Sabbatical Leaves A. A sabbatical leave, without pay, for one year may be granted to a teacher, and/or 10 and/or 12 month support employee by the Board for full time credit graduate study/degree program in their appropriate field subject to Board approval and the following conditions:
1. Not more than four employees in the system may be granted sabbatical leaves at any one time.
2. Request for sabbatical leave must be received by the superintendent, in writing, no later than January 31st of the school year preceding the school year for which the leave is being requested.
3. The employee has completed at least seven (7) full school years of service in the Xxxxxxxx Township school district. No year shall be credited in which the employee has worked or been on paid leave less than ninety-three (93) days. If more than four requests (two for pay and two without pay) for such leave are submitted, the board will determine those eligible for such leave by the program the employee plans to take. If all candidates are in an approved program, then seniority shall determine the eligibility. The decision of the board shall not be arbitrable.
4. Two of the four sabbatical leaves sited in A.1 above may be with 1/2 pay if the employee is taking a full time Board approved graduate program/degree program in their appropriate field during the day or if they are fulfilling an on-campus requirement of an advanced program. Documentation of this requirement must be furnished with the request stated in A.2 above.
B. All sabbatical leaves must be approved by the Board and the Board shall take action on same no later than March 31st of the school year preceding the school year for which the sabbatical leave is requested. The employee shall continue to receive paid health benefits during the sabbatical leave.
C. Upon return from a sabbatical leave, which was granted for full time graduate/degree program, the employee shall be placed on the proper step of the salary guide at the level which he/she would have achieved had he/she remained actively employed in the school system during the period of his/her absence, and, in addition, shall receive proper credit for any advanced degree earned.
Professional Leave Professional leave without pay will be granted to full-time and regular part-time Nurses who are elected to the College of Nurses to attend regularly scheduled meetings of the College of Nurses. Professional leave without pay will be granted to Registered Nurses who are elected to the RNAO to attend regularly scheduled meetings. Professional leave without pay will be granted to Registered Practical Nurses who are elected to the RPNAO to attend regularly scheduled meetings.
Sabbatical Leave 1. Upon written application, not later than April 1 of any school year, a unit member who meets the following qualifications shall be granted a sabbatical leave.
2. All applications for sabbatical leave will be reviewed by a committee consisting of three (3) representatives to be named by the Superintendent, and three (3) representatives to be named by the Association President. The committee shall consider, among other qualifications, the following:
a. The proposed program of the applicant as related to professional graduate study, travel, writing, or research.
b. The value of the proposed program to the Pickerington Schools, its pupils, and the individual applicant.
c. The applicant’s total length of service with Pickerington Schools.
3. In order to be eligible for a sabbatical leave, a unit member must have been employed in the Pickerington School District for at least five (5) years.
4. Unit members requesting such leaves must accompany their applications with detailed plans for the proposed use of their sabbatical leaves. Within ninety (90) days after the expiration of his/her leave, the unit member will make a written report to the Superintendent detailing the use, which was made of his/her leave. If the leave was granted for graduate study, the unit member will present to the Superintendent a transcript from the university or college attended.
5. Unit members approved for a sabbatical leave will be notified of their approval by May 15th, or as soon thereafter as possible. A unit member on a sabbatical leave shall be given an employment contract for the year of leave and shall be entitled to a salary equal to the difference between their previous salary and the salary of the substitute teacher replacing them while on sabbatical leave.
6. As a condition of being granted a sabbatical leave, a unit member must agree to return to the Pickerington Schools for a period of one (1) year upon returning from leave. Failure to do so shall require the unit member to refund to the Board all payments received from the Board for sabbatical leave purposes during the leave period. Such refund shall be made within a four (4) month period beginning with the first full month said unit member was to have returned to duty. Such time limit may be extended by agreement of both parties.
7. Unit members on sabbatical leave shall be given full experience credit on the salary schedule and credit for seniority purposes for the period of the leave and shall return to their same or to a similar position as they held at the time the leave commenced.
8. A bargaining unit member on sabbatical leave may maintain health, life, and dental insurance benefits during the period of leave. Any member desiring continuation of such benefits must notify the Treasurer not less than thirty (30) days prior to the commencement of the leave and pay to the Treasurer an amount equal to fifty percent (50%) of the total monthly cost of the insurance not less than ten (10) days in advance of the time that the Board premium payment is due.
9. Any bargaining unit member who purchases retirement credit for the portion of their salary forfeited during the sabbatical leave will pay to STRS both the employee and employer share of retirement contributions.
10. All such sabbatical leaves shall be granted in conformity to the provisions of Section 3319.131 of the Ohio Revised Code.
Medical Leave of Absence Where you have a medical leave of absence due to any medically determinable physical or mental impairment that can be expected to result in death or can be expected to last for a continuous period of not less than six months, and you have not returned to employment with the Company or an Affiliate, a Separation from Service has occurred on the earlier of: (A) the first day on which you would not be considered “disabled” under any disability policy of the Company or Affiliate under which you are then receiving a benefit; or (B) the first day on which your medical leave of absence period exceeds 29 months.
Professional Improvement Leave A teacher may be granted leave to be used for the teacher's professional improvement. Professional improvement days may be approved by the superintendent and used for the purpose of:
1. Visitation to view other instructional techniques or programs.
2. Conferences, workshops, or seminars conducted by colleges, universities, or vocational schools. The teacher planning to use a professional improvement day shall notify the principal at least one week in advance of the proposed absence. The teacher shall be required to file a written report with the principal within one (1) week of attendance at such event. Also, the teacher may/shall be requested to return with materials and/or information to be shared with other teachers. The expense of attending such visitation, conference, workshop, or seminar will be paid by the Board when the proper reimbursement applications are sent to the district office. In cases where attendance at a convention, workshop, seminar, or other educational activity is deemed to be of value only to the individual teacher, leave may be granted for attendance with either no expenses or limited expenses being underwritten by the district. In these cases, no written or verbal reports will be required.
Educational Leave of Absence Leaves of absence may be granted up to six (6) months under the above provisions only if the course would be beneficial to both the University and the employee.
Professional and Education Leaves (a) Leave of absence with pay or without pay may be granted to employees to attend professional and educational meetings, courses, or other events which may be judged beneficial to the employee's professional development, especially as it relates to her responsibilities with the Employer.
Educational Leave Leave without pay may be granted for educational leave for the duration of actual attendance in an educational program.
Health Leave Any regular employee of the District may, at the discretion of the Board, be granted a leave of absence without pay for reasons of health, such leave to be specified for a period of not more than one year. Such leave may be extended in case of serious health conditions.
Maternity Maternity leaves, not to exceed six (6) months, shall be granted at the request of the employee.
