FILE: GBRIC
MATERNITY AND ADOPTIVE LEAVE
MATERNITY LEAVE
The East Baton Rouge 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.
Any employee who becomes pregnant is eligible for maternity leave, but will be allowed to choose maternity leave or to use current and accumulated sick leave for the period of leave normally occasioned by pregnancy and childbirth. The leave period normally occasioned by pregnancy and childbirth is considered to be twelve (12) weeks. Any leave taken pursuant to this policy will run concurrently with any leave available to an employee under policy GBRIBA, Family and Medical Leave.
An employee who becomes pregnant must notify the Human Resources Department in writing within thirty (30) days of the beginning date of the leave, when possible, or as soon as practicable once the need to begin the leave becomes known. 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.
Maternity leave (as defined above) is available to all regularly employed women up to one (1) year. Maternity leave will not affect tenure, teaching or working experience acquired before the leave. Maternity leave (as defined above) over twenty (20) days will, however, interrupt consecutive service for sabbatical leave purposes and will not be counted toward acquiring tenure or for salary schedule purposes. Maternity leave granted only for the period of leave normally occasioned by pregnancy and/or childbirth shall not interrupt an employee’s consecutive service for sabbatical leave purposes.
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.
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: December, 2018
Revised: October 19, 2023
Ref: La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§17:1171, 17:1211, 23:334, 23:341, 23:342
Board minutes, 10-19-23
East Baton Rouge Parish School Board