• One ETFO Niagara Vice-President shall administer the fund and shall be responsible to the Executive and the membership.
• There shall be two signing officers of the ETFO Niagara PD Fund for all financial transactions.
• The ETFO Niagara PD Fund shall pay all operating expenses to maintain the fund.

• • The fund will reimburse professional development expenses for courses, conferences, workshops, webinars, and school/classroom visitations up to a maximum of $1000.00, incurred over two consecutive school years.
  • Monies shall be allocated on a first come, first served basis each year, up to a maximum of the amount available in the fund.

• Course: is defined as either an Additional Qualification course or an Additional Basic Qualification course, as recognized by the Ontario College of Teachers. Principal Qualification Program courses are not eligible for reimbursement.

• Conferences/workshops/webinars: must directly impact student learning and/or professional practice.

• School/classroom visit: is defined as the observation of another colleague in a teaching environment in an Ontario classroom.

• Any PD Fund request that does not fit the parameters listed above may be considered based on their merits on a case by case basis.
• All statutory members of the ETFO Niagara Teacher Local (either active or on a leave of absence) are eligible to apply for funding. Funding is not pro-rated on teaching assignment.

Application Process

• All funding is on a pre-approval basis. To be eligible for funding, a PD Fund Application form must be received by the ETFO Office a minimum of one (1) day prior to the earliest start date of the requested PD event.
• No advance payments will be available from the ETFO PD Fund.
• The PD Fund Application Form is available on our local website under the Forms and Documents tab (www.etfoniagara.ca)
• Application forms will be reviewed in the order in which they are submitted and may take up to two (2) weeks to process. If the request is time sensitive, it is advised that members reach out directly to the PD Fund Administrator (pd@etfoniagara.ca).

Application Approval

• Approved funding is specific to the Professional Development event listed on the application form.
• Upon special approval from the ETFO Niagara Office, members that are required to attend a provincial workshop (i.e., Program and Planning, Classroom Management, Professional Boundaries or other ETFO developed courses) as a part of a directive by DSBN, may be eligible to receive additional funding that will not count against their two year allotment, up to a maximum of $1000.00
• Upon special approval from the ETFO Niagara Office, ETFO Niagara Executive Members may be eligible to receive additional funding for their participation in professional development programs that support them in their role serving members of the Local.
• Members will receive written notice of approval to their board email which will include instructions for claiming their reimbursement.
• Approval for reimbursement is not permission to attend PD events taking place during the school day. Members must seek approval from their site administrator for any absences from the worksite.
• If a member participates in a PD event prior to receiving funding approval, the member will be responsible for any/all costs if your application is denied.
• In the event that an application is denied, the member may appeal the denial in writing to the ETFO Niagara Executive within ten (10) school days of the notification of denial. The appeal will be heard at the earliest Executive meeting possible, and the ETFO Niagara Executive will decide to either uphold or reverse the decision of the PD Fund Administrator.

Eligible Reimbursement Items

• The ETFO PD Fund will provide reimbursement for the following in order, up to a maximum of $1000.00:

1. Occasional Teacher costs, at the rate as per their Collective Agreement at the time of the PD event.
2. Registration fees
3. Material fees and textbooks required for participation in the PD event.
4. Dependent Care – up to a maximum of $50.00
5. Transportation Expenses – bus, train or airfare tickets to and from a PD event; taxi fare to and from one of the terminals, conference site, or home; mileage for the driver only at the current ETFO Niagara rate (excluding courses); and parking.
6. Accommodations (excluding services such as AirBNB or VRBO)
7. Meals to a maximum of $95.00 a day.

• The ETFO PD Fund will not provide reimbursement for the following:

1. DSBN-mandated PD events (ETFO-DSBN partnership events excluded).
2. PD events where attendance is mandated by a superordinate.
3. Requests received later than one (1) day prior to the earliest start date of the PD event.
4. Any Principal Qualification courses.

Reimbursement Process

• Reimbursement will be paid up to the maximum of the approved amount and only for expense areas originally requested. They will be paid by cheque delivered via the Board courier.
• If you are approved for funding, but you change the PD event that you are attending without notifying ETFO Niagara in advance, the Local reserves the right to deny reimbursement.
• Within 60 calendar days of completion of the PD event, members must submit the Expense Form, purchase receipts, and proof of attendance/completion through the PD Reimbursement Request Form which is located in your approval for funding letter sent to your Board email address.
• If notified, ETFO Niagara may amend the deadline for submission of expenses in extenuating circumstances. 
• It may take 3-4 weeks to process reimbursements PLUS additional time for reimbursement cheques to be delivered through the Board courier.
• All requests for PD Fund reimbursements must be received by the ETFO Office no later than September 15th of the following year (for PD events attended during July and August).