FILE:  GBRHA

 

PROFESSIONAL PERSONNEL SABBATICAL LEAVE FOR TEACHERS/ADMINISTRATORS

 

 

  1. ELIGIBILITY

    Members of the teaching staff of public schools in all parishes and municipalities of the State of Louisiana shall be eligible for sabbatical leave for the purpose of professional improvement or for the purpose of medical leave for two (2) semesters immediately following any twelve (12) or more consecutive semesters of active service in the parish where the teacher is employed or for one (1) semester following six (6) or more consecutive semesters of service.

 

  1. PROCEDURE FOR APPLICATION

    Applications for sabbatical leave shall be made on a form to be provided by the Superintendent of Schools in the parish or city where the teacher is employed.  Applications shall be sent to the Superintendent by registered mail at least sixty (60) days preceding the beginning of the semester of the year for which leave is requested, except that, where a teacher has become sick during a semester and requests medical leave for the purpose of recuperating from such sickness, it shall be sufficient if the application is mailed thirty (30) days before the date upon which the requested leave is to commence.

    Every application for medical sabbatical leave shall be accompanied by a statement from a licensed physician certifying that the leave is medically necessary.  If the School Board, upon review of the application, questions the validity or accuracy of the certification, the School Board may require the applicant, as a condition for continued consideration of the application, to be examined by a licensed physician selected by the School Board.  In such a case, the School Board shall pay all costs of the examination and any tests determined to be necessary.  If the physician selected by the School Board finds medical necessity, the leave application shall be granted.

    If the physician selected by the School Board disagrees with the certification of the physician selected by the applicant, then the School Board may require the applicant, as a condition for continued consideration of the application, to be examined by a third licensed appropriate physician whose name appears next in the rotation of physicians on a list established by the local medical society for such purpose and maintained by the School Board.  All costs of an examination and any required tests by a third doctor shall be paid by the School Board.  The opinion of the third physician shall be determinative of the issue.  The opinion of all physicians consulted, as provided, shall be submitted to the School Board in the form of a sworn statement, as referenced in La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §14:125.

    All information contained in any statement from a physician shall be confidential and shall not be subject to the public records law.

 

  1. MANNER IN WHICH LEAVE MAY BE SPENT

    Every person on medical sabbatical is prohibited from undertaking any gainful employment during such leave unless all of the following conditions are met.

 

  1. The teacher can demonstrate that he/she will be working not more than twenty (20) hours a week in a part-time job that he/she has been working for not less than one hundred twenty (120) days prior to the beginning of such leave.

  2. The doctor who certifies the medical necessity of the leave indicates that such part-time work does not impair the purpose for which the leave is granted.

  3. The School Board authorizes such part-time work.

 

Violation of the above prohibition shall result in the medical leave being rescinded.

 

Every person on sabbatical leave for the purpose of professional improvement during each semester of leave shall pursue a program of study earning at least nine (9) undergraduate credit hours provided such hours directly improve the person’s skills and knowledge as a teacher or six (6) graduate credit hours or be certified as a full-time student at an institution of higher learning accredited by the Board of Education of the state or territory in which the institution is located.

 

Each person granted sabbatical leave, as a condition of leave, shall be prohibited from being employed during their leave by any public or private elementary or secondary school in Louisiana or in any other state.

 

  1. COMPENSATION WHILE ON LEAVE

    Each person granted sabbatical leave shall received and be paid compensation at the rate of sixty-five percent (65%) of the person’s salary at the time the leave begins.

 

 

Ref:    La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§11:755, 14:125, 17:1170, 17:1171, 17:1172, 17:1173, 17:1174, 17:1175, 17:1176, 17:1177, 17:1178, 17:1179, 17:1180, 17:1181, 17:1182, 17:1183, 17:1184, 17:1185, 17:1187

Board minutes, 6-18-80, 4-14-92, 6-23-92, 7-1-92, 8-18-92, 10-4-95, 11-3-99, 2-4-04

 

Lafayette Parish School Board