Leave

Download Annual Leave form (Word)

Twelve-month employees must work twelve (12) months or one complete year in order to be eligible for annual leave based on their contractual date of hire.  Twelve-month employees earn 1 1/4 days of annual leave per month or fifteen days per year.  Annual leave may be accumulated to 45 days.  On June 30th each year, all annual leave days over 45 will be lost.

Download Sick & Personal Leave (Word)

The use of personal days by certified staff members will be in accordance with the following general guidelines:

• Requests for use of personal days must be submitted to and approved by immediate supervisor at least 24 hours in advance.
  • Immediate supervisors may refuse to authorize use of personal days if, in the opinion of the supervisor, the absence of the employee during the requested time would be detrimental to the mission and operation of district schools.
• Personal days may not be used:         
  • During the first 10 and last 10 school days of the school year.
  • On days which immediately precede and/or immediately follow time periods designated as holidays, staff development, etc. on the school calendar.            
  • During state testing periods and/or during other major testing periods as designated by the district.
  • On the last teacher work day of the year.
  • Emergency and/or special need situations will be addressed by the principal and appropriate District staff as designated by the Superintendent.
• Use of personal days in any manner that is prohibited by provisions of this regulation will result in loss of pay for the day or days used.

Note:  Approval of personal leave for classified employees will be up to the immediate supervisor. These employees are exempt from the above for the following reasons:

1. No subs are involved.
2. The policy is linked directly to teachers instructing students.
3. Administrators need the flexibility of utilizing classified employees for the benefit of their  program.

Note:  Only full-time employees are eligible to participate in the District’s Personnel Leave Program. 

Download Sick & Personal Leave (Word)

Download Sick Leave Table (PDF)

All full-time employees of public schools shall accrue sick leave on the basis of one and one-fourth days of sick leave for each month of active service (see chart below showing length of contract and allocation of leave) or 12 days for nine months of active service. Sick leave accrued but not used may be accumulated up to 190 days if the employees do not violate their respective contracts. Provisions for the additional benefits provided for in this section must be made on the same basis as existing sick leave benefits.

A school employee using sick leave as provided for in this section may not be terminated from employment during a continuing sick leave of less than 91 days.

The provisions of this section do not apply to employees of a school district which provides more liberal sick leave benefits. Any benefits accrued under Dorchester  District Two’s sick leave policies in effect prior to July 1, 1976, are not lost as a result of this section.

Sick leave accumulated in compliance with this section is transferable to any school district in the State or to the State Department of Education by the employee with the earned leave.

Employees may use sick leave only for their own illness or the illness of their spouse, child, or parent.

Sick Leave Transfer
Transfer of sick leave days is available to South Carolina public school employees and other employees of state agencies. The employee must have the former employer provide to the Payroll Department verification of sick leave days earned. Dorchester School District Two will accept up to 90 transferred sick leave days from other school districts or state agencies if employment is consecutive and occurs within six months following the termination from the former South Carolina school district or state agency. The maximum number of days that may be transferred is 90.

Bereavement leave shall be considered sick leave. Personnel may use bereavement leave only for their immediate family (Immediate family includes parent, brother or sister, spouse, child, grandparent or mother/father-in-law.) In addition, bereavement leave may be taken for brother/sister-in-law and the children thereof, but the approved duration of such leave shall be limited to one day. Any consideration other than that allowed by either law or policy must be approved by a majority of the Board of Trustees.

The Board will provide leave to eligible employees consistent with the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA). Eligible employees are entitled to up to 12 work weeks of unpaid family and medical leave in any 12-month period. The District will continue to pay the District’s share of the employee’s health benefits during the leave. In addition, the District will restore the employee to the same or an equivalent position after the termination of the leave in accordance with Board policy.

In complying with the FMLA, the District intends to adhere to the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act as well as other applicable federal and state laws.

The following administrative rules apply only to the Family and Medical Leave Act.

Eligibility

An employee who has worked for the District for at least 12 months is eligible for 12 work weeks of FMLA leave during a 12-month period provided the employee worked at least 1,250 hours in the 12 months preceding the beginning of the leave.

Note:  Certified employees must work 152 days to receive credit for a year of teaching experience.

The 12 months of employment need not be consecutive months. 

Twelve months or a year as defined by the district is July 1 to June 30.

Types of Leave

An eligible employee may take FMLA leave for the following:

• birth and first-year care of a child
• adoption or foster placement of a child
• serious illness of an employee’s spouse, parent or child
• employee’s own serious health condition that keeps the employee from performing the essential functions of his/her job
• A serious health condition is one involving continuous treatment by a health care provider that results in a period of incapacity of more than three consecutive calendar days and involves extensive treatment.  Such conditions as asthma and diabetes are included in this definition.

The District requires an employee to use accrued paid vacation, personal or family leave for purposes of family leave. The District requires an employee to use accrued vacation, personal or medical/sick leave for purposes of a medical leave. An employee cannot compel the District to permit the employee to use accrued medical/sick leave in any situation under which the leave could not normally be used.

Spouses Employed by the School District

If a husband and wife eligible for leave are employed by this school district, their combined amount of leave for birth, adoption, foster care placement and parental illness may be limited to 12 weeks.  An employee may not take FMLA leave for a parent-in-law.

Intermittent and Reduced Leave (Hours Must Be Tracked)

Intermittent leave is leave taken in separate blocks of time due to a single illness or injury.
Reduced leave is a leave schedule that reduces an employee’s usual number of hours per work week or hours per work day.
Intermittent or reduced leave is available only for the employee’s own serious health condition or to care for a seriously ill spouse, child or parent.  Such leave may not be used for the birth or adoption/placement of a child.
The employee who wishes to use intermittent or reduced leave must have the prior approval of the District. Although the District and employee may agree to an intermittent or reduced leave plan, the employee who uses family leave is not automatically entitled to use such leave on an intermittent basis or on a reduced leave schedule. The District may provide such leave for medical leave, but the District may transfer the employee to a position which is equivalent, but more suitable for intermittent periods of leave. The employee must furnish the District with the expected dates of the planned medical treatment and the duration of the treatment. The Superintendent or a designated representative must authorize such leave in writing.

Benefits

The District will maintain the employee’s health coverage under the District’s group health insurance plan during the period of FMLA leave.  The employee should make arrangements with the District to pay the employee’s share of health insurance (e.g., family coverage) prior to the beginning of the FMLA leave.

Increases in premiums or deductibles that apply to active employees also apply to employees on FMLA leave.  An employer may drop coverage for an employee whose premium payment is late only after providing written notice to the employee that the payment has not been received.  This notice must be mailed to the employee at least 15 days after the date of the letter unless payment has been received.

The employee will not lose any other employment benefit accrued prior to the date on which leave began but is not entitled to accrue seniority or employment benefits during the leave period.  Employment benefits could include group life insurance, sick leave, annual leave, educational benefits and pensions.

Notice

When the FMLA leave is foreseeable, the employee must notify the District of his/her request for leave at least 30 days prior to the date when the leave is to begin.  If the leave is not foreseeable, the employee must give notice as early as is practical.  When the employee requests medical leave, the employee must make reasonable attempts to schedule treatment so as not to disrupt the District’s operations.

The District may deny the leave if the employee does not meet the notice requirements.

Designation of leave as FMLA leave
The District must designate the leave as paid or unpaid FMLA leave within two business days of learning that an FMLA reason supports the leave. The District must also provide other written information concerning the employee’s rights and obligations under FMLA. If the District does not make the designation on time or provide appropriate information, the absence will not count against the employee’s FMLA entitlement.

Certification

The District may require the employee to provide certification from a health care provider containing specific information required under the law if he/she requests a medical leave. If there is a question concerning the validity of such certification, a second, and if necessary, a third opinion can be required, both at the expense of the District.

Upon the employee’s return to work, the District will require that the employee present a fitness statement from the employee’s health care provider certifying that the employee is able to return to work. Two (2) days notification must be provided to the District prior to the employee’s return to work.

Restoration

When the employee returns from leave, the District will restore the employee to the same or an equivalent position with equivalent benefits, pay, terms and conditions of employment in accordance with board policy. The employee’s right to return to the same or an equivalent position is contingent upon the employee’s continued ability to perform all the essential functions of the job. An equivalent position is one that is the same or substantially similar in duties, responsibilities, conditions, privileges and status as the original position.

Under certain circumstances, the District may deny restoration to a key employee. The District will comply with the notice requirements of the FMLA in denying restoration. A key employee is one who is among the highest paid 10% of the employees and whose absence would cause the District to experience a substantial and grievous economic injury.

Instructional employees

Special leave rules apply to instructional employees.  Instructional employees are those employees whose principal function is to teach and instruct students in a small group or an individual setting. This term includes teachers, athletic coaches, driving instructors and special education assistants such as signers for the hearing impaired. It does not include teacher assistants or aides who do not have as their principal job actual teaching or instructing, nor does it include auxiliary personnel such as counselors, psychologists or curriculum specialists. It also does not include cafeteria workers, maintenance workers or bus drivers.

Limitations apply to instructional employees who take intermittent or reduced leave. If the leave requested is to care for a family member or for the employee’s own serious health condition and the leave is foreseeable based on planned medical treatment and the employee would be on leave for more than 20% of the total number of working days over the period the leave would extend, then the District may require the employee to choose one of the following:

• take the leave for a period or periods of a particular duration, not greater than the duration of the planned treatment; or
• transfer temporarily to an available alternative position for which the employee is qualified, which has equivalent pay and benefits, and which better accommodates recurring periods of leave than does the employee’s regular position.

Employees taking leave which constitutes 20% or less of the working days during the leave period would not be subject to transfer to an alternative position.

Limitations also apply to instructional employees who take leave near the end of a semester. When an instructional employee begins leave more than five weeks before the end of a semester, the District may require the employee to continue taking leave until the end of the semester under these conditions:

• the leave will last at least three weeks, and
• the employee would return to work during the three-week period before the end of the semester.

When an instructional employee begins leave for a purpose other than the employee’s own serious health condition during the five-week period before the end of the semester, the District may require the employee to continue taking leave until the end of the semester under these conditions:

• the leave will last more than two weeks, and
• the employee would return to work during the two-week period before the end of the semester.

When an instructional employee begins leave for a purpose other than the employee’s own serious health condition during the three-week period before the end of a semester and the leave will last more than five working days, the District may require the employee to continue taking leave until the end of the semester.

Leave taken for a period that ends with the school year and begins the next semester is leave taken consecutively, rather than intermittently. Summer and other vacations may not be counted against an employee’s FMLA leave entitlement. An instructional employee on FMLA leave at the end of the school year must receive normal benefits over the summer vacation.

Failure to return

The District is entitled to recover health care premiums paid during the leave if the employee fails to return from leave.  However, recovery cannot occur if the employee fails to return because of the continuation, recurrence or onset of a serious health condition due to circumstances beyond the control of the employee.

Legal Note:

Dorchester School District Two’s “Professional Personnel Leave” allows employees to accrue sick leave days up to a maximum of 190 days. The FMLA provides that eligible employees are entitled to up to 12 weeks of unpaid family and medical leave in any 12-month period. The FMLA addresses those situations where an employee has not accrued any sick leave and must be out of work due to personal or family illness.  In such a situation, the employee is entitled to up to 12 weeks (or 60 days) of unpaid leave and is not entitled to 190 days of unpaid leave. Only those employees who have accrued 190 days of sick leave may be absent from work for 190 days for illness.

Each employee is required to designate his leave as either sick leave or FMLA leave. If a person has accumulated 30 days of sick leave and needs to be out for illness for 60 days, he will be paid for 30 days and unpaid for 30 days. The FMLA leave runs concurrently with any paid sick, personal or annual leave that a person takes. 

An employee may elect, or the District may require, an employee to use accrued paid vacation, personal or family leave for purposes of family leave. An employee may elect or the District may require an employee to use accrued vacation, personal or medical/sick leave for purposes of medical leave. An employee cannot compel the District to permit the employee to use accrued medical/sick leave in any situation under which the leave could not normally be used.

In summary, Dorchester School District Two may allow those employees with greater than 60 days accrued sick leave to be out of work for greater than sixty days. However, those employees with less than 60 days accrued sick leave may only be out of work for the 60 days or 12 weeks allowed by the FMLA, with part being paid leave if sick leave is taken and the rest being unpaid leave.

An employee may elect to have unpaid leave prorated over the remaining number of paychecks. The employee must contact the finance office to make the request. If the employee leaves the district prior to the end of the contracted year, the employee may be subject to reimbursing the District for overpayment of wages.

Review Policy GCC, Issue Date 11/01

Personnel will be excused from work whenever such work will be precluded by the fulfillment of jury duty (in the event of even temporary relief from jury duty, personnel must return to their school work during the period of relief). Such times will not be charged against their leave and the district will pay for substitutes, if needed.

When selected for jury duty, teachers, certified personnel at the building level, or bus drivers may request a postponement to a date that does not conflict with the school term.

Download Military Leave Form (Word)

Military Leave
Employees of the district shall be entitled to military leave without loss of pay, seniority, or efficiency rating when attending military encampments or schools for training, under proper authority, and on all other occasions when ordered to active duty. This leave applies to members of the South Carolina National Guard, the United States Naval Reserve, the Officers Reserve Corps, the Enlisted Reserve Corps, the Reserve Corps of the Marines, the Coast Guard Reserve, and the United States Air Force Reserve.

Employees shall be entitled to such leave of absence for a period not exceeding fifteen (15) days in any one year during which they may be engaged in training or other such duties ordered by the Governor, the Department of Defense, the Treasury Department, the Department of the Navy, or the Department of the Air Force.  In the event an employee is called upon to serve during an emergency, he/she shall be entitled to such leave of absence for a period not exceeding thirty (30) additional days.

Download School Business Leave Form (Word)

When a staff member requests permission to attend or participate in conferences, workshops, university courses, or other professionally related activities requiring that individual to be absent from normal duties, this request should be made in writing well in advance. This written request must be approved by the principal/director and the Assistant Superintendent of Instruction. Each school will be allotted a lump sum of professional leave days to grant to its faculty members.

Download School Business Leave Form (Word)

When a staff member requests permission to attend or participate in conferences, workshops, university courses, or other professionally related activities requiring that individual to be absent from normal duties, this request should be made in writing well in advance. This written request must be approved by the principal/director and the Assistant Superintendent of Instruction. Each school will be allotted a lump sum of professional leave days to grant to its faculty members.

Dorchester School District Two does not participate in a sabbatical leave program.