Common use of Long Term Leave Clause in Contracts

Long Term Leave. A long-term leave of absence without pay or fringe benefits, of up to five (5) years may be granted to a teacher at the sole and unlimited discretion of the School Board. The length of the long-term leave shall not, however, exceed the number of years the teacher has served in the School District. The beginning and ending dates of such leave shall coincide with the beginning of the semesters of the school year. On or before January 1, the School District will send the teacher a letter notifying them of the February 1 deadline, with a copy to the association. A teacher intending to return from a long-term leave at the start of a semester during the next school year must notify the district in writing by February 1 of either confirmation of or a request to change the date of their return or they shall forfeit their reinstatement rights and shall be considered to have resigned. The leave may be used for the purpose of engaging in study at an accredited college or university in the field of the teacher's present assignment in the School District or closely associated to this assignment, foreign or military teaching programs, the Peace Corps, or Job Corps as a full-time participant in such program, work program related to a teacher's professional position, election to office in a teacher organization or election to public office. Upon expiration of the leave of absence, a continuing contract teacher shall be returned to the same or an equivalent contractual position, and the continuing contract shall remain in effect. Probationary teachers may be returned to an equivalent contractual position only if a vacancy exists. In the event no vacancy exists, the teacher may elect to remain on leave. For purposes of this section, a vacancy will be deemed to exist when a long-term substitute has replaced the teacher on leave. Any teacher on long-term leave of absence shall retain all seniority, salary and fringe benefits that the teacher had accrued prior to taking the long-term leave of absence. This leave shall not normally be granted for the purpose of accepting employment in another school district. The teacher on leave under this section shall be entitled to maintain participation in group insurance programs, if acceptable to the carrier or carriers, provided the teacher arranges with the business office for the payment of the premium. A discretionary decision by the School Board to deny a request for a long-term leave of absence under this section shall not be subject to the grievance procedure. Denial of a request for a long-term leave of absence shall be accompanied by written reason(s) for denial.