Leave Policies Summary

Below, you will find a short description of the different leaves and the forms needed for application.  Please contact Human Resources for complete leave policies.

 Professional Personnel - Leave and Absences ( The 2 forms required are the Medical Leave Request Form and  the Medical Report Form-) - For teachers and other certificated employees hired for the school year in accordance with State law. 10 days per year, without loss of pay, will accumulate if not used.  After absence of six (6) or more consecutive days, because of personal illness, employee must provide completed Lafayette Parish School System Request for Medical Leave Form to Human Resources. 

Non-Certificated Support Personnel - Leave and Absences (The 2 forms required are the Medical Leave Request Form and the Medical Report Form) - Non-certificated personnel shall be allowed ten (10) days of leave of absence per year, without loss of pay, to cover illness and other personal emergencies; unused leave will accumulate.  Employee must provide completed Lafayette Parish School System Request for Medical Leave Form to Human Resources.

 Administrative Personnel - Leaves and Absences (The 2 forms required are the Medical Leave Request Form  and the Medical Report Form) - Administrators and supervisors are granted sick and emergency leave on the same basis as teachers.  Employee must provide completed Lafayette Parish School System Request for Medical Leave Form to Human Resources. 

Extended Medical Leave (The 2 forms required are the Medical Leave Form  and the Medical Report Form)- Full-time teachers can take up to ninety (90) days and half-time teachers can take up to forty-five (45) days of extended sick leave in each six-year period of employment.  Pay rate is 65% of daily rate of pay.  School bus drivers are also eligible for this leave. Employee must provide completed Lafayette Parish School System Request for Medical Leave Form to Human Resources. 

Medical Sabbatical Leave ( The 2 forms required are the Medical Sabbatical Application  and the Medical Report Form) - Members of the teaching staff (Teachers only) of public schools in all parishes and municipalities of the State of Louisiana shall be eligible for sabbatical leave 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.  Applications for sabbatical leave shall be made on a form to be provided by Human Resources 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 school year for which leave is granted, 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.  Pay rate is sixty-five (65%) percent of the person’s salary at the time the leave begins. 

Professional Sabbatical Leave (Professional Sabbatical Form) - Members of the teaching staff (Teachers only)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 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.  Applications for sabbatical leave shall be made on a form to be provided by Human Resources 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 school year for which leave is granted.  Pay rate is sixty-five (65%) percent of the person’s salary at the time the leave begins.  The teacher 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. 

Professional Maternity Leave With Out Pay (The 2 forms required are the Medical Leave Request Form and the  Medical Report Form)- - An expectant professional employee has the option of choosing maternity leave without pay for the period of medical disability occasioned by pregnancy, child birth or its aftermath.  The medical leave request form must be submitted to the Human Resources Department prior to the end of the sixth (6^th) month of pregnancy. 

Professional Maternity Leave Pay (The 2 forms required are the Medical Leave Request Form and the Medical Report Form)- The maternity leave benefit for professional personnel in the Lafayette Parish School System shall be handled as any other medical condition governed under Policy File: GBRI.  Each expectant professional employee shall have the option of choosing maternity leave without pay or using current and accumulated sick leave for the period of medical disability occasioned by pregnancy, child birth, or its aftermath.  The School Board requires the completion of its Request for Medical Leave form, regardless of option chosen, by the employee’s physician as to the exact period of time of medically determined disability because of the pregnancy, child birth, or aftermath.  Furthermore, in this as in any other sick leave situation, the School Board reserves the right to have the employee examined by a physician of its own choosing and at its cost whenever it deems appropriate.  If there are any questions concerning the options, the employee should immediately contact the Human Resources Division.  Maternity leave shall count toward retirement as long as the requirements of the retirement system are met, and provided the employee on leave without pay pays both the employee’s and employer’s share of the cost.  Years of teaching, prior to the maternity leave, will be counted among those years required for tenure.  No employee under this option shall lose continuity in service.  An employee is expected to notify the Human Resources Division at least fifteen (15) days prior to returning to work.

 Leave-Without-Pay-Family and Medical Leave (The 2 forms required are the Medical Leave Request Form and the Medical Report Form) - Under Louisiana Law, a School Board may grant a leave-of-absence, without pay, for a period not exceeding one year.  Employee must provide completed Lafayette Parish School System Request for Medical Leave Form to Human Resources. 

Leave Without Pay-Non-Medical  (Non-Medical Leave Request Form)An employee may request leave without pay for professional study when the employee is not eligible for a sabbatical leave.

Military Leave- (Military Leave Form) All regular employees of the Lafayette Parish School System who may enlist or be drafted into the Armed Forces shall be granted military leave without pay.
 
Sick Leave Bank (Sick Leave Bank Form)-An employee who has depleted his/her accumulated sick and annual leave as a result of his/her seriously incapacitating and extended illness or injury may ask to receive donations of sick leave from other employees through the Sick Leave Bank in order that the ill/injured employee may receive income during the period when they are unable to work.  The employee must have been with the Lafayette Parish School System a minimum of six (6) months.