ARTICLE
XVIII LEAVE POLICY
North Smithfield School District
A. Sick Leave
Sick Leave shall be granted for personal illness, subject to the following limitations:
a. Sick leave is intended to be used in instances wherein the teacher is unable to perform his/her usual duties as a direct result of illness and/or when a teacher needs to provide care for an immediate family member as designated by the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA).
b. Sick leave exclusive of personal leave may not be used to extend a vacation or holiday period.
c. Every effort should be made to schedule normal or routine medical/dental, etc., appointments outside the school day.
d. Sick leave shall be at a rate of one and one-half (1 1/2) days per month to a total of fifteen (15) days per school year. These days shall accumulate to a total of one hundred thirty (130) days, provided, however, that such one hundred thirty (130) days will remain unused until the current year's sick leave has been exhausted. Of these 15 days, 3 days may be utilized annually for personal leave in accordance with section B. a. i. herein
e. These days shall be advanced in September.
f. If subject to quarantine as defined by the Center for Disease Control (CDC), and as a result of personal illness or work-related close contact, there shall be no loss of salary, nor shall time be deducted from sick leave up to a maximum of ten (10) days to run concurrently with any federal or state quarantine-related acts or policy. This language does not apply when quarantining due to non-emergency travel or when quarantining as a result of being a non-work related close contact.
g. Sick leave shall be granted upon official notification that the teacher is ill. (Leave will be granted in minimum increments of one-half [1/2] day).
h. When the Superintendent questions the legitimacy of an illness, he or she may request the teacher to be examined by a mutually acceptable physician. Such examination shall be at the expense of the Board. A teacher may be required to provide a doctor’s note when he/she is absent for four (4) consecutive sick days.
i. Sick Leave Bank
The SICK LEAVE BANK is a mutual concern of the North Smithfield School Committee and the NSTA and shall be maintained to relieve the financial burdens of extended illness for members who have exhausted their accumulated and annual sick leave days. Except as noted in this article, the administration of the Sick Leave Bank shall be a function of the Sick Bank Committee.
i. Each teacher may voluntarily contribute within ten (10) school days of the opening of school, two days sick leave per year to the Sick Leave Bank. Only teachers who contribute to the Sick Leave Bank are eligible to apply for benefits. The Sick Bank Committee may grant an exception to those persons who begin work after the September enrollment period. Such personnel must request membership within ten (10) days of their employment.
ii. Said Bank may be charged for sick leave required, in case of major illness or accident, beyond the accumulated sick leave held by the involved teacher applicant and such charge shall commence only after the teacher-applicant's individually accumulated sick leave has been exhausted.
iii. This Major Illness Bank shall be administered by a Sick Leave Bank Committee consisting of three (3) members, two (2) members of the North Smithfield Teachers' Association and one (1) member from the North Smithfield School Committee or their designee designated in writing by said Committee.
iv. Said Sick Leave Bank Committee shall determine individual eligibility for the use of said bank and the amount of leave to be granted. Decisions of the Sick Bank Committee shall be final and binding and not subject to the grievance procedure.
v. Said Sick Leave Bank Committee, in administering said Major Illness Bank, may use such data and criteria as it may deem to be necessary to enable it to make its decision on an application for additional sick leave benefits, under this provision, including, but not limited to:
1. Adequate medical evidence of major illness or accident submitted by the applicant;
2. Prior utilization of all eligible sick leave by the applicant;
3. Physical examination of the applicant by a physician of his/her own choice, at the expense of the applicant;
4. The number of available days in the Bank and other applications for grants therefrom.
5. All applications for participation and benefits must be made on a form approved by the Sick Bank Committee.
6. In the event that a teacher receives sick leave from said Bank which extends to the end of a school year, such teacher must reapply (pursuant to #4 above) to the Sick Leave Bank Committee for the ensuing school year in order to be considered for benefits.
7. Any teacher who withdraws from the Sick Leave Bank will not be permitted to withdraw his/her contributed days.
8. Any unused days remaining in the Sick Leave Bank on June 30th of any school year shall be carried over to the successive school year, but the total number of days in the Bank for the successive school year shall not exceed twice the number of participants in the Sick Leave Bank.
9. In the event the Bank goes below fifty (50) days, the Sick Leave Bank Committee may solicit teachers for the contribution of one (1) additional sick day.
10. In no event shall the charge to said Bank on account of any illness of any one (1) applicant exceed one hundred eighty (180) days.
11. Teachers employed between the opening of school and December 1st of that school year shall be eligible to participate in the Sick Leave Bank. Teachers employed after December 1st of any school year shall not be eligible to participate in the Sick Leave Bank that school year.
B. Temporary Leaves of Absence
a. Teachers shall be entitled to the following temporary leaves of absence with pay each school year:
i. Leave, not to exceed three (3) days in any one (1) year, shall be granted for personal business upon notification to the building principal. These days shall be deducted from sick leave and must be taken in full day increments. Requests for personal days shall be submitted through the employee absence management system no later than ten (10) calendar days before the day(s) to be taken. No more than ten percent (10%) of the teachers in each school building will be granted personal leave time on any given day. The number of teachers eligible for such leave will be calculated using ten percent (10%) of the teachers in each school building rounded up to the nearest whole number.
ii. Leave shall be granted on a first-come, first-serve basis, as determined by the employee management system. Seniority will be the tie-breaker, if necessary, in order to not exceed the ten percent (10%) cap in any given building. Such leave shall only be denied after the ten percent (10%) personal day cap has been reached. Emergency use of personal day(s) leave beyond the ten percent (10%) cap on any given day shall be granted at the discretion of the Superintendent.
iii. Teachers shall be allowed one (1) or more days for the purpose of visiting other schools, subject to the approval of the Superintendent.
iv. Days to attend meetings or conferences of any educational nature may be granted by the Superintendent, subject to availability of substitute teachers. Upon designation by the Committee the teacher will receive reimbursement for expenses.
v. Teachers shall be allowed three (3) days leave for religious holidays.
vi. Teachers serving on jury duty shall receive the difference between their regular salary and jury duty pay.
vii. Teachers serving required annual armed services commitments will be paid as provided in paragraph B.a.v..
viii. Each teacher shall be granted three (3) days paternity leave to be deducted from either personal leave or sick leave.
ix. Association President Leave
1. The President of the North Smithfield Teachers' Association or his designee shall be entitled to up to three (3) days leave with pay to attend Association related activities, such as, conferences, workshops, seminars, etc. The Association shall reimburse the Committee for the cost of a Substitute teacher, if hired.
2. The President or his designee must submit a written notice to the Superintendent at least ten (10) school days in advance, setting forth the activity to be attended.
3. Such leave shall not be denied except for good cause.
b. Teachers shall be entitled to the following temporary leaves of absence with pay in the event of death in the family:
i. In the event of the death of a father, mother, step-father, step-mother, sister, brother, half-sister, half-brother, husband, wife, child, grandchild, step-child, mother-in-law, father-in-law, five (5) consecutive work days shall be allowed, commencing the day of the death or immediately thereafter with Superintendent approval, with no loss of pay for any one or more of said five (5) days the employee would be working but for the death. Exceptions may be requested and approved by the Superintendent. Additional days may be granted at the discretion of the Superintendent.
ii. In the event of the death of an aunt, uncle, cousin, niece, nephew, grandmother, grandfather, brother/sister-in-law, one (1) work day shall be allowed for attendance at the funeral with no loss of pay for the day the employee would be working but for the death. Exceptions may be requested and approved by the Superintendent. Additional days may be granted at the discretion of the Superintendent.
iii. Employees shall be entitled to a grant of one (1) day’s leave for attendance at the funeral of a fellow employee when asked to participate on a delegation appointed by the Superintendent.
c. Additional leave may be granted by the Superintendent. Determination of whether such leave shall be with or without pay shall be at the discretion of the Superintendent.
d. Maternity Leave
i. Maternity Leave With Pay
Maternity Leave shall be the period of time during the pregnancy in which the teacher is physically disabled by reason of the pregnancy, miscarriage, or legal abortion from performing her duties as a teacher and extending after the termination of pregnancy, miscarriage, or legal abortion for the period of time immediately following said termination that the teacher is physically disabled from performing her duties as a teacher. The teacher must notify the School Committee in writing of her pregnancy and inform the School Committee in said notification of the estimated date at which her disability will prevent her from performing her teaching duties. The teacher must also notify the School Committee after the termination of the pregnancy of the estimated date at which she will be able to return to her teaching duties.
While absent on maternity leave, the teacher shall be entitled to utilize her accumulated sick leave. However, it is understood that under normal conditions, the approximate duration of such leave is twenty (20) school days PRE and twenty (20) school days POST of termination of pregnancy, or any combination thereof. If the maternity leave extends beyond the number of sick leave days accumulated by the teacher, then the remainder of the maternity leave shall be without pay. The teacher must return from maternity leave as soon as she is physically able to perform her duties as a teacher as verified by her attending physician. Such verification shall be submitted within twenty (20) school days following the termination of the pregnancy.
In the event the School Committee questions the legitimacy of said verification, the School Committee may request the teacher to be examined by one (1) of three (3) physicians named by the Committee. Such examination shall be at the expense of the Committee.
If the results of such examination contradict the verification of the teacher's attending physician, the School Committee may again request the teacher to be examined by one (1) of three (3) additional physicians named by the Committee. Such examination shall be at the expense of the Board.
The majority findings of the physicians regarding the teacher's physical ableness to perform her duties shall prevail.
Employment practices and policies including commencement and duration of leave, the availability of leave extensions, accrual of seniority, all health and temporary disability insurance, and all other benefits and privileges shall be applied equally to employees on leave due to pregnancy, miscarriage, legal
abortion and childbirth; and upon return shall be restored to the position they held at the time such leave commenced.
e. Parental Leave
i. A teacher may elect to take a leave of absence without pay for child rearing purposes. Such leave must be requested at least thirty (30) days in advance of the requested starting date for leave, and shall be for a minimum period of the remainder of the current school year, or a maximum period of the remainder of the current school year, plus one (1) additional year.
ii. A teacher on such leave shall be entitled to reinstatement upon return, provided the Superintendent is notified by June 1st of the teacher's intent to return for the next school year.
iii. All accumulated sick leave and all other leave benefits shall be restored to the teacher upon return to duty, and the teacher's placement on the salary schedule shall be the step to which the teacher would have been entitled based upon length of time worked prior to the starting date of the leave.
iv. No sick leave or other leave may be granted while a teacher is on leave without pay.
v. All employees on parental leave shall be informed that they have the option of retaining their comprehensive medical coverage. Employees electing such option shall reimburse the School Department for the cost of such medical coverage at the current group rate applicable to all other employees.
f. Military leave will be granted to any teacher who is inducted or enlists in any branch of the Armed Forces of the United States. Upon return from such leave, a teacher will be placed on the salary schedule at the level which he would have achieved had he remained actively employed in the system during the period of his absence up to a maximum of two (2) years, except in time of war and/or national emergency.
g. Each teacher shall be granted leave without pay for one (1) year, subject to renewal for not more than one (1) year, the purposes of conducting National, State and/or Local Association activities. Not more than one (1) teacher shall be granted such leave in any one (1) year. Any teacher intending to take Association leave, or any teacher presently on Association leave intending to return to teaching duties in the next subsequent school year, shall notify the Office of the Superintendent prior to May 1st of the current school year of such intention.
C. Sabbatical Leave
a. Desiring to reward professional performance and encourage independent research and achievement, the Committee hereby initiates this policy of sabbatical leave for teachers
for study and/or research to be granted upon recommendation by the Superintendent for approved programs whether or not carried on in an academic institution subject to the following conditions:
b. Sabbatical leaves shall be granted to teachers by the North Smithfield School Department for one (1) full school year at one-half (1/2) pay. To qualify for such leave, teachers must have taught in the North Smithfield System at least seven (7) years. A sabbatical leave may be granted at the discretion of the Superintendent.
c. No more than three (3) teachers may be absent for sabbatical leave at any one time. The course of study planned for the year must be acceptable to the Superintendent, and the plan, together with the application, must be submitted to the Superintendent on or before May 1st preceding the September when the sabbatical leave will be effective. Within fifteen (15) days having received the application, the Superintendent shall present his recommendations to the Committee; within twenty (20) days, the Superintendent shall notify the teacher of the acceptance or rejection. During the sabbatical leave, the teacher will receive one-half of the salary he would have received for teaching in North Smithfield. Such pay shall be paid in twenty-six (26) installments starting in September and coinciding with the regular pay period of certified personnel.
d. In the application submitted to the Superintendent, the applicant shall agree, as a condition precedent to the granting of his request, to teach at least one (1) year following his return from sabbatical leave in the North Smithfield School System. In lieu thereof, the teacher shall repay all sums advanced under this Article to the North Smithfield School Department.
e. A teacher on sabbatical leave may continue the health insurance coverage afforded under this Collective Bargaining Agreement by paying one-half (1/2) the premiums for said coverage to the School Committee.
D. General Leave
Tenured teachers may request unpaid leave for one (1) year through the Superintendent to the School Committee. The School Committee may grant said leave, however, said leave shall be conditioned upon the following.
a. Leave shall be without pay;
b. Leave shall be without benefits;
c. The teacher shall not advance on the salary scales during the leave period.
E. Leave Return
Tenured teachers requesting a leave of absence for an entire school year (e.g. August to June) may return to the position which they vacated at the time of their approved request. This is
contingent upon the vacated position still being in existence and not eliminated due to budget appropriations, enrollment numbers, etc. If the position does not exist, the teacher must elect a position as provided in the attached Memorandum of Agreement.