Fundamental Friday - Sick Leave

I've been sick with flu most of the last two weeks, and the days I wasn't sick one or more of my kids were sick.  So I figured the only possible topic for today is sick leave.

Texas teachers are entitled to five days of paid leave each year, usable for any reason the teacher chooses - personal illness, family illness, travel, family business, mental health day, or any other reason the teacher wants, no questions asked. 

Some districts give teachers more than five days. If a district gives extra days, those extra days can be limited to specific uses, such as personal or family illness. 

Each district develops its own implementation rules for the leave days.  This means your district will tell you how to notify the district you are taking leave, how much notice you must give before an absence (advance notice obviously not required if you are ill and contagious), if there are limits on which you days you can use (many districts prohibit personal leave on TAKS days, or the day before a school holiday, etc). 

Each district that provides more than five leave days also determines whether the local or state days are used first.  This is important because state granted leave days  accumulate from year to year if they are not used, and can be taken to any Texas public school district if you change jobs.

Comments

[Cathie]

I am a female teacher in a small charter school of all boys and have been told to keep my classroom door closed and locked during class periods. I am concerned that this practice is not legal when I have a single student in my classroom at any given period. At the very least I am uncomfortable.

[Pam]

There are certainly some concerns about locking a classroom door while there are people - any people, not just students - inside. There may be fire codes or other public safety codes that prohibit it, as well as your very legitimate concern that being in a locked room alone with a student puts both you and the student in a very vulnerable position. I would suggest you follow up with the school and try to get clarification.