Teacher and Support Staff COVID-19 Hazard Pay Grant

Teacher and Support Staff COVID-19 Hazard Pay

The Michigan Department of Treasury recently released details regarding the process for teachers and school support staff to access the one-time hazard pay for teachers and support staff included in Public Act 166 of 2020. Public Act 166 of 2020 calls for a one-time payment up to $500.00 hazard pay to be paid out to eligible teaching staff and a one-time payment up to $250.00 hazard pay to be paid out to eligible school support staff to recognize the additional time spent outside of normal working hours and additional costs teachers have incurred as a result of the school closure in the spring of 2020.


Teachers will need to meet the following eligibility requirements:

  1. Prior to the issuance of executive order 2020-35, the teacher performed at least 75% of their standard instructional workload in a brick and mortar classroom at the District.
  2. After issuance of executive order 2020-35, the teacher developed tools and methods to deliver distance learning, take-home packets, or other methods described in the District's continuity of learning plan.
  3. The teacher certifies to the District, via the Form 5734, that he or she worked additional time spent outside of normal working hours, experienced hazardous conditions, or incurred additional costs related to ensuring students could effectively participate in the District's continuity of learning plan. This form will be reviewed by the district for eligibility. 
    If the teacher was employed in a part-time capacity, the hazard pay will be prorated to meet their portion fulfilled.

School support staff will need to meet the following eligibility requirements:

  1. Prior to the issuance of executive order No. 2020-35, the school support staff (a K-12 full-time or part-time para-professional, aide, or non-instructional staff) performed at least 75% of their workload in a brick and mortar school building at a district.
  2. Meets the school support staff statutory requirements to receive grant funding. For a list of school support staff positions please refer to the paraprofessional/aide assignments beginning at p. 41 and non-instructional assignment codes beginning at page 43 of the Registry of Educational Personnel Data Field Descriptions Manual, which is available at the following webpage: https://bit.ly/35Ka3Bk. The State of Michigan has also compiled a Support Staff Eligibility FAQ which can be found at https://bit.ly/35X08bK. 
  3. The school support staff certifies to the District, via the Form 5734, that he or she worked additional time spent outside of normal working hours, experienced hazardous conditions, or incurred additional costs related to providing student services during the COVID19 pandemic. This form will be reviewed by the district for eligibility. 
    If the support staff was employed in a part-time capacity, the hazard pay will be prorated to meet their portion fulfilled.

Timeline:

  • November 6, 2020 - Form 5734 is available to eligible staff via this website.
  • December 4, 2020, 4:00pm - Completed Form 5734 is due back to the Business Office via email at mdongvillo@sjschools.org, interoffice mail, or USPS to:

    St. Joseph Public Schools
    Attn: Megan Dongvillo
    2580 S. Cleveland Avenue
    Saint Joseph, MI  49085
  • Please keep in mind that no late forms will be accepted and must be received by the Business Office no later than 4pm on December 4th. This is a hard deadline by the Department of Treasury.  Incomplete forms will also not be processed.
  • February 25, 2021 - The Michigan Department of Treasury estimates mailing checks on or about February 25, 2021 to the address of residency provided via the Form 5734.

Upon reviewing each submitted Form 5734, if the district determines that you do not meet the qualification requirements released by the Michigan Department of Treasury you will be notified via email. If you feel this was done so in error, you may submit your written appeal to this decision to mdongvillo@sjschools.org. This written appeal must be received by December 9, 2020.

Please contact Brenda Graham: bgraham@sjschools.org with any questions.