When considering the nonprofessional status of a position created by a school district
after the applicable date of the school district’s nonprofessional modification, refer
to the State certification requirements that were in effect for that position on the
applicable date of the school district’s nonprofessional coverage modification.
In some cases, there may have been intervening changes to the State teacher’s or administrator’s
certification requirements between the applicable date of the school district’s nonprofessional
coverage modification and the time the school district subsequently created the position.
Regardless of its current State certification status, you must review the position
in question within the context of what the State certification requirements were for
the position on the applicable date of the school district’s nonprofessional coverage
modification.
The basic rule is: a position is covered for Social Security pursuant to the nonprofessional coverage
modification, unless the position required a State teacher's or administrator's certificate
at the time of the modification or is substantially similar to a position that required
a State teacher's or administrator's certificate at the time of the modification.
State certification requirements in effect as of applicable date of modification
If there were existing State teacher’s or administrator’s certification requirements
for the school district position as of the applicable date of the school district’s
nonprofessional modification, then consider the position a professional position and
not covered for Social Security.
Position created after the applicable date of modification, but before establishment
of state certification requirements
If the school district created a position after the applicable date of the nonprofessional
coverage modification, but before the State established any teacher’s or administrator’s
certification requirements for that position, then consider the position a nonprofessional
position and covered for Social Security.
State certification requirements established after applicable date of modification
but preceding school district’s creation of the position
There may be situations where the order of events concerning a school district position
may follow this pattern:
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•
the school district’s non-professional coverage modification is executed; followed
later by,
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•
the State instituting certification requirements for a specific school district position;
followed by,
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•
the school district subsequently establishing the aforementioned position in its system.
In situations of this kind, the Social Security program staffs and General Counsel
must review the established job duties of the school district position in effect at
the time of its creation by the school district.
This review must treat the position as if it existed on the applicable date of the
nonprofessional coverage modification (and before establishment of State certification
requirements), and determine whether on the applicable date the position’s duties
would have placed it in the category of a professional or nonprofessional position.
When making nonprofessional determinations for school district positions created after
the applicable date of the Section 104(f) nonprofessional coverage modification also
consider the following:
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•
Use official State certification requirements and not those certification requirements
adopted only at the school district level; the language of Section 104(f) of the Social
Security Amendments of 1956, as well as the resulting modifications, specifies that
we refer to State law to determine if the position requires a certificate;
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•
Use documentation that existed at the time of the applicable date of the nonprofessional
modification, and if such documentation is not available, use documentation as close
as possible to the modification’s applicable date;
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•
The job description of a particular school district position should be the one in
effect at the time of the job’s creation by the school district, and if a job description
from that time is unavailable, obtain one that is as close as possible to the time
of the job’s creation;
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•
If State law does not use the term “administrator’s certificate,” look at the duties
of the position. Consider superintendent or principal positions as “administrators”
under Section 104(f) of the Social Security Amendments of 1956, and the resulting
modifications if State law requires certification that is equivalent to an “administrator’s
certificate”;
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•
Do not confuse the requirement for a license or certificate to occupy a job position
with the requirement for a teacher’s or administrator’s certificate;
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•
Refer to the requirement for certification by job position, not whether the employee
happens to have a certificate. (For example, an ROTC instructor position does not
require a teacher’s certificate, but the employee occupying the position has one.
We still consider the ROTC position a nonprofessional position, and the employee should
be covered for Social Security.)
See Details
SL 30001.375 – Effective Dates of Coverage