1|ENGROSSED SENATE AMENDMENT |
| TO |
2|ENGROSSED HOUSE |
|BILL NO. 2180 By: Lowe (Dick) of the House |
3| |
| and |
4| |
| Thompson (Kristen) of the |
5| Senate |
| |
6| |
| |
7| |
| |
8| An Act relating to virtual charter schools; amending |
| 70 O.S. 2021, Section 3-145.8, which relates to |
9| virtual charter school attendance; modifying |
| attendance requirements for virtual charter school |
10| alternative education programs; defining term; |
| clarifying timing requirement for completion of |
11| instructional activities; authorizing virtual charter |
| school alternative education program to request a |
12| certain student waiver; directing office of |
| accreditation to review the request and make a |
13| determination; requiring continued attendance while |
| waiver is being reviewed; updating internal |
14| references; and providing an effective date. |
| |
15| |
| |
16| |
| |
17|AUTHOR: Add the following Senate Coauthors: Stanley, Coleman, |
| Garvin, Newhouse, Daniels, and Pugh |
18| |
| |
19|AMENDMENT NO. 1. Page 1, strike the title, enacting clause and |
| entire bill and insert |
20| |
| |
21| "An Act relating to school employees; entitling |
| full-time public school district employees who have |
22| worked for a certain amount of time to certain amount |
| of paid maternity leave; directing maternity leave be |
23| in addition to certain sick leave; prohibiting |
| employee on maternity leave from being deprived of |
24| certain compensation or benefits; directing the |
| Legislature to appropriate adequate funding to |
Page 1
___________________________________________________________________________
1| provide paid maternity leave to certain school |
| employees; providing for allocation of funds if |
2| certain appropriation is not made; providing for |
| promulgation of rules; amending 70 O.S. 2021, Section |
3| 6-104.1, which relates to leave without pay for |
| teachers; updating statutory reference; allowing |
4| maternity leave in addition to certain sick leave and |
| extended leave; updating statutory language; amending |
5| 70 O.S. 2021, Section 6-104.5, which relates to pay |
| deductions for certain leave; adding statutory |
6| reference; allowing certain deductions after |
| exhausting certain sick leave and maternity leave; |
7| amending 70 O.S. 2021, Section 6-104.6, which relates |
| to establishment of leave sharing programs; allowing |
8| certain district employees to participate in certain |
| shared leave after exhausting maternity leave; |
9| requiring maternity leave and sick leave to be used |
| prior to shared sick leave; making language gender |
10| neutral; providing for codification; providing an |
| effective date; and declaring an emergency. |
11| |
| |
12| |
| |
13|BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA: |
| |
14| SECTION 1. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified |
| |
15|in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 6-104.8 of Title 70, unless |
| |
16|there is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows: |
| |
17| A. A full-time employee of a public school district in this |
| |
18|state who has been employed by the school district for at least one |
| |
19|year and has worked at least one thousand two hundred fifty (1,250) |
| |
20|hours during the preceding twelve-month period shall be entitled to |
| |
21|eight (8) weeks of paid maternity leave following the birth of the |
| |
22|employee's child. The eight (8) weeks of paid maternity leave shall |
| |
23|be used immediately following the birth of the school district |
| |
24|employee's child. |
| |
Page 2
___________________________________________________________________________
1| B. Paid maternity leave provided pursuant to this section shall |
| |
2|be in addition to and not in place of sick leave due to pregnancy, |
| |
3|as provided for in Section 6-104 of Title 70 of the Oklahoma |
| |
4|Statutes. |
| |
5| C. A school district employee who takes maternity leave |
| |
6|pursuant to the provisions of this section shall not be deprived of |
| |
7|any compensation or other benefits to which the employee is |
| |
8|otherwise entitled. |
| |
9| D. Each fiscal year, the Legislature shall appropriate adequate |
| |
10|funding to the State Board of Education for the purpose of providing |
| |
11|paid maternity leave to eligible school district employees pursuant |
| |
12|to this act. If the Legislature does not appropriate adequate |
| |
13|funding specifically for the purpose of providing paid maternity |
| |
14|leave to school district employees, the State Board of Education |
| |
15|shall allocate from the funds appropriated to the State Board of |
| |
16|Education for the support of public school activities an amount to |
| |
17|fully fund paid maternity leave. |
| |
18| E. The State Board of Education may promulgate rules to |
| |
19|implement the provisions of this section. |
| |
20| SECTION 2. AMENDATORY 70 O.S. 2021, Section 6-104.1, is |
| |
21|amended to read as follows: |
| |
22| Section 6-104.1. After exhausting sick leave and extended leave |
| |
23|pursuant to Sections 6-104 and 6-104.5 of Title 70 of the Oklahoma |
| |
24|Statutes this title and maternity leave pursuant to Section 1 of |
| |
Page 3
___________________________________________________________________________
1|this act, a full-time teacher who, with the proper approval of the |
| |
2|district board of education, takes not more than ninety (90) school |
| |
3|days of leave without pay to care for the teacher's child during the |
| |
4|first year of the child's life, shall receive full credit for the |
| |
5|days on leave without pay as though the teacher had been on leave |
| |
6|with pay for purposes of computing experience for the minimum |
| |
7|teacher salary schedule. A teacher on leave without pay pursuant to |
| |
8|this section who pays the actuarial cost, as determined by the Board |
| |
9|of Trustees of the Teachers' Retirement System of Oklahoma, shall |
| |
10|have the period during which such leave without pay is taken, |
| |
11|counted toward retirement service credit as though the teacher had |
| |
12|been on leave with pay. The teacher shall notify their his or her |
| |
13|employer and the System in writing within thirty (30) days from the |
| |
14|date he or she returns to service that they he or she will pay such |
| |
15|actuarial cost. The teacher shall have up to twelve (12) months |
| |
16|from the date he or she returns to service to pay such actuarial |
| |
17|cost. |
| |
18| SECTION 3. AMENDATORY 70 O.S. 2021, Section 6-104.5, is |
| |
19|amended to read as follows: |
| |
20| Section 6-104.5. A. If, after exhausting all sick leave |
| |
21|pursuant to Section 6-104 of this title and maternity leave pursuant |
| |
22|to Section 1 of this act, a teacher is absent from his or her duties |
| |
23|due to personal accidental injury, illness, or pregnancy, the |
| |
24| |
| |
Page 4
___________________________________________________________________________
1|teacher shall receive for a period of not to exceed twenty (20) days |
| |
2|his or her full contract salary less the amount: |
| |
3| 1. actually Actually paid a certified substitute teacher for |
| |
4|his or her position if a certified substitute teacher is hired; or |
| |
5| 2. normally Normally paid a certified substitute teacher for |
| |
6|his or her position if a certified substitute teacher is not hired. |
| |
7| B. The district's plan may provide that the teacher is entitled |
| |
8|to payment for accrued but unused sick leave upon termination of |
| |
9|employment. |
| |
10| SECTION 4. AMENDATORY 70 O.S. 2021, Section 6-104.6, is |
| |
11|amended to read as follows: |
| |
12| Section 6-104.6. A. The board of education of each school |
| |
13|district may establish a leave sharing program for all district |
| |
14|employees. The program shall permit district employees to donate |
| |
15|sick leave to a fellow district employee who is pregnant or |
| |
16|recovering from childbirth or who is suffering from or has a |
| |
17|relative or household member suffering from an extraordinary or |
| |
18|severe illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition |
| |
19|which has caused or is likely to cause the employee to take leave |
| |
20|without pay or to terminate employment. |
| |
21| B. As used in this section: |
| |
22| 1. "Relative of the employee" means a spouse, child, stepchild, |
| |
23|grandchild, grandparent, stepparent, or parent of the employee; |
| |
24| |
| |
Page 5
___________________________________________________________________________
1| 2. "Household members" means those persons who reside in the |
| |
2|same home, who have reciprocal duties to and do provide financial |
| |
3|support for one another. This term shall include foster children |
| |
4|and legal wards even if they do not live in the household. The term |
| |
5|does not include persons sharing the same general house, when the |
| |
6|living style is primarily that of a dormitory or commune; |
| |
7| 3. "Severe" or "extraordinary" means serious, extreme, or |
| |
8|life-threatening including temporary disability resulting from |
| |
9|pregnancy, miscarriage, childbirth, and recovery therefrom; and |
| |
10| 4. "District employee" means a teacher or any full-time |
| |
11|employee of the school district. |
| |
12| C. A district employee may be eligible to receive shared leave |
| |
13|pursuant to the following conditions: |
| |
14| 1. The board of education determines that the employee meets |
| |
15|the criteria described in this section; and |
| |
16| 2. The employee has abided by district policies regarding the |
| |
17|use of sick leave. |
| |
18| D. A district employee may donate annual leave to another |
| |
19|district employee only pursuant to the following conditions: |
| |
20| 1. The receiving employee has exhausted, or will exhaust, only |
| |
21|maternity leave granted pursuant to Section 1 of this act or sick |
| |
22|leave earned pursuant to Section 6-104 of this title due to |
| |
23|pregnancy, miscarriage, childbirth and recovery therefrom, an |
| |
24|illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition, which |
| |
Page 6
___________________________________________________________________________
1|is of an extraordinary or severe nature, and involves the employee, |
| |
2|a relative of the employee, or household member; |
| |
3| 2. The condition has caused, or is likely to cause, the |
| |
4|employee to go on leave without pay or to terminate employment; |
| |
5| 3. The board of education of the district permits the leave to |
| |
6|be shared with an eligible employee; |
| |
7| 4. The amount of leave to be donated is within the limits set |
| |
8|by the board of education of the district; and |
| |
9| 5. District employees may not donate excess sick leave that the |
| |
10|donor would not be able to otherwise take. |
| |
11| E. The board of education of each school district shall |
| |
12|determine the amount of donated leave an employee may receive. |
| |
13| F. The board of education shall require the employee to submit, |
| |
14|prior to approval or disapproval, a medical certificate from a |
| |
15|licensed physician or health care practitioner verifying the severe |
| |
16|or extraordinary nature and expected duration of the condition. |
| |
17| G. Donated sick leave is transferable between employees of |
| |
18|different school districts in the state with the agreement of both |
| |
19|boards of education of each school district. |
| |
20| H. The receiving employee shall be paid the regular rate of pay |
| |
21|of the employee. The sick leave received will be designated as |
| |
22|shared sick leave and be maintained separately from all other sick |
| |
23|leave balances. |
| |
24| |
| |
Page 7
___________________________________________________________________________
1| I. Any donated sick leave may only be used by the recipient for |
| |
2|the purposes specified in this section. |
| |
3| J. Only Maternity leave granted pursuant to Section 1 of this |
| |
4|act and sick leave earned pursuant to Section 6-104 of this title |
| |
5|available for use by the recipient must shall be used prior to using |
| |
6|shared sick leave. |
| |
7| K. Any shared sick leave not used by the recipient during each |
| |
8|occurrence as determined by the board of education shall be returned |
| |
9|to the donor. The shared sick leave remaining will be divided among |
| |
10|the donors on a prorated basis based on the original donated value |
| |
11|and returned at its original donor value and reinstated to the |
| |
12|annual leave balance of each donor. |
| |
13| L. All donated sick leave must shall be given voluntarily. No |
| |
14|employee shall be coerced, threatened, intimidated, or financially |
| |
15|induced into donating sick leave for purposes of the leave sharing |
| |
16|program. |
| |
17| M. In addition to the sick leave sharing program provided for |
| |
18|in this section, the board of education of each school district may |
| |
19|establish a sick leave sharing bank for all district employees. A |
| |
20|district employee may donate sick leave to a common fund which may |
| |
21|be used by any district employee who is eligible to receive shared |
| |
22|leave as set forth in subsection A of this section. The terms and |
| |
23|conditions for donation and use of sick leave to a leave sharing |
| |
24|bank shall be subject to the provisions of this section, unless |
| |
Page 8
___________________________________________________________________________
1|negotiations, entered into pursuant to Section 509.1 et seq. of this |
| |
2|title, between district employees and the school district establish |
| |
3|terms and conditions for a sick leave sharing bank in excess of |
| |
4|those provided for in this section. |
| |
5| SECTION 5. This act shall become effective July 1, 2023. |
| |
6| SECTION 6. It being immediately necessary for the preservation |
| |
7|of the public peace, health, or safety, an emergency is hereby |
| |
8|declared to exist, by reason whereof this act shall take effect and |
| |
9|be in full force from and after its passage and approval." |
| |
10| |
| |
11| Passed the Senate the 27th day of April, 2023. |
| |
12| |
| |
13| |
| Presiding Officer of the Senate |
14| |
| |
15| Passed the House of Representatives the ____ day of __________, |
| |
16|2023. |
| |
17| |
| |
18| |
| Presiding Officer of the House |
19| of Representatives |
| |
20| |
| |
21| |
| |
22| |
| |
23| |
| |
24| |
| |
Page 9