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<law><site_title>Virginia Decoded</site_title><site_url>https://vacode.org</site_url><law_id>74415</law_id><section_number>22.1-302</section_number><catch_line>(Effective July 1, 2027) Written contracts required; execution of contracts; qualifications of temporarily employed teachers; rules and requirements</catch_line><edition url="https://vacode.org/2025/" slug="2025" current="TRUE" last_updated="">2025</edition><structure><unit label="title" level="1" order_by="1" identifier="22.1">Education</unit><unit label="chapter" level="2" order_by="1" identifier="15">Teachers, Officers and Employees</unit><unit label="article" level="3" order_by="1" identifier="2">Terms of Employment Generally</unit></structure><text>
						<section id="A"><p><span class="prefix-number">A.</span> A written <span class="dictionary">contract</span>, in a form permitted by the Board of Education&#x2019;s regulations, shall be made by the <span class="dictionary">school board</span> with each teacher employed by it, except those who are temporarily employed, before such teacher enters upon his duties. Such <span class="dictionary">contract</span> shall be signed in duplicate, with a copy thereof furnished to both parties.
			The standard 10-month <span class="dictionary">contract</span> shall include 200 days, including (i) a minimum of 180 teaching days or 990 instructional hours and (ii) up to 20 days for activities such as teaching, participating in professional development, planning, evaluating, completing records and reports, participating on committees or in conferences, or such other activities as may be assigned or approved by the local <span class="dictionary">school board</span>.
			A temporarily employed teacher, as used in this section, means (i) one who is employed to substitute for a contracted teacher for a temporary period of time during the contracted teacher&#x2019;s absence or (ii) one who is employed to fill a teacher vacancy for a period of time, but for no longer than 90 teaching days in such vacancy, unless otherwise approved by the <span class="dictionary">Superintendent</span> of Public Instruction on a case-by-case basis, during one school year. <a id="paragraph-267427" class="section-permalink" href="https://vacode.org/22.1-302/#A"><i class="fa fa-link"/></a></p></section>
						<section id="B"><p><span class="prefix-number">B.</span> Temporarily employed teachers, as defined in this section, shall be at least 18 years of age and shall hold a high school diploma or have passed a high school equivalency examination approved by the Board of Education.
			A temporarily employed teacher is not required to be licensed by the Board of Education, nor is the local <span class="dictionary">school board</span> required to enter into a written <span class="dictionary">contract</span> with a temporarily employed teacher. However, local <span class="dictionary">school boards</span> shall establish employment qualifications for temporarily employed teachers that may exceed these requirements for the employment of such teachers. <span class="dictionary">School boards</span> shall also seek to ensure that temporarily employed teachers who are engaged as long-term substitutes exceed baseline employment qualifications. <a id="paragraph-267428" class="section-permalink" href="https://vacode.org/22.1-302/#B"><i class="fa fa-link"/></a></p></section>
						<section id="C"><p><span class="prefix-number">C.</span> A separate <span class="dictionary">contract</span> in a form permitted by the Board of Education shall be executed by the <span class="dictionary">school board</span> with a teacher who is receiving a monetary supplement for any athletic coaching or <span class="dictionary">extracurricular activity sponsorship</span> assignment. This <span class="dictionary">contract</span> shall be separate and apart from the <span class="dictionary">contract</span> for teaching.
			Termination of a separate <span class="dictionary">contract</span> for any athletic coaching or <span class="dictionary">extracurricular activity sponsorship</span> assignment by either <span class="dictionary">party</span> thereto shall not constitute cause for termination of the separate teaching <span class="dictionary">contract</span> of the coach or teacher.
			All such <span class="dictionary">contracts</span> shall require the <span class="dictionary">party</span> intending to terminate the coaching or <span class="dictionary">extracurricular activity sponsorship</span> <span class="dictionary">contract</span> to give reasonable notice to the other <span class="dictionary">party</span> before termination thereof shall become effective.
			For the purposes of this section, &#x201C;<span class="dictionary">extracurricular activity sponsorship</span>&#x201D; means an assignment for which a monetary supplement is received, requiring responsibility for any student organizations, clubs, or groups, such as service clubs, academic clubs and teams, cheerleading squads, student publication and literary groups, and visual and performing arts organizations except those that are conducted in conjunction with regular classroom, curriculum, or instructional programs. <a id="paragraph-267429" class="section-permalink" href="https://vacode.org/22.1-302/#C"><i class="fa fa-link"/></a></p></section></text><history>Code 1950, &#xA7; 22-217.2; 1968, c. 691; 1980, c. 559; 1989, c. 92; 1990, c. 388; 1996, c. 986; 1997, c. 689; 1999, c. 486; 2010, c. 93; 2013, cc. 588, 644, 650; 2014, c. 84.</history><metadata></metadata></law>
