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TITLE 17. EDUCATION

CHAPTER 1. GENERAL SCHOOL LAW

PART I-A. SPECIAL SCHOOLS

SUBPART E. SICK LEAVE AND PERSONAL LEAVE FOR TEACHERS IN SPECIAL SCHOOLS

17:47 Sick and personal leave

A. (1) All teachers employed by the special schools of this state shall be entitled to and shall be allowed a minimum of ten days absence per school year because of personal illness or because of other emergencies, without loss of pay. Such sick leave when not used in any year shall be accumulated to the credit of the teacher without limitation. Provided that when a teacher is absent for six or more consecutive days because of personal illness, he shall be required to present a certificate from a physician certifying such illness; provided, further that the superintendent of the Special School District is authorized to adopt such rules and regulations as are necessary relative to the use of such sick leave, either current or accumulated, for emergencies. The superintendent may grant additional sick leave, without loss of pay, or with such reduction of pay as he may establish and fix.

(2) The minimum of ten days of sick leave provided in this Subsection shall be allowed based on a teacher beginning work at the beginning of a school year. In the case of a teacher who begins work in the first month of a school year, ten days shall be allowed; in the case of a teacher who begins work in the second month of a school year, nine days shall be allowed; in the case of a teacher who begins work in the third month of a school year, eight days shall be allowed; in the case of a teacher who begins work in the fourth month of a school year, seven days shall be allowed; in the case of a teacher who begins work in the fifth month of a school year, six days shall be allowed; in the case of a teacher who begins work in the sixth month of a school year, five days shall be allowed; in the case of a teacher who begins work in the seventh month of a school year, four days shall be allowed; and, in the case of a teacher who begins work in the eighth month or thereafter of a school year, three days shall be allowed.

B. Upon the retirement of any teacher from a special school or upon his death prior to retirement, the teacher or his heirs or assigns, shall be paid for sick leave which has accrued to such teacher but which remains unused at the time of retirement or at the time of death if prior to retirement, not to exceed twenty-five days of such unused sick leave. Such pay shall be at the rate of pay received by the teacher at the time of retirement or death prior to retirement; provided that unused sick leave beyond twenty-five days may be paid at the discretion of the superintendent of the Special School District.

C. (1)(a)(i) Any secretary, paraprofessional employee, school aide, teacher, or superintendent of a special school who is injured or disabled while acting in his official capacity as a result of assault or battery by any student or person shall receive sick leave for a period of up to one calendar year without reduction in pay and without reduction in accrued sick leave days or accrual of sick leave days while disabled as a result of such assault or battery. However, any secretary, paraprofessional employee, school aide, teacher, or superintendent of a special school shall be required to present a certificate from a physician selected by the employee certifying such injury and disability. Nothing in this Subsection shall prohibit the governing authority of the special school from extending this period beyond one calendar year.

(ii) If the governing authority of the special school questions the validity or accuracy of the physician certification provided for in Item (i) of this Subparagraph, the governing authority may require the employee to be examined by a physician selected by the governing authority. In such a case, the governing authority shall pay all costs of the examination and any tests determined to be necessary. If the physician selected by the governing authority certifies the injury or disability, the leave shall be granted. If the physician selected by the governing authority disagrees with the certificate of the physician selected by the employee, then the governing authority may require the employee to be examined by a third physician whose name appears next in the rotation of physicians on a list established by the local medical society for such purpose and maintained by the governing authority. All costs of an examination and any tests required by a third physician shall be paid by the governing authority. The opinion of the third physician shall be determinative of the issue.

(iii) The opinion of each physician consulted as provided in this Subparagraph shall be submitted to the governing authority in the form of a sworn statement which shall be subject to the provisions of R.S. 14:125.

(b)(i) Any secretary, paraprofessional employee, school aide, teacher, or superintendent of a special school who while acting in his official capacity is injured or disabled as a result of physical contact with a student or others while providing physical assistance to a student to prevent danger or risk of injury to the student or others shall receive sick leave for a period of up to one calendar year without reduction in pay and without reduction in accrued sick leave days or accrual of sick leave days while injured or disabled as a result of rendering such assistance. Such secretary, paraprofessional employee, school aide, teacher, or superintendent of a special school shall be required to present a certificate from a physician selected by the employee certifying such injury or disability. Nothing in this Subsection shall prohibit the governing authority of the special school from extending this period beyond one calendar year.

(2) The sick leave authorized by this Subsection shall be in addition to all other sick leave authorized in this Section, provided that additional sick leave earned during the period of disability as a result of such assault or battery or physical contact shall not be accumulated from year to year, nor shall such additional sick leave be compensated for at death or retirement or compensated for in any other manner except as authorized in this Subsection.

(3)(a) Any secretary, paraprofessional employee, school aide, teacher, or superintendent of a special school who is injured or disabled while acting in his official capacity shall be entitled to weekly wage benefits under the workers' compensation law of the state of Louisiana and/or to sick leave benefits under the provisions of this Section, at his option, but in no event shall such benefits exceed the total amount of the regular salary the secretary, paraprofessional employee, school aide, teacher, or superintendent of a special school was receiving at the time the injury or disability occurred.

(b) In any case in which a secretary, paraprofessional employee, school aide, teacher, or superintendent of a special school supplements workers' compensation with accumulated or extended sick leave, the amount of sick leave used shall be calculated on an hourly basis.

D. (1)(a) The superintendent of the Special School District shall permit each teacher to take up to ninety days of extended sick leave in each six-year period of employment which may be used for personal illness or illness of an immediate family member in the manner provided in this Subsection at any time that the teacher has no remaining regular sick leave balance.

(b) As used in this Subsection the following terms shall have the following meanings:

(i) "Child" means a biological son or daughter, an adopted son or daughter, a foster son or daughter, a stepson or daughter, or a legal ward of a teacher standing in loco parentis to that ward who is either under the age of eighteen, or who is eighteen years of age but under twenty-four years of age and is a full-time student, or who is nineteen years of age or older and incapable of self-care because of a mental or physical disability.

(ii) "Immediate family member" means a spouse, parent, or child of a teacher.

(iii) "Parent" means the biological parent of a teacher or an individual who stood in loco parentis to the teacher.

(2)(a) Unused days during any six-year period of employment shall not cumulate or carry forward into the next six-year period of employment.

(b) The balance of days of extended leave available to a teacher shall transfer with such teacher from one public school employer to another without loss of days and without restoration of days.

(c) Interruptions of service between periods of employment with a public school employer shall not be included in any calculation of a six-year period, such that any employment with any public school employer, regardless of when it occurs, shall be included in any determination of the balance of days of extended sick leave available to a teacher.

(3)(a) All time while on extended sick leave is regular service time for all purposes for which service time is calculated or used.

(b) Any teacher on extended sick leave shall be paid sixty-five percent of the salary paid to him at the time the extended sick leave begins.

(4)(a) No teacher may undertake additional gainful employment while on extended sick leave, unless all of the following conditions are met:

(i) The teacher can demonstrate that he will be working not more than twenty hours a week in a part-time job that he has been working for not less than one hundred twenty days prior to the beginning of any period of extended sick leave.

(ii) The physician who certifies the medical necessity of the leave indicates that such part-time work does not impair the purpose for which the extended leave is required.

(b) Any violation of this prohibition may require the teacher to return to the employer all compensation paid during any week of extended leave in which the teacher worked more than twenty hours and to reimburse the employer all related employment costs attributable to such period as calculated by the employer, without any restoration of such days.

(5) On every occasion when a teacher uses extended sick leave, a statement from a licensed physician certifying that the leave is medically necessary for the teacher or that the immediate family member's illness is serious and requires the presence of the teacher shall be presented prior to the extension of such leave.

(6)(a) If the superintendent, upon review of the application, questions the validity or accuracy of the certification, the employer may require the teacher or the immediate family member, as a condition for continued extended leave, to be examined by a licensed physician selected by the employer. In such a case, the employer shall pay all costs of the examination and any tests determined to be necessary. If the physician selected by the employer finds medical necessity, the leave shall be granted.

(b) If the physician selected by the public school employer disagrees with the certification of the physician selected by the teacher or the immediate family member, then the employer may require the teacher or immediate family member, as a condition for continued extension of sick leave, to be examined by a third licensed appropriate physician whose name appears next in the rotation of physicians on a list established by the local medical society for such purpose. All costs of an examination and any required tests by a third doctor shall be paid by the employer. The opinion of the third physician shall be determinative of the issue.

(c) The opinion of all physicians consulted as provided in this Paragraph shall be submitted to the superintendent in the form of a sworn statement which shall be subject to the provisions of R.S. 14:125.

(d)(i) In addition to the authority provided in Subsection A of this Section, special schools shall adopt a policy providing for employees suffering from catastrophic and long-term illness.

(ii) The superintendent may, as part of a collective bargaining agreement, or by policy provide additional compensation or extended leave days in excess of what is required in this Section.

(e) All information contained in any statement from a physician shall be confidential and shall not be subject to the public records law.

E. No teacher employed in a special school shall suffer any loss or deduction of pay for tardiness, unless such tardiness has caused loss of time from official class duties, on more than two occasions and for a period of one hour or more, during any one school year. In all cases where deduction of pay may be made as herein provided, the amount of pay deducted shall be based on one day's pay proportioned to the period of tardiness. To definitely fix and establish the extent of time tardy, a teacher, upon request of his superior or superintendent, shall sign a slip stating the time of his arrival and reporting for duty; and if not requested so to do, he may voluntarily sign such a slip and present it to the superior or superintendent.

F. All teachers employed by the special schools of this state, upon accumulating unused sick leave under the provisions of Subsections A through C of this Section shall be entitled to and shall be allowed up to two days absence during each school year for urgent personal reasons without loss of pay; provided, however, such special school shall adopt a uniform policy on personal leave which would apply to all teachers under its jurisdiction. Personal leave shall be charged to and deducted from unused sick leave already earned and accumulated under the provisions of Subsections A through C of this Section as of the date personal leave is taken. Personal leave shall not be accumulated from year to year, nor shall personal leave be compensated for upon death or retirement or paid in any other manner except as provided for in this Section.

G. (1) For the purposes provided in this Subsection, all sick leave accumulated by each teacher and superintendent pursuant to the provisions of this Subpart shall be vested in the teacher or superintendent by whom such leave has been accumulated. In the event of the transfer of such teacher or superintendent from one public school system to another in this state or upon the return of such teacher or superintendent to the same school system within five years or such longer period of time as may be approved by the governing authority of the school system to which the teacher or superintendent returned, regardless of the dates on which the leave was accumulated or the date of the transfer or return of the teacher or superintendent, such vested leave shall be transferred or returned to or continued by the school system to which he transfers or returns and shall be retained to the credit of such teacher or superintendent. When any teacher or superintendent uses accrued sick leave which has been transferred from one public school system to another, the sick leave used shall be assessed against the most recent sick leave earned and accrued and successively from sick leave accrued last to sick leave accrued first.

(2) All actual costs incurred by any public school system as a result of the use by any teacher or superintendent of any accumulated leave transferred, returned, or continued as provided in Paragraph (1) of this Subsection shall be paid by the employing school system.

Added by Acts 1979, No. 260, § 1. Amended by Acts 1988, No. 740, § 1, eff. July 15, 1988; Acts 1988, No. 751, § 1, eff. July 15, 1988; Acts 1989, No. 576, § 1, eff. July 6, 1989; Acts 1991, No. 360, § 1, eff. July 6, 1991; Acts 1995, No. 663, § 1; Acts 1995, No. 1196, § 1, eff. June 29, 1995; Acts 1999, No. 663, § 1, eff. July 1, 1999; Acts 1999, No. 1341,§ 1; Acts 2004, No. 603, § 1, eff. July 1, 2004; Acts 2012, No. 441, § 1.