GCBD – PROFESSIONAL STAFF LEAVES AND ABSENCES

The Board believes that the provision of leaves helps to attract and retain faculty who will continue to grow professionally, maintain their physical health, and have a feeling of security. This is done by:

  1. Providing the employee with an opportunity for continued professional growth.

  2. Encouraging the employee to take the necessary time to recuperate from illnesses.

  3. Providing the employee with income in the event of illness or accident.

  4. Providing a way for the employee to arrange for absence in the event of an emergency.

  5. Cooperating with the employee in arranging time for the performance of certain obligations or for other personal purposes that can be accomplished only during school time.

Leave requests will be made to the Superintendent or designee. All requests for long-term leaves of absence will be submitted by the Superintendent, along with his/her recommendation, for Board approval.

Notes: This is an area that is generally covered by contracts negotiated with recognized bargaining units. It is also an area in which state law may set forth leave provisions. In many cases, a note referring the reader to the appropriate sections of state law and to the pertinent contract(s) (with article and/or section number, if desired) would be appropriate.

However, if there are separate policies on leaves and absences for professional staff members who are not members of a recognized bargaining unit, code GCBD can be used. This code is useful for an overall policy, and there may be regulations pertaining to all leaves and absences to file under code GCBD-R. Subcategories under GCBD were left open so that school districts might add them as most appropriate for their particular collection of leave policies and the terminology used in the individual school districts.

If subcategories are necessary, school districts usually use one of the following ways to organize and code leave policies:

1. The following two subcategories are used, with specific types of leave listed and detailed under each:

GCBDA*, Professional Staff Short-Term Leaves and Absences

GCBDB*, Professional Staff Long-Term Leaves and Absences

2. The following two subcategories are used, with specific types of leave listed and detailed under each:

GCBDA*, Professional Staff Personal Leaves and Absences

GCBDB*, Professional Staff Professional Leave

3. The following two subcategories are used, with specific types of leave listed and detailed under each:

GCBDA*, Professional Staff Paid Leaves and Absences

GCBDB*, Professional Staff Unpaid Leaves and Absences

4. Specific kinds of leaves and absences are dealt with in a more extensive number of subcategories; for example:

GCBDA*, Professional Staff Sick Leave

GCBDB*, Professional Staff Personal Leave

GCBDC*, Professional Staff Leave for Jury Duty

GCBDD*, Professional Staff Military Leave

GCBDE*, Professional Staff Maternity Leave

GCBDF*, Professional Staff Sabbaticals