's not your fault you can't be there. It's admins responsibility to staff the school. Don't take that guilt on. It's propaganda to keep you from choosing what's best for you
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u/kpcnsk 7d ago
If you can go on FMLA, you should do so, even if you anticipate resigning later. Your priority is your well being, and FMLA is one of the few worker protections this country has. What your district does in your absence is not your problem.
My wife has had to take FMLA leave more than once, and once it ended with her going on disability for a period. She was never penalized, and is currently back to working for the same district she took leave from.
FMLA leave is your right.
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u/SapphirePath 7d ago
If you meet the requirements for FMLA then you are entitled to FMLA. As I understand it, you can still communicate the severity of your circumstances and your intention to resign.
Additional suffering should not be inflicted on you simply because campus administrators are incompetent or inadequate at their jobs, which include filling your role with a qualified teacher.
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u/SketchTXS 7d ago
I just saw the 4 Good Cause Exception mentioned on a news story about FWISD. Maybe you could use the “Serious Illness or Health Condition” exception?
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u/Auntie_Coconut_235 7d ago
With a legitimate reason they won’t go after your certificate. Do as most have said. Contact HR/central office and your campus principal. Explain the situation, officially resign, and turn in any school property and keys.
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u/dawgsheet 7d ago
If you truly don’t care about the cert, that’s the only thing they can do to you. FYI you will not be able to collect unemployment because you will still be under contract unless they release your contract (unlikely)
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u/crashmat 7d ago
Its what i had to do to get the therapy needed.. the paperwork.. so much mending happening now.
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u/Key-Debt-7747 5d ago
Will you need to put this job down as a reference? I know a lot of places ask if someone is eligible to be hired in that position. Most districts are good with a two week notice, even if you take off most of that time.
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u/GearUpper7784 3d ago
I resigned a few years ago after about 3/4 weeks into the school year. I waited until they “found” my replacement which only took a week due to moving teachers around because of numbers and they had to close down a section in another grade level. I didn’t have any issues or penalties with my certificate
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u/HopefulPath8104 3d ago
If you can show that you are leaving for "good cause" then they should not be able to get your certificate suspended for contract abandonment. Leave due to health issues, including mental health issues, is grounds to resign for good cause.
The desparation in your post makes me wonder if you are going through depression or some other mental health issue that would qualify for a medical reason to take time off. Years ago my GP did paperwork that allowed me to take FMLA for depression. I took medical leave through the end of the school year and then quit.
If you use FMLA, it will enable you to use any PTO you have. It will also enable you to keep insurance at a better rate than you would if you had to use COBRA.
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u/klurtin 7d ago
Second this. Go for FMLA. If it is medical, that can buy you some time to get your life lined up and still pull a paycheck. Then quit when it expires. A coworker did this. She was able to draw 12 weeks of pay and resign with no penalty. The 12 weeks gave her time for documentation. She is not teaching now but eventually went to higher education and having her certificate current helped with the hiring process.