FILE: GBRIC
MATERNITY AND ADOPTIVE LEAVE
MATERNITY LEAVE
The Acadia 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, Sick Leave.
Application for Maternity Leave
An employee who becomes pregnant must notify the Acadia Parish School Board in writing prior to the fifth month of pregnancy. Written notification must be accompanied by a statement from a physician verifying the stage of pregnancy and the expected dates of disability due to pregnancy. Such certificate shall follow the same standards as for submission of certificates for sick leave as found under Certification of Absence in policy GBRIB, Sick Leave. Failure to comply with the notice and other requirements of this policy may be considered willful neglect of duty and may result in termination of employment.
Time on Maternity Leave
Maternity leave of absence (leave without pay) may be granted to regularly employed women for a reasonable time before and after childbirth for a maximum of one year. Maternity leave without pay does not affect tenure, teaching or working experience acquired prior to the leave.
Return to Service
The employee may return to work upon written certification of the employee’s physician to the fact that the employee is physically able to perform all assigned duties. The employee must return to the position from which maternity leave was taken no later than six (6) months following the termination of pregnancy.
ADOPTIVE LEAVE
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.
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.
Revised: February 4, 2019
Revised: October 3, 2023
Ref: La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§17:1171, 17:1211, 23:334, 23:341, 23:342
Board minutes, 2-4-19, 10-3-23
Acadia Parish School Board