MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE

1998 Regular Session

To: Education

By: Representative Manning

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 37-7-307, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO AUTHORIZE SCHOOL BOARDS TO ALLOW THE ACCUMULATION OF SICK AND PERSONAL LEAVE BY LICENSED AND NONLICENSED EMPLOYEES AT THE SAME RATES SUCH LEAVE IS ACCRUED BY STATE EMPLOYEES; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. Section 37-7-307, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

37-7-307. (1) For purposes of this section, the term "licensed employee" shall mean any employee of a public school district required to hold a valid license by the Commission on Teacher and Administrator Education, Certification and Licensure and Development.

(2) The school board of a school district shall establish by rules and regulations a policy of sick leave with pay for licensed employees employed in the school district, and such policy shall include the following minimum provisions for sick and emergency leave with pay:

(a)  * * * At the beginning of each school year, each licensed employee shall be credited with a minimum sick leave allowance, with pay, of seven (7) days for absences caused by illness or physical disability of the employee during that school year.  In addition, a school board, in its discretion, may authorize the accrual of sick leave allowance by licensed employees as follows:

Continuous Monthly

Service Accrual Rate

1 month to 3 years 8 hours per month

37 months to 8 years 7 hours per month

97 months to 15 years 6 hours per month

Over 15 years 5 hours per month

(b) Any unused portion of the total sick leave allowance shall be carried over to the next school year and credited to such licensed employee if the licensed employee remains employed in the same school district. In the event any public school licensed employee transfers from one (1) public school district in Mississippi to another, any unused portion of the total sick leave allowance credited to such licensed employee shall be credited to such licensed employee in the computation of unused leave for retirement purposes under Section 25-11-109. Accumulation of sick leave allowed under this section shall be unlimited.

(c) No deduction from the pay of such licensed employee may be made because of absence of such licensed employee caused by illness or physical disability of the licensed employee until after all sick leave allowance credited to such licensed employee has been used.

(d) For the first ten (10) days of absence of a licensed employee because of illness or physical disability, in any school year, in excess of the sick leave allowance credited to such licensed employee, there may be deducted from the pay of such licensed employee the established substitute amount of licensed employee compensation paid in that local school district, necessitated because of the absence of the licensed employee as a result of illness or physical disability. Thereafter, the regular pay of such absent licensed employee may be suspended and withheld in its entirety for any period of absence because of illness or physical disability during that school year.

(3) Beginning with the school year 1983-1984, each licensed employee at the beginning of each school year shall be credited with a minimum personal leave allowance, with pay, of two (2) days for absences caused by personal reasons during that school year. In addition, a school board, in its discretion, may authorize the accrual of personal leave allowance by licensed employees as follows:

Continuous Monthly

Service Accrual Rate

1 month to 3 years 12 hours per month

37 months to 8 years 14 hours per month

97 months to 15 years 16 hours per month

Over 15 years 18 hours per month

 * * * Personal leave shall not be taken on the first day of the school term, the last day of the school term, on a day previous to a holiday or a day after a holiday. Personal leave may be used for professional purposes, including absences caused by attendance of such licensed employee at a seminar, class, training program, professional association or other functions designed for educators. No deduction from the pay of such licensed employee may be made because of absence of such licensed employee caused by personal reasons until after all personal leave allowance credited to such licensed employee has been used. However, the superintendent of a school district  * * * , in his discretion, may allow a licensed employee personal leave in addition to the minimum personal leave allowance authorized in the school district's policy of personal leave, under the condition that there shall be deducted from the salary of such licensed employee the actual amount of any compensation paid to any person as a substitute, necessitated because of the absence of the licensed employee.

(4) Beginning with the school year 1992-1993, each licensed employee shall be credited with a professional leave allowance, with pay, for each day of absence caused by reason of such employee's statutorily required membership and attendance at a regular or special meeting held within the State of Mississippi of the State Board of Education, the Commission on Teacher and Administrator Education, Certification and Licensure and Development, the Commission on School Accreditation, the Mississippi Authority for Educational Television and the meetings of the state textbook rating committees.

(5) Upon retirement from employment, each licensed and nonlicensed employee shall be paid for not more than thirty (30) days of unused accumulated leave earned while employed by the school district in which the employee is last employed. Such payment for licensed employees shall be made by the school district at a rate equal to the amount paid to substitute teachers and for nonlicensed employees, the payment shall be made by the school district at a rate equal to the federal minimum wage. The payment shall be treated in the same manner for retirement purposes as a lump sum payment for personal leave as provided in Section 25-11-103(e). Any remaining lawfully credited unused leave, for which payment has not been made, shall be certified to the Public Employees' Retirement System in the same manner and subject to the same limitations as otherwise provided by law for unused leave.

(6) The school board may adopt rules and regulations which will reasonably aid to implement the policy of sick and personal leave, including, but not limited to, rules and regulations having the following general effect:

(a) Requiring the absent licensed employee to furnish the certificate of a physician or dentist or other medical practitioner as to the illness of the absent licensed employee, where the absence is for four (4) or more consecutive school days, or for two (2) consecutive school days immediately preceding or following a nonschool day;

(b) Providing penalties, by way of full deduction from salary, or entry on the work record of the licensed employee, or other appropriate penalties, for any materially false statement by the licensed employee as to the cause of absence;

(c) Forfeiture of accumulated or future sick leave, if the absence of the licensed employee is caused by optional dental or medical treatment or surgery which could, without medical risk, have been provided, furnished or performed at a time when school was not in session;

(d) Enlarging, increasing or providing greater sick or personal leave allowances than the minimum standards established by this section in the discretion of the school board of each school district.

(7) The school boards are * * * authorized and empowered to include in their budgets provisions for the payment of substitute teachers, necessitated because of the absence of regular licensed employees. All such substitute teachers shall be paid wholly from district funds other than minimum education program funds. Such school boards are * * * authorized and empowered, in their discretion, to pay, from district funds other than minimum education program funds, the whole or any part of the salaries of licensed employees granted leaves for the purpose of special studies or training.

(8) The school board may * * * adopt rules and regulations which will reasonably implement such leave policies for all other nonlicensed school employees as the board deems appropriate.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 1998.