By Kevin Lungwitz
In the military, if you walk off your post without leave, you are absent without leave or AWOL. Contract abandonment in the Texas public schools is similar. If, after the penalty-free resignation date and before the contract expires, you resign without the district’s permission, you have abandoned your contract. There can be significant penalties for doing this. This applies to you, your teachers and all contract staff.
Why This is Particularly Important to Administrators
Administrators are more likely to want to quit mid-year to take a promotion in another district than a teacher. If a teaching position opens mid-year in District B, a teacher in District A is probably not going to trip over herself to pursue the job. There will be other teaching jobs. But if a one-of-a-kind administrator job opens mid-year in District B, this may be a rare opportunity for the District A administrator to jump ship for a promotion. How is this done without abandoning the contract in District A?
The PFRD – A Significant Loophole
The “penalty-free resignation date” (PFRD) is something every Texas educator should mark on their wall calendar with a Sharpie or in bright yellow highlighter on their computer calendar. The PFRD is 45 days before the first day of student instruction.1 Go ahead and mark it on your calendar now. I’ll wait.
Why is this so important? Because most educators sign their contracts in the spring for the following school year. (Tip: When presented with a new contract in the spring – SIGN IT! Even if you are not sure if you want to return. SIGN IT!) Now you have roughly two or three months to find a better job outside of the district. And if you do, you can resign from the contract you signed in the spring – PENALTY FREE – if you do so in writing by the PFRD.
Why is it a loophole? Because, for two or three months the district is contractually bound to you, but you are not contractually bound to the district. Once you sign your contract in the spring, the district may not break the contract without good cause; however, you may walk away from the contract, penalty free, as long as you resign by the PFRD.
How to Calculate the PFRD
Find the academic school calendar for your current district for the 2025-26 school year. Find the day when students return for the beginning of the 2025-26 school year. Now count backwards 46 calendar days (46 to be safe; calendar days, not workdays). That is the PFRD. This will vary district by district, but it usually falls somewhere in the vicinity of July 4. Mark it boldly.
P.S. The PFRD is calculated from when students return for instruction. It has nothing to do with when your actual contract begins for the new school year.
What is the Penalty for Contract Abandonment?
After the PFRD, you are bound to the contract. After the PFRD, if you walk off the job without permission, you abandon the contract. Your district will likely report you to the TEA, and the TEA/SBEC will ordinarily assess a penalty. According to rule changes within the last few years, the penalty guidelines from TEA/SBEC looks like this:2
As the chart above shows, “good cause” and “mitigating factors” are ways to beat the rap or lessen the rap of an abandonment claim. What do these terms mean?
What is Good Cause for Resigning without Permission?
An educator can escape all penalties if good cause exists for a resignation without permission. This is the ultimate get-out-of-jail-free card. According to the TEA, good cause is:3
- Serious illness or health condition of the educator or close family member of the educator;
- Relocation to a new city as a result of change in employer of the educator’s spouse or partner who resides with the educator;
- Significant change in the educator’s family needs that requires the educator to relocate or to devote more time than allowed by current employment; or
- The educator’s reasonable belief that the educator had written permission from the school district administration to resign.
Resigning without permission, even with good cause, is a high-risk move as there is no pre-clearance. Although the rules give guidance, no one knows if the TEA will agree with the educator’s position or proof. The educator will need to be prepared to have significant evidence to overcome a district’s complaint that the contract was illegally abandoned.
What are Mitigating Factors?
Even without good cause, “mitigating factors” could lessen the penalty. Before assessing a penalty, the TEA/SBEC must consider whether the educator did any of these things before resigning without permission:4
- Gave written notice to the school district 30 days or more [before] the 1st day of instruction;
- Assisted the school district in finding a replacement …;
- Continued to work until the school district hired a replacement;
- Assisted in training the replacement;
- Showed good faith with the school district;
- Provided lesson plans for classes following the educator’s resignation;
- Changed careers within the field of education:
i. to a position that required a different class of educator certification … (i.e., teacher to assistant principal);
ii. to a position with a higher level of authority within the principal class of certificate (i.e., assistant principal to principal); or
iii. to a position in an open-enrollment charter school or a district of innovation that is equivalent to the positions described in clauses i) and ii) of this subparagraph;
8. Had a reduction in base pay, excluding stipends, as compared to the educator’s base pay for the prior year at the same school district;
9. Resigned due to working conditions that reasonably posed an immediate threat of significant physical harm to the educator; or
10. Any other relevant circumstances or facts.
As with good cause, there is no pre-clearance of mitigating factors. Therefore, resigning without permission is always a high-risk move.
Conclusion
If you must resign without permission, prepare all your evidence of good cause and mitigating factors before doing so. Please understand the TEA cannot unilaterally assess any penalty against your certificates. You will always be given notice and an opportunity to defend against any penalty. It is best to consult with an education lawyer before you resign without permission, and it is necessary to hire a lawyer should you need to defend your certificates before the TEA/SBEC.
Kevin Lungwitz practices law in Austin and is a former Chair of the School Law Section of the State Bar of Texas.
Endnotes
1Tex. Educ. Code §§21.105(a); 21.160(a); 21.210(a).
2Title 19 Tex. Admin. Code Sec. 249.17 (d)(3)(A)
3Title 19 Tex. Admin. Code Sec. 249.17 (d)(1)
4Title 19 Tex. Admin. Code Sec. 249.17 (d)(2)
TEPSA News, May/June 2025, Vol 82, No 3
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Note: Information from Legal Ease is believed to be correct upon publication but is not warranted and should not be considered legal advice. Please contact TEPSA or your school district attorney before taking any legal action, as specific facts or circumstances may cause a different legal outcome.
