EDD eligibility during school district winter break - unpaid paraprofessional

Yes, you should be eligible for unemployment during this period! This is considered a "temporary layoff" situation. Since you're employed by an outside company and not directly by the district, you aren't subject to the same restrictions that apply to direct district employees. Make sure when you file that you clearly indicate you're laid off temporarily due to lack of work, not that you're on vacation. Apply as soon as your last workday arrives - you don't need to wait until the break starts officially.

u can apply but im pretty sure school employees cant get unemployment during scheduled breaks. my sister tryed last summer and got denied something about reasonable assurance of returning

I was in EXACTLY the same situation last year! I'm a para through an agency that works with LAUSD. The key is how you file. Do NOT say you're a school employee - you're an employee of whatever agency contracted you. When asked why you're not working, select "temporary layoff" or "reduction in hours" - NOT vacation or school break. I got benefits for winter break (late Dec-Jan) and spring break too. You'll need to certify every two weeks and do the work search requirements even though you know you're going back.

THEY WILL DENY U!!!! EDD hates school workers tryng to claim on breaks!!! I tried this and got DENIED and had to APPEAL and wait 5 MONTHS to get a hearing and then STILL LOST even with a lawyer!!!! DONT WASTE UR TIME!!!!

Getting through to EDD to clarify eligibility questions can be incredibly frustrating. When I was in a similar situation, I used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to an EDD rep in about 10 minutes instead of spending days redialing. They have a demo video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/JmuwXR7HA10?si=TSwYbu_GOwYzt9km. Getting an actual EDD rep to confirm your specific eligibility before applying saved me tons of headaches and confusion.

my cousin works for a school but the cafeteria part and she gets unemployment every summer and holiday break because the catering company lays them off. its different if your not directly hired by the school district. she said just make sure to say your employer is the contracting company not the school itself.

Thanks everyone for the helpful information! I called EDD (took forever to get through) and they confirmed I am eligible since I'm employed by the third-party company, not directly by the district. They said to apply on my last day of work (Dec 13th) and make sure to indicate I'm on temporary layoff due to lack of work. They also said I'll need to meet work search requirements even though my return date is guaranteed. Going to gather my employment contract and recent paystubs showing my actual employer just in case there are any questions. Will update how it goes!

Make sure you set up a reminder to certify every two weeks! Even though it's a short break, you'll probably need to certify at least once, maybe twice. I almost missed my certification deadline last year because of all the holiday chaos and nearly lost a week of benefits. The EDD UI Online portal has notifications but sometimes they go to spam.

wait im confused about the work search thing... if your going back to the job after break why do you have to look for other jobs? doesnt make sense