Smithfield - Article XX Temporary Leaves of Absence

ARTICLE XX: TEMPORARY LEAVES OF ABSENCE

Smithfield School District

Teachers shall be entitled to the following paid temporary leaves of absence provided the teacher gives notification, in writing, to the Superintendent or his/her designee in advance or when circumstances do not permit, at a reasonable period of time after such leave commences.

A. Military

Military leave shall be granted for up to fifteen (15) calendar days for obligatory military training mandated by law under the provisions of the Military Selective Service Act of 1967. Training shall be done with his/her regularly assigned unit when an individual is a member of a Military Reserve unit or a National Guard unit, or at the same time his/her regularly assigned unit is in training. The teacher shall be paid the difference between his/her regular salary and any compensation received for military training upon presentation of one (1) copy of his/her military orders assigning him/her for such training as specified above, and one (1) copy of his/her military pay voucher to the School Administration Office. Days will be granted for the purpose of obligatory governmental physical examinations as needed.

B. Bereavement

Bereavement: In case of death in the immediate family (father, mother, grandparents, grandchild, brother, sister, son, daughter, husband, wife, domestic partner, step-parents, step-siblings, step-children, mother-in-law, father-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, legal guardian or ward, and persons residing with the immediate family), teachers shall be allowed up to ﬁve school days. One day shall be allowed for the attendance at the funeral of brother-in-law, sister-in-law, spouse’s grandparent, aunt, uncle, niece, and nephew. One (1) day shall be granted to a teacher for the purpose of being a pallbearer or active participant in the ceremony or funeral. Active participation shall be deﬁned as engaging in speciﬁc roles during a funeral service, including but not limited to: Serving as a pallbearer, reading scripture or religious texts.

C. Court Appearance

A leave of absence shall be granted for involuntary appearances in court in which the personal interest of the teacher is not involved. The teacher shall be paid the difference between his/her regular salary and any compensation received for the court appearance.

D. Graduation Leave

One (1) day shall be granted to receive a degree or a certificate of advanced graduate study from an accredited college or university.

One (1) day shall be granted to attend the graduation of a member of the teacher’s family from an accredited school.

This provision shall apply only to graduations held during school hours or to graduations from out of state institutions.

E. Religious Leave

Teachers whose religious obligations require attendance at religious services held during the school day shall be granted up to two (2) days per year to attend such services. Notiﬁcation must be given at least one week in advance prior to taking this leave or it may be denied or granted without pay.

F. Association Leave

The President of the Association shall be entitled to a maximum of two (2) days of leave without pay.

G. Personal Leave

Each teacher shall be granted a maximum of four (4) days leave with pay per year for personal business that could not be conducted at any other time.

1. These days shall be charged to sick leave.

2. All deductions of personal time shall be made in half-day increments or full-day increments. In the event of an unforeseen emergency only, the building principal or superintendent will have the ability to override the absence management system for actual time worked in half-hour increments.

3. In no case shall a personal day or days be the day or days immediately preceding or following a school vacation. However, at the discretion of the Superintendent, a
school vacation week. This request must be in writing, no shorter than 48 hours (2 school days) prior to the requested date, using the district form and disclosing the reason. This request shall only be due to extenuating circumstances and shall be documented in the teacher’s personnel ﬁle and shall not be abused.

4. Teachers shall give notiﬁcation of personal leave dates as far in advance as possible but not less than a two (2) day notice.

5. No more than two (2) school days may be taken consecutively during the year.

6. Teachers shall not be required to state the reason for personal leave other than that it is being taken in accordance with the deﬁnition of personal leave in this section unless one of the following conditions exists:

a. Two days’ notice was not given.

b. A teacher is requesting, at the discretion of the superintendent, to use more than two (2) personal days consecutively.

c. A teacher is requesting, at the discretion of the superintendent, a personal day before and/or after a holiday.

H. Deductions: Deductions for absences without pay shall be made by the Superintendent at the rate of 1/181 of said teacher’s annual salary.