ART 19: TEMPORARY LEAVE

A. Leaves of Absence Without Pay

A leave of absence without pay or increment may be granted to a professional status staff member for reasons which include, but are not necessarily limited to family illness, study or travel, or the seeking or holding of a political office. Leaves under this section will not be unreasonably denied.

Requests for leaves of absence without pay should be submitted to the Director of Human Resources. The professional staff member, upon return to the Lexington Public Schools, will be granted a position of comparable responsibility to that which was held by him/her prior to his/her leave.

All benefits which the professional staff member held when leaving the system shall be restored upon return.

The professional staff member must give notification of his/her intent to return from such a leave of absence by February 15.

B. Maternity Leave

A professional staff member who is pregnant may remain in her position until the conclusion of her pregnancy. Maternity leave begins for a professional staff member on the child's day of birth and continues for up to 56 consecutive calendar days that include weekends, holidays, summer vacation days, and snow days. The professional staff member must notify the Director of Human Resources within two weeks following the birth. The professional staff member will be paid for each work day during her eight weeks of maternity leave and these days are deducted from her sick days. She will also continue to receive all her normal medical and dental benefits.
If, for medical reasons, more than the 56 consecutive days of leave are required, the professional staff member must provide the Director of Human Resources with medical documentation prior to the end of her original maternity leave. Those days of leave which are work days will be deducted from the professional staff member’s accumulated sick days. In the event an employee does not have enough sick days, she may apply to the sick leave bank as provided in Article 18. In such a case, the professional staff member is still entitled to a full maternity leave.

After the birth of her child, a professional staff member may elect to extend her maternity leave an additional four (4) weeks for a total of twelve (12) weeks provided for under the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA).* FMLA leave and the maternity leave described above run concurrently. Requests for FMLA leave should be sent to the Director of Human Resources at least three (3) weeks before the FMLA extension begins. The professional staff member is not paid for any work days that occur during the four (4) week FMLA extension. She will also be responsible for paying to the town her share of health and dental insurance, which would normally have been deducted from her paycheck. The professional staff member should contact the Benefits Coordinator prior to the commencement of the four (4) week FMLA extension to arrange payment of any insurance amount due. If a snow day or days should occur during the four (4) week FMLA extension, the FMLA time would be extended to equal that day or days.

A professional staff member will be granted childrearing leave of absence by the School Committee of up to two (2) years from the effective date of commencement of leave, but in any event, it may last until the beginning of a new school year.
Professional staff members who utilize above mentioned maternity leave(s) shall retain professional status and seniority rights which would otherwise be theirs if they were actively employed in the system during that period. Upon their return, they shall receive the normal salary increment, provided that the professional staff members had completed at least one half (1/2) year at their present position. Professional staff members desiring to return by September of any school year shall notify the director of Human Resources in writing of such intent on or before February 15.

(* The Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) requires employers to grant eligible employees up to twelve (12) weeks
of unpaid leave per twelve (12) month period.)

C. Visitation

Any professional staff member, upon application to and approval of the Superintendent, may be absent to attend conferences and meetings or to visit schools for professional improvement. If this request is rejected, upon written request the professional staff member shall receive a written response as to the reason for rejection.

D. LEA Days

LEA representatives shall be granted up to twenty-five (25) days for attendance at MTA/NEA business conventions. Such time is not to be taken for training programs in collective bargaining.

1. E. Personal Days
   
   Professional staff members may be absent for two (2) days a year for such as, but not restricted to, the following reasons: legal affairs, business or personal matters, adoption of a child, court appearances, real estate business, serious family illness, graduation from a place of higher learning, funerals. Reasons which are unusual, imperative or emergency in nature at which their attendance is required and no other arrangement can be made are approved upon request. Written notification to Director of human Resources for such personal leave will be made at least forty-eight (48) hours in advance, except in the case of an emergency, in which case, notification can be made by phone followed by written notification during or after the absence. The professional staff member need only state that he/she needs a personal day for reasons consistent with the policy as stated above. Personal days shall not be taken immediately preceding or following a vacation or holiday except by special permission of the Superintendent. Permission shall not be granted for travel purposes except when unforeseen travel emergencies such as an airplane strike make it impossible for the professional staff member to return as scheduled.
   
   F. Military Leave
   
   1. The School Committee agrees to pay the differential between military pay and the professional staff member's salary when the former is smaller, in those instances in which a professional staff member is called into temporary active duty with any unit of the Armed Forces Reserves or the State National Guard, provided that such obligations cannot be fulfilled when school is not in session. Payment differential for such call-up shall not be in excess of twenty (20) school days.
   
   2. Military Leave will be granted to any professional staff member who is involuntarily inducted into any branch of the Armed Forces of the United States. Upon return from such leave, a professional staff member will be placed on the salary schedule at the level which he/she would have achieved had he/she remained actively employed in the Lexington Public Schools. Up to two (2) years plus one (1) month salary credit will be given for such absence. Credit for the time spent in the Armed Forces will not be given as part of the seven (7) years required for
   
2. Sabbatical Leave. The professional staff member, upon return to the Lexington Public Schools, will be granted a position of comparable responsibility to that which was held by him/her prior to his/her involuntary induction.
   
   G. Peace Corps, Vista, National Teachers Corps
   
   A leave of absence without pay for up to three (3) years will be granted to a professional staff member who joins the Peace Corps, Vista, the National Teachers Corps or other nationally recognized service organization, or who serves as an exchange teacher. The professional staff member will be granted increment steps for the three (3) year leave of absence. The professional staff member, upon return to the Lexington Public Schools, will be granted a position of comparable responsibility to that which was held by him/her prior to his/her taking such leave.
   
   H. Religious Leave
   
   Written request for required observance of religious holidays shall be made one (1) week in advance to the Director of Human Resources. Such leave will not exceed three (3) days. Such absence will not be charged to sick leave or to personal day. Travel time to and from places of religious worship is not covered by this Section.
   
   I. Legal Proceedings
   
   Time necessary for appearances in any legal proceedings connected with the professional staff member's employment in the Lexington Public Schools shall be granted upon request to the Superintendent.
   
   J. Miscellaneous
   
   Except where otherwise provided, leaves in this Article shall be in addition to sick leave and no professional staff member will be required to arrange for his/her own substitute. Every effort will be made to provide qualified substitutes when regular professional staff members are absent.
   
   K. Professional Leave
   
   1. Professional staff members shall be eligible for professional leave, as provided in this leave program, after ten years of service in Lexington and at the maximum of a salary column. (Those who had participated in a sabbatical within the previous ten years would not be eligible to participate.)
   2. A maximum of three (3) professional staff members shall be eligible to take professional leave for a full year at one-half (1/2) pay.
   3. The year during which professional leave is taken shall be treated as a year of Lexington experience for all salary purposes.
   4. Requests for professional leave for the ensuing year shall be presented to the Superintendent, in writing, by the conclusion of the first day of school, following the December recess (but no later than January 10) and shall be accompanied by a proposed professional leave plan. This shall be a detailed outline, including a statement of aims and objectives related to one or more of the following:
   
   a. Updating professional skills, relative to present professional position;
   b. Moving to be certified in an additional professional area, wherein there may be a potential
   need for the school system;
   c. Research new events or experiment in curriculum, which may be of potential use for
   program improvement;
   d. Participate in a program of travel associated with the system's curriculum;
   e. Retrain in a new skill area.
   
3. 5. Professional staff members selected for participation in this professional leave program would be: first, from among staff volunteering; second, from staff recommended by peers; and third, from staff recommended by supervisors/administrators. The final selection will be made by the School Committee upon recommendation of the Superintendent.
   
   L. Adoption Leave
   
   Professional staff members who adopt children are entitled to a paid leave, beginning on the day of the adoption, of up to 56 consecutive calendar days, which would include weekends, holidays, summer vacation days, and snow days. Work days which occur during this leave, shall be deducted from accumulated sick days. Special consideration will be given if circumstances require absence prior to the adoption.
   
   M. Family Leave (Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993) (FMLA)
   
   Professional staff members are eligible for an unpaid leave of up to twelve (12) weeks per a twelve (12) month period for any of the following reasons: (1) to care for the professional staff member's child within a year of birth, adoption, or the initiation of foster care; (2) to care for a close relative with a serious health condition; (3) because the professional staff member's own serious health condition makes the professional staff member unable to perform the professional staff member's job.
   
   N. Sabbatical Leave
   
   1. Professional staff members shall be eligible for sabbatical leave, as provided in this Article, after at least seven (7) consecutive years of employment in the Lexington Public Schools. Time spent in military service shall not be credited as part of the required seven years; but such service, when involuntary, shall not be considered a break in consecutive years of employment.
   
   2. A maximum of six (6) professional staff shall be eligible for sabbatical leave during a single year as follows:
   
   Four (4) persons shall be eligible to take one-half (1/2) year of leave at full pay or one (1) full year of leave at one-half (1/2) pay, and two (2) persons shall be eligible to take one (1) full year of leave at full pay.
   
   3. For professional staff members, pay will be interpreted to mean the basic salary, excluding supplemental payments for special assignments, they would have been paid if in active service during the period of leave.
   
   4. For administrators, department heads and coordinators, pay will be interpreted to mean the total salary they would have been paid if in active service during the period of leave.
   
   5. The year during which sabbatical leave is taken shall be treated as a year of Lexington experience for salary purposes.
   
   6. Requests for sabbatical leave for the ensuing year shall be presented to the Superintendent in
   writing by February first, and shall be accompanied by a proposed sabbatical leave plan. This shall be a detailed plan, including a statement of aims and objectives relating to the improvement of the applicant's capabilities as a professional staff member in the Lexington Public Schools, and the procedures and activities whereby these aims and objectives are to be achieved.
   
   7. Sabbatical leaves may be approved by the School Committee on recommendation of the Superintendent. After approval, and prior to the close of the school year preceding the year of sabbatical leave, a person to whom leave has been granted shall file with the Superintendent and the School Committee a final sabbatical leave plan. Such plan shall be consistent with the proposed plan on which approval of leave was based, and shall be accompanied by appropriate evidence (such as letters granting admission to study at educational institutions) that the activities described therein are feasible.
   
   8. Upon the filing of the final sabbatical leave plan, the professional staff member taking leave shall enter into a written agreement with the School Committee whereby such person agrees that
   
   a. His/her activities during the period of sabbatical leave will be substantially as described in the final plan, subject to modification only with the recommendation of the Superintendent and the approval of the School Committee;
   b. He/she will not engage in any gainful employment during the period of sabbatical leave, except as may be expressly stipulated in the final plan;
   c. He/she will file brief monthly progress reports with the Superintendent during the period of sabbatical leave;
   d. Upon expiration of sabbatical leave he/she will immediately return to service in the Lexington Public Schools for a period of two (2) years in the case of a full year's leave, and a period of one (1) year in the case of a one-half (1/2) year's leave. Upon resumption of active service the professional staff member will, if possible, be assigned to the position he/she held just prior to taking leave or a comparable position; and such contract shall incorporate by reference the provisions of Paragraph I of this Article.
   
   9. Upon a finding by the School Committee that an professional staff member, while on sabbatical leave, willfully and without justifiable excuse, has failed to carry out activities as specified in the final sabbatical leave plan or to file a required monthly report, or has filed a false or misleading monthly report or reports, or has engaged in unapproved gainful employment, the School Committee may:
   
   a. If any portion of the leave period remains unexpired at the time of such finding, order the professional staff member's immediate return to service;
   b. Order the return of such portion of salary paid for time on leave (or the withholding of such portion of salary due and unpaid for time on leave) as the Committee finds bears a just and reasonable relation to the gravity of the infraction. In the case of a willful, serious and sustained departure from the final sabbatical leave plan, or of repeated failure after warning to file monthly reports, or of sustained engagement in unapproved gainful employment, or of deceitful and material falsehood in any monthly report, the School Committee may order such leave converted into an equivalent period of leave without pay and require the return of all salary monies theretofore paid to the professional staff member for time on leave.
   
   10. Nothing shall preclude the School Committee from determining to increase the number of sabbaticals awarded should they deem it to be in the interest of the school system
   
   11. The School Committee continues to support opportunities for staff to grow and develop. While a sabbatical leave may offer one approach to professional development, there may be other
   applications of these funds which allow greater variety of activities and greater participation of staff in any given year. A working committee shall be established consisting of three (3) members selected by the LEA and three (3) members selected by the Superintendent to serve at his discretion. The Committee will make recommendations to the Superintendent by November 1 each year thereafter in which this contract remains in force as to the alternative applications of eligible funds under this Article. The Superintendent will recommend the use of any, or all, funds under this Article to the School Committee. The School Committee may approve such use(s) upon recommendation of the Superintendent.