UNPAID LEAVES OF ABSENCE

Conditions of Unpaid Leaves

Leaves of absence without pay shall be granted subject to the following conditions:

1. Educators must have been employed by the district for a period of three years.

2. A leave may not extend into a school year following the one in which the leave commenced.

3. Requests for leaves shall be in writing to the Office of Human Resources and shall contain the type of leave requested, the reason(s) for such leave, the duration of the leave, and the expected date of return to employment.

4. The educator shall deliver the request for leave to the Office of Human Resources at least sixty (60) days prior to the date on which the leave is expected to commence. Exceptions may be made at the discretion of the Office of Human Resources.

5. All leaves, except deduct leave, are subject to formal Board approval.

6. An educator shall be notified whether or not leave is granted within thirty (30) working days of receipt of application.

7. Leaves shall be granted to those educators who meet the conditions of leave as set forth in this Article except in cases of personal, public office, exchange and study leaves which shall be at the discretion of the Board. In cases of personal, public office, exchange and study leaves, employees must meet the conditions of the leave before the leave request can be considered by the Board.

Leaves are available for the following purposes:

1. Child Care – A leave of up to one school year related to the birth and/or care of the educator’s child shall be granted. “Educator’s child” shall include natural child, a stepchild, a child that is adopted, or a child receiving foster care from the teacher. Such leave shall be extended up to an additional one (1) years upon request of the teacher. This cannot exceed four (4) continuous years.

2. Personal Illness and Disability – An educator who is unable to teach because of personal illness or disability and who has exhausted all leave available shall be granted a leave of absence without pay for the duration of such illness or disability, up to one (1) year and the leave may be renewed each year upon written request by the educator. Medical insurance will be continued until the teacher is eligible for Long Term Disability (LTD). For all educators on LTD, the insurance carrier will cover the cost of the entire medical premium as provided by the existing policy in effect at the time the educator goes on LTD. Should such leave be extended four times, prior to any additional extension a probable date of termination of necessity for such leave shall be provided by the physician(s) in charge of the case before any additional extension shall be granted by the Board. Should the physician not be able to provide a date of probable termination of the disability, the employee shall be considered permanently disabled and the District’s obligation for future employment shall be terminated.

3. Military Leaves – Military leaves of absence shall be granted to any teacher in accordance with the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA).

4. Association Office – A leave of absence shall be granted to any educator upon application for the purpose of serving as an officer or on the staff of the Association, its parent groups or affiliates. Upon return from such leave, such educators may be placed at the same position on the salary schedule as they would have been had they taught in the system during the period.

5. Public Office – The Board may grant leaves of absence without pay for a educator to campaign for, or serve in, a public office. This office may be elective or appointive. Any information released by the Board to interested and qualified persons, regarding such campaign and/or service, shall consist solely of dates of employment in the Carman-Ainsworth Community Schools.

6. Personal Leave – After a educator has been employed at least four (4) consecutive years, and/or at the end of each additional four (4) or more consecutive year periods, s/he is eligible for a personal leave.

a. The maximum number of educators that may be on personal leave at any one time shall not exceed three percent (3%) or 18, whichever is less, of the bargaining unit.

b. If the number of applicants for personal leave exceeds the maximum, selection shall be made as follows:

1. Those educators needing the leave due to an emergency situation, which has been agreed to mutually by the Board and Association, shall be granted said leave.

2. All other requests shall be divided into two (2) groups: Group A applicants who were granted any leave pursuant to Articles VII and VIII within the last five (5) years excluding leaves taken pursuant to either the FMLA or the USERRA; Group B—All other applicants.

3. Group B applicants will be selected by lot until their number when added to the number of emergency situation personal leaves pursuant to this Article (VIII B 7 b 1) equals the maximum.

4. Then applicants from Group A shall be selected by lot until the total number of personal leaves approved equals the maximum.

7. Study – A leave related to the educator’s certification major or minor or study required to meet eligibility requirements for a certificate other than that held by the educator (or study, research or special teaching assignment involving probable advantage to the school system) may be granted. If said leave is taken with the mutual consent of both parties, the regular salary increment shall be allowed.

8. Exchange Programs – A leave of absence may be granted to any educator, upon application, for the purpose of participating in exchange teaching programs in other districts, states, territories, or countries; foreign or military teaching programs; the Peace Corps, Teachers’ Corps, or Job Corps, as a full time teacher in such programs.

RETURN PROCEDURES

1. Educators on approved leaves of absence shall retain all credits toward illness and disability leaves, seniority, and salary increments accrued prior to the beginning of the unpaid leave. No credit shall accrue during any such leave unless specifically stated in this Collective Agreement.

2. Full seniority and salary credit shall be granted for the semester in which the leave was granted if the employee worked one-half or more of the semester.

3. An educator on an approved leave of absence shall notify the Office of Human Resources by April 15 of their intent to return for the following school year.  An educator on approved leave of absence who wishes to extend their leave for the following school year shall make their request for such extension to the Office of Human Resources on or before April 15 of the current school year.  Should such leaves occur after April 15, intent to return or extend shall be indicated in the initial request. Failure to file notice of intent to extend will result in the employee being placed on active employment status for the following school year and assigned in accordance with the applicable provisions of this agreement. The Board will notify the Association President of the status of all educators on leave, including those educators not conforming to this requirement.

4. All educators returning from leave pursuant to Article VII shall be offered positions, providing they are qualified and certified, before any new educator is assigned.

5. An educator returning from a leave of ninety-five (95) work days or less will be returned to an existing position per the administrative guidelines. Paid sick leave including leave days from sick bank, which immediately precede a personal illness or disability leave (Article VIII B 2), shall be counted toward these ninety-five (95) days.

6. An educator wishing to return from a leave of ninety-six (96) days or more shall be placed in their proper place on the seniority list and shall be placed per the administrative guidelines.

7. Unless the educator is under contract to another educational institution, failure to accept an available position for which the educator is qualified and certified, or failure to notify the Office of Human Resources of intent, shall be considered a voluntary quit. The Office of Human Resources must receive notice of acceptance of assignment within ten (10) days of notice of tentative assignment. The Board shall not act to terminate employment for a period of five (5) days after notice to the Association President.

8. Nothing in this contract regarding return from leave procedures shall be deemed to supersede the tenure rights of any educators affected by such return from leave.