Section 20-2-850. Sick leave for teachers and other personnel; accumulation of sick and personal leave; regaining forfeited leave; local policies; cost of employing substitute

   (a)(1) Each person employed in any public school system of this state in the capacity of teacher, student services support personnel, or administrative and supervisory personnel, hereinafter referred to in this part as "personnel," as classified by the Professional Standards Commission pursuant to subsection (a) of Code Section 20-2-200, except county or regional librarians, shall be entitled to sick leave with full pay computed on the basis of one and one-fourth working days for each completed contract month, and all unused sick leave shall be accumulated from one contract year to the next up to a maximum of 45 days, except for additional days which may be accumulated for the purposes provided for in Code Section 20-2-853. Personnel may utilize sick leave upon the approval of the local school superintendent or an appointed designee for absence due to illness or injury or necessitated by exposure to contagious disease or to illness or death in the immediate family. Personnel shall be charged with sick leave for absence only on days upon which they would otherwise work, and no charge against sick leave shall be made for absence on Sundays, holidays, or other nonworkdays.

   (2) A teacher or other person subject to this subsection shall not be charged with sick leave for absence due to an injury to such teacher or other person caused by a physical assault while such teacher or other person was engaged in the performance of his or her duties; provided, however, that this paragraph shall apply only to the first seven workdays of absence resulting from a single injury. A teacher or other person who is absent for up to seven days due to such an injury also shall not have his or her compensation reduced because of such absence or be required to pay the cost of a substitute.
   (b)(1) Any unused sick and personal leave accumulated by personnel pursuant to subsection (a) of this Code section shall be credited to such personnel and shall be transferred when there is a change in the employment of such personnel from one local board of education to another or from a local board of education to an unclassified position in the Department of Education, but no local board of education shall be required to transfer funds to another, nor shall the State Board of Education provide funds to a local unit of administration beyond those authorized by subsection (g) of Code Section 20-2-182 to finance the potential or actual cost incurred by a local unit of administration through the employment of personnel transferring accumulated unused sick and personal leave. Any accumulated unused sick and personal leave credited to personnel shall be forfeited if such personnel withdraw from service for a period of 12 or more consecutive months, unless the withdrawal from service is for educational leave to seek a higher level or different field of certification and provided that the withdrawal from service for this purpose is for no longer than 24 consecutive months. Any personnel who forfeit such accumulated sick and personal leave as required under this subsection shall be entitled to regain such accumulated sick and personal leave after such personnel have returned to service for a period of two consecutive years.

   (2) Any unused sick and personal leave accumulated by personnel employed by the Department of Education shall be credited to such personnel and shall be transferred when there is a change in the employment of such personnel from the Department of Education to a local board of education, but the State Board of Education shall not be required to provide funds to a local unit of administration beyond those authorized by subsection (g) of Code Section 20-2-182 to finance the potential or actual cost incurred by a local unit of administration through the employment of personnel transferring accumulated unused sick and personal leave as authorized in this paragraph. Any accumulated unused sick and personal leave credited to such personnel shall be forfeited if such personnel withdraw from service for a period of 12 or more consecutive months, unless the withdrawal from service is for educational leave to seek a higher level or different field of certification and provided that the withdrawal from service for this purpose is for no longer than 24 consecutive months. Any personnel who forfeit such accumulated sick and personal leave as required under this subsection shall be entitled to regain such accumulated sick and personal leave after such personnel have returned to service for a period of two consecutive years.

(c) (1) The sick leave and the accumulation of unused sick leave and the payments for unused sick leave provided for by this part shall be subject to subsection (g) of Code Section 20-2-182, but this part shall not be construed so as to prohibit local boards of education from adopting policies relative to sick leave and the accumulation of unused sick leave and payments for unused sick leave which are supplemental to this part, provided the cost of implementing and maintaining any such supplemental policies shall be paid entirely from local funds.

   (2) A local board of education may establish and set policies and procedures for a sick leave bank or pool of voluntarily contributed employee sick leave days. Participating employees shall make equal contributions to the bank or pool. Such employees may draw sick leave days from the bank or pool as provided by adopted local board of education policy. Any other provisions of this part or any other laws to the contrary notwithstanding, state allotted sick leave days funded pursuant to the provisions of subsection (g) of Code Section 20-2-182 may be contributed to or withdrawn from a local board of education sick leave bank or pool subject to the following requirements:

      (A) Each employee may contribute only up to a maximum of 45 state funded sick leave days to the bank or pool, but each employee may contribute as many locally funded sick leave days as provided for by local board of education policy; and

      (B) Each employee shall be entitled to withdraw from the bank or pool as many state and locally funded sick leave days as provided for by local board of education policy.

   (3) Local boards of education shall maintain for each employee an accurate, complete, and up-to-date record of all state and locally funded sick leave days contributed to and withdrawn from the sick leave bank or pool, and such record shall show a separate accounting for state funded and locally funded sick leave days.

   (4) A local board of education that establishes a sick leave bank pursuant to paragraph (2) of this subsection shall allow an employee of the local board to donate up to ten sick leave days to his or her spouse if such spouse is also an employee of the local board for purposes of maternity leave, illness, illness of a family member, or death of a family member.

(d) No personnel utilizing sick leave under this part shall be required to pay the cost of employing a substitute to serve in their absence on such sick leave.

Ga. L. 1953, Nov.-Dec. Sess., p. 43, §§ 1, 2; Ga. L. 1974, p. 477, § 1; Ga. L. 1977, p. 972, § 1; Ga. L. 1978, p. 990, § 1; Ga. L. 1980, p. 465, §§ 1, 2; Ga. L. 1986, p. 782, § 1; Ga. L. 1986, p. 1263, § 1; Ga. L. 1988, p. 1496, § 2; Ga. L. 1989, p. 56, § 1; Ga. L. 1989, p. 61, § 1; Ga. L. 1991, p. 1038, § 1; Ga. L. 1991, p. 1531, § 6; Ga. L. 1991, p. 1546, § 9; Ga. L. 1992, p. 6, § 20; Ga. L. 1997, p. 545, § 1; Ga. L. 2001, p. 298, § 1; Ga. L. 2003, p. 406, § 1; Ga. L. 2006, p. 543, § 1/HB 543.