Personnel and Employee Relations AP 492: Appeal Process: Unreasonable Teaching Assignment

Appeal: Teaching Assignment

1. By legislation, reasonable work assignments must be safe, legal, accommodate documented medical needs and non-discriminatory of any protected grounds under the Human Rights Act. If a teacher feels that their assigned position does not fit with legislation, they have the right to refuse work and appeal their assignment.  
2. If a teacher feels that they have been assigned duties that the teacher is not qualified to carry out, the teacher should first work with their school administrator to try to resolve the issue informally.
   1. If a teacher has unresolved concerns after the informal process, they should follow these steps:
      1. Principal Review: The teacher submits a letter to the principal detailing their concerns and outlining their qualifications, including educational background, skills, and experience; and rationale of why the teacher believes they are not qualified to carry out the assignment. The principal will review this information and discuss possible solutions with the teacher, which could include additional professional development, other support, assignment adjustments, or no change.
      2. Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources and Administration Review: If unresolved by the principal, the teacher can choose to provide a letter to the Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources and Administration, requesting a similar review and meeting with them. If the concerns persist without a viable mitigation within the school, the Assistant Superintendent will consider alternative positions within the school division that the teacher is qualified to carry out.
      3. Superintendent Review: Should the issue remain unresolved, the teacher can appeal further by writing to the Superintendent of Schools. The Superintendent will undertake a review and discussion similar to previous steps and schedule a meeting with the teacher. If no suitable options are found within the school, the superintendent will consider alternative positions with the school division that the teacher is qualified to carry out. 

Each step provides an opportunity for reevaluation and discussion aimed at finding a satisfactory resolution, advancing the matter through higher levels of administration if needed.