Common use of Unpaid Leaves of Absence General Clause in Contracts

Unpaid Leaves of Absence General. 1. Unless otherwise indicated, all such leaves shall be without pay or other compensation, shall be without salary schedule credit, and shall be without accrued or accumulation of benefits (e.g., sick leave). All unused benefits which were accrued by the teacher prior to the leave of absence shall be credited to the teacher upon the teacher’s return from a leave. 2. Unless otherwise indicated, application for a leave of absence for one (1) full school year must be made by a teacher on or before March 1 of the school year prior to the leave. Exceptions for emergencies may be granted by the District. 3. Unless otherwise indicated in the specific leave provision, upon applying for and being granted a leave from a teaching assignment, a teacher shall, upon conclusion of the leave, be assigned to a position for which he/she is certified. The teacher may make a request to return to their current position when making their application for a leave of absence. 4. By March 1 prior to the expiration of a full school year leave under Paragraphs A, B, E and J above, a teacher on leave must notify the Superintendent in writing of his/her intent to return to the teacher’s position the following school year. The Board shall advise the teacher by certified letter of this obligation during the month of March. If the teacher fails to notify the Superintendent by April 15, the teacher shall be considered to be on layoff and subject to recall under the procedures in Article XIII. 5. A leave of absence shall not exempt a teacher from the provisions of layoff contained in the contract. A layoff notice is required only if it will affect employment beyond the length of the leave. 6. Failure to return from leave on the date specified in said leave shall be a non-arbitrary and non-capricious reason for dismissal. 7. If a position that a teacher is certified and qualified for is not available at the completion of their leave, the district may extend the leave for an additional year.