Ķvlog

Teaching Profession

Should Teachers Get Overtime Pay? EdWeek Readers Have Some Thoughts

By Edér Del Prado — April 15, 2026 1 min read
Teacher Time
  • Save to favorites
  • Print
Email Copy URL

One of the worst-kept secrets of the teaching profession: The amount of time many Ķvlog dedicate to their jobs outside of their contract hours. Additional duties such as lesson planning, grading, and monitoring after-school activities are among the many forces that can extend a teacher’s workday.

For many, the most frustrating part of this phenomenon is that these extra to-do’s often don’t include more pay. asking users whether they believed teachers should qualify for overtime pay (teachers don’t currently qualify, but other school staff do), and respondents had a lot to say in the comments,

Below is a summary of the main themes from those conversations. The comments have been lightly edited for clarity.

Fair compensation may break the system

If they would agree, I would agree, but that means cities’ taxes would increase by like 1,000%, or else they’d go bankrupt.
School systems survive on the unlimited unpaid overtime of teachers!
Hahaha the system would go broke!

Is salary status enough?

This is a salaried position, but we should be paid a fairer rate based on the level of education required.
Any answer other than "yes" is simply ridiculous. Either stop expecting more, stop demeaning teachers who clock out 'on time,' or start paying. There's nothing about any job, anywhere, that means anyone should do more than what they’re paid for ... it defeats the entire definition of any employment.

Lesson planning and grading often require overtime

I work at least 20-30 additional hours a week just planning and creating lessons.
As a teacher, it would be impossible to track the amount of “overtime” we put in during the day. Also, different subjects require more additional time, such as the amount of extra time required by English teachers for marking.

After-school events should be factored into pay

Between PTO meetings, sporting events, etc., overtime pay is definitely needed!
If time beyond contractual hours had to be paid, they’d be pushing us out the door at the contractual end of day, instead of adding after-school tutoring, detention, and planning.

Other ideas beyond overtime pay

Just give us a salary commensurate with our workload and the fact that we need an advanced degree to do this.
Give real time to plan for the job within the school day. Planning time is the issue, especially for K-5.

Related Tags:

Events

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Reading & Literacy Webinar
Unlocking Success for Struggling Adolescent Readers
The Science of Reading transformed K-3 literacy. Now it's time to extend that focus to students in grades 6 through 12.
Content provided by 
Jobs Virtual Career Fair for Teachers and K-12 Staff
Find teaching jobs and K-12 education jubs at the EdWeek Top School Jobs virtual career fair.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
College & Workforce Readiness Webinar
Portrait of a Learner: From Vision to Districtwide Practice
Learn how one district turned Portrait of a Learner into an aligned, systemwide practice that sticks.
Content provided by Otus

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.

Read Next

Teaching Profession Teacher Morale in 2026: Five Takeaways
See five highlights from EdWeek's annual, national survey of U.S. teachers.
1 min read
artistic collage of teacher under pressure
Vanessa Solis/Education Week via Canva
Teaching Profession Letter to the Editor Let’s Hear From More Teachers
A retired educator praises a teacher's opinion essay.
1 min read
Education Week opinion letters submissions
Gwen Keraval for Education Week
Teaching Profession Measles Cases Are Rising. How Educators Can Protect Themselves
As some common childhood illnesses make a comeback in schools, here's what Ķvlog need to know.
3 min read
Anna Hicks prepares a measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine at the Andrews County Health Department on April 8, 2025, in Andrews, Texas. Measles is highly infectious and even some vaccinated teachers have reportedly been infected.
Anna Hicks prepares a measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine at the Andrews County Health Department on April 8, 2025, in Andrews, Texas. Measles is highly contagious and even some vaccinated teachers have reportedly caught the infection.
Annie Rice/AP
Teaching Profession K-12 Budgets Are Tightening. Teacher-Leadership Roles Are at Risk
The positions expanded with pandemic-aid funding. With money tighter, how can districts keep them?
5 min read
Teachers utilize a team teaching model, known as the Next Education Workforce Model, at Stevenson Elementary School in Mesa, Ariz., on Jan 30, 2025.
Teachers utilize a team-teaching model that spreads out teacher expertise and facilitates collaboration at Stevenson Elementary School in Mesa, Ariz., on Jan 30, 2025. Some of those models depend on having coaches and interventionists—positions that risk getting cut during lean budget times.
Adriana Zehbrauskas for Education Week