Common use of Professional Business Leave Clause in Contracts

Professional Business Leave. The Board recognizes the potential value of teacher and staff attendance at clinics, conferences, and conventions. Each teacher may apply for one (1) or more professional conference day(s) without loss of salary for the following: 1. Making visitations to view other instructional techniques or programs. 2. Attending educational conferences, workshops or seminars including MEA-and NEA-sponsored events not involving arbitration, negotiation, or grievance processing. 3. Application for use of professional business days shall be made in writing to the teacher’s building principal with a written explanation of the expected benefit of the program/clinic/etc. to the Lincoln Consolidated Schools. The building principal shall forward the application, together with his/her recommendation, to the Superintendent of Schools (or his/her designee) for final approval or denial. 4. As valuable as such meetings are, however, there are limitations of attendance which must be recognized. a. Any meeting or occasion which takes the teacher from the classroom for one (1) or more days is a serious matter, and can only be approved for a valid reason. The value of a conference must be justified before approval for attendance will be given. b. Permission in general will not be granted for a group of teachers from the same department to attend the same conference. Where conferences involving more than one (1) member of a department are held, attendance should be rotated. c. State-wide committee appointments which involve the teacher being absent from the classroom must receive approval from the Board of Education. This request should come directly to the Board from the sponsoring group. d. Teachers who wish to attend a conference should apply at least fourteen (14) days prior to the date the conference is to be held, whenever possible. This request must first be approved by the building principal and then forwarded to the Superintendent for action. The teacher shall be notified within seven (7) days of application. e. The school budget provides a limited amount of funds to cover expenses of teachers who attend educational conferences or visitations as listed in 1 and 2 above. Teachers attending approved professional conferences and/or visitations for professional development who are not eligible to receive reimbursement from grants or other funding sources shall be reimbursed up to $60 for expenses incurred while attending the out-of-district activity. f. Teachers and staff members who attend educational conferences are encouraged to share what they have gained from the conference with other teachers and staff members. g. The teacher may be requested to file a report with the Superintendent within (1) week of attendance at such visitation, conference, workshop, or seminar. h. Days granted as professional business (school business) leave will not count toward the off-calendar professional development requirement described in schedule C.