Content Last Revised: 4/23/04 ---DISCLAIMER---

29CFR541.303 - Teachers.

• Section Number: 541.303
• Section Name: Teachers.

    (a) The term ``employee employed in a bona fide professional 
capacity'' in section 13(a)(1) of the Act also means any employee with 
a primary duty of teaching, tutoring, instructing or lecturing in the 
activity of imparting knowledge and who is employed and engaged in this 
activity as a teacher in an educational establishment by which the 
employee is employed. The term ``educational establishment'' is defined 
in Sec.  541.204(b).
    (b) Exempt teachers include, but are not limited to: Regular 
academic teachers; teachers of kindergarten or nursery school pupils; 
teachers of gifted or disabled children; teachers of skilled and semi-
skilled trades and occupations; teachers engaged in automobile driving 
instruction; aircraft flight instructors; home economics teachers; and 
vocal or instrumental
music instructors. Those faculty members who are engaged as teachers 
but also spend a considerable amount of their time in extracurricular 
activities such as coaching athletic teams or acting as moderators or 
advisors in such areas as drama, speech, debate or journalism are 
engaged in teaching. Such activities are a recognized part of the 
schools' responsibility in contributing to the educational development 
of the student.
    (c) The possession of an elementary or secondary teacher's 
certificate provides a clear means of identifying the individuals 
contemplated as being within the scope of the exemption for teaching 
professionals. Teachers who possess a teaching certificate qualify for 
the exemption regardless of the terminology (e.g., permanent, 
conditional, standard, provisional, temporary, emergency, or unlimited) 
used by the State to refer to different kinds of certificates. However, 
private schools and public schools are not uniform in requiring a 
certificate for employment as an elementary or secondary school 
teacher, and a teacher's certificate is not generally necessary for 
employment in institutions of higher education or other educational 
establishments. Therefore, a teacher who is not certified may be 
considered for exemption, provided that such individual is employed as 
a teacher by the employing school or school system.
    (d) The requirements of Sec.  541.300 and Subpart G (salary 
requirements) of this part do not apply to the teaching professionals 
described in this section.