FILE: GBRIC
TEMPORARY DISABILITY
A certified or non-certified employee shall be granted a leave of absence without pay in accordance with the provisions contained herein upon verification of temporary disability. Pregnancy shall be considered a temporary disability.
The Iberville Parish School Board shall grant to regular employees leave without pay for maternity purposes for a reasonable period of time before and after the birth of a child. Reasonable period of time means that period during which the female employee is disabled on account of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions. Regular employees, for purposes of this policy, shall mean teachers serving under contract (not to include substitute teachers or teachers replacing others on leave) and other female employees who are employed by the School Board on a regular basis. Such leave shall be granted upon proper application to the School Board for maternity leave.
Employees may be permitted to use current and accumulated sick leave days in lieu of maternity leave upon proper request. The period of disability for which sick leave may be used shall be determined by the employee’s physician, in conjunction with the employee and appropriate school personnel, and submitted to the School Board in writing.
Each employee granted maternity leave in accordance with state law who has no remaining sick leave days available may also be granted up to thirty (30) days of extended sick leave in each six-year period of employment in accordance with policy GBRIB, Emergency and Sick Leave.
The employee shall be allowed to continue duties as long as the employee, employee's physician and the Superintendent conclude that duties can be performed effectively, and in the event of disagreement or the employee is dissatisfied, an appeal can be initiated in accordance with policy, GAE, Non-Title IX Complaints and Grievances.
It is the responsibility of the employee to submit a request for leave in writing no less than sixty (60) days before the anticipated date of the leave unless the disability is of an emergency nature. If the employee knows at the beginning of a semester that she will not be able to complete the semester because of pregnancy, she shall notify the principal and Superintendent;
An employee on maternity leave is eligible to be reinstated at the beginning of the next school year subsequent to the birth of the child. Verification by the attending physician that the employee is capable of performing assigned duties shall be submitted to the Superintendent prior to assuming duties;
It is the responsibility of the employee to submit a request in writing no less than thirty (30) days before the anticipated date of return;
A person granted temporary disability shall be eligible for reinstatement to the position previously held. The employee shall be assigned a position in the section or school if the employee is properly qualified or certified for the assignment. If there is no vacancy for his/her qualifications (certification) he/she shall be assigned a position elsewhere in the school district for which proper qualifications (certification) are held;
A person granted maternity leave is obligated to accept an assignment offered provided it is within certification and accreditation qualifications; otherwise, this School Board shall assume the employee to have forfeited job rights;
Maternity leave shall be cancelled if the person on leave has not requested reinstatement within two (2) calendar years of the date of the beginning of the maternity leave and it shall be the School Board's assumption that the employee's rights of employment shall have been vacated or the employee may be retired in consonance with applicable law;
The School Board shall grant leaves of absence not to exceed thirty (30) days to regular employed teachers after the legal adoption of a child. If multiple children are adopted on the same date, the event shall be considered a single qualifying event. The granting of such leave shall not affect any of the tenure rights with the teacher may have acquired under state law.
The teacher shall notify the Superintendent in writing of the request in sufficient time to allow for the employment of an adequate replacement.
Each employee granted adoptive leave in accordance with state law who has no remaining sick leave days available may also be granted up to thirty (30) days of extended sick leave in each six-year period of employment for personal illness related to illness of an infant, or for required medical visits certified by a physician as relating to infant health.
Adoptive leave shall not interrupt the consecutive service for sabbatical leave purposes.
The Superintendent shall be notified in writing of the desire to be reinstated at least thirty (30) days prior to the anticipated date of return;
A conference should be scheduled with the Superintendent by all personnel within the first sixty (60) days of pregnancy;
Persons granted a temporary disability leave shall retain all accrued benefits;
An employee who is absent after six (6) consecutive days, must file a doctor's statement verifying his/her capability to perform assigned duties.
No benefit shall be payable to an employee because of a disability which results from any of the following:
Intentionally self-inflicted;
Participation in any unlawful act;
Participating in a riot or civil demonstration;
Working for another employer other than this school district; or
Following a termination date which was determined prior to occurrence of disability.
Adopted: October 23, 1978
Revised: January 11, 2021
Revised: September 11, 2023
Ref: U.S. Constitution, Amendment XIV
20 USC 1681 (Educational Amendments, 1972)
42 USC 2000d (Civil Rights Act, 1964)
La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§17:1171, 17:1211, 23:334, 23:341, 23:342
Cleveland Board of Education v. Lafleur, 414 U.S. 632 (1974)
Geduldig v. Aiello, 417 U.S. 484, 92 S.Ct. 2485 (1974)
Board minutes, 1-11-21, 9-11-23
Iberville Parish School Board