It is the expectation of the NRHEG School District that employees have a primary commitment to the agreed-upon workdays. Therefore, requests for unpaid leave time during the school calendar year should be in response to an unusual, infrequent, or unique major life event. Prior to consideration of a request for an unpaid leave of absence, all eligible forms of paid leave must have been exhausted. If unpaid leave is denied but taken, or unpaid leave is taken but not submitted for approval, the employee will be subject to discipline, up to and including dismissal.

Process for Requesting Unpaid Leave Personal Leave Days.

1. Requests are to be submitted by completing the Unpaid Leave Request Form on the District’s website.
2. Requests are to be submitted to the Principal at least 60 days prior to the first day of the requested leave. The Principal and/or Superintendent may waive this requirement if the request is in response to an emergency situation.
3. Employees may apply for leave beginning on July 1 of the summer preceding the school year for which the leave is being requested.

Additional Unpaid Personal Leave Request Criteria

The following criteria must be met to request unpaid leave. The criteria do not apply to unpaid leave requests for emergency-related absences, FMLA-eligible absences, or medically-related absences that are not FMLA-eligible as determined by the School District.

1. No more than three (3) teachers and two (2) paraprofessionals from each building will be allowed to be on leave (personal or unpaid) on any given day.
2. No more than one approved Unpaid Leave Request every six (6) consecutive years of employment may be submitted.
3. No more than five (5) consecutive work days for leave (Personal Days, Unpaid Leave, or a combination of Personal Days and Unpaid Leave) will be allowed. Requests for leave beyond five (5) consecutive days for exceptional or unusual circumstances must be submitted to the Board of Education.
4. Leaves of three (3) or more consecutive workdays may not occur in consecutive years if any of the leaves include one or more unpaid days.
5. Leaves of three (3) or more consecutive workdays may not occur more than once in the same school year.
6. Leave cannot be taken during the first five (5) days or the last five (5) days of the school year.

Unpaid Personal Leave Exemptions 

*An approved leave to attend such an event is exempt from the Non-Emergency Unpaid Leave Criteria that states: “No more than one approved Unpaid Leave Request every six (6) consecutive years of employment may be submitted.” A Non-Emergency event applies to a specific event involving a spouse or child of the employee.

1. Immediate Family Member Wedding, Graduation, or Major Life Event 
   The specific events exempted are limited to:
   Weddings
   Graduations (high school, post-secondary institution, military basic training)
   Other major life events approved by the Superintendent
2. Child’s School Activity Leave Exemption
   A Child’s School Activity applies to the school activity of an employee’s child in grades Pre-Kindergarten through Grade 12. When a substitute is not required as determined by the Principal, the employee is allowed up to four (4) hours per year (non-cumulative) of Unpaid Leave to attend a child’s school activity prior to having to access Personal Leave. An approved leave to attend such activity is exempt from the Non-Emergency Unpaid Leave Criteria listed above.

Process for Requesting Additional Unpaid Sick and Safe Leave Days

1. If the requested Unpaid Leave is for a FMLA medical reason, the application must include a physician's statement attesting to the disability and the anticipated duration of the leave.
2. If your leave is a non-FMLA leave, all eligible forms of paid leave must have been exhausted.  (i.e., personal days must be used if safe and sick leave has been exhausted)  All other paid leaves should be entered in Frontline before requesting the unpaid leave.

Health Insurance Benefit During  Unpaid Leave

The employee will pay a pro-rated daily rate of the district portion of health insurance. The pro-rated daily rate will be calculated by dividing the annual district portion by the number of work days in a year. The unpaid days' deduction and health insurance reimbursement will occur on the next available payroll. *This deduction does not apply to unpaid leave requests, emergency-related absences, FMLA-eligible absences, or medically-related absences that are not FMLA-eligible as determined by the School District.

Definition of Emergency Leave

An Emergency entails a sudden or unexpected occurrence(s) that demands prompt attention. Consult your union's master agreement for possible donations covering unpaid emergency Safe and Sick Leaves. 

Revised/Board Approved 11-18-19

Leave Balances

Prior to consideration of a request for an unpaid leave of absence, the employee must exhaust all other eligible paid leave balances. Before answering this question, please be sure to enter any personal leave into Absence Management that you plan to be using in correlation to the requested absence.

NRHEG Public Schools understands that unplanned situations arise that are not covered by the Unpaid Leave Request policy.  NRHEG Public Schools also understand that unplanned situations may occur before an employee can request an unpaid leave of absence. (i.e - need for a Safe and Sick Leave day when all Safe and Sick Leave days have been exhausted.)

When these unplanned situations do occur, the employee:

1. Must follow all regular requirements for reporting an absence.
2. Must fill complete the Unpaid Leave Request form indicating the reasons for not reporting to work within 24 hours of their absence.
3. Is hereby made aware that excessive absenteeism is considered "just cause" and is subject to disciplinary action, up to and including immediate dismissal.

Emergency Leave
An Emergency entails a sudden or unexpected occurrence(s) that demands prompt attention. Potential circumstances or events qualifying as an emergency may include, but are not limited to:

• Being snowbound or experiencing impossible travel conditions from home to work
• The need to attend a civil function or appear at a at judicial or quasi-judicial proceeding other than jury duty
• Other unplanned events which cannot be taken care of outside the regular work hours.
   

Prior Requested Absences

No more than one approved Unpaid Leave Request every six (6) consecutive years of employment may be submitted

Consecutive Leave - Previous School Year

Leaves of three (3) or more consecutive workdays may not occur in consecutive years if any of the leaves include one or more unpaid days.

Consecutive Leave - Current School Year

Leaves of three (3) or more consecutive workdays may not occur more than once in the same school year.

Number of Days

No more than five (5) consecutive work days for leave (Personal Days, Unpaid Leave, or combination of Personal Days and Unpaid Leave) will be allowed. Requests for leave beyond five (5) consecutive days for exceptional or unusual circumstances must be submitted to the Board of Education.

Acknowledgement

By entering your name below, you understand that:

1. NRHEG Public Schools deems excessive absenteeism as “just cause” and is subject to disciplinary action, up to and including immediate dismissal.
2. You are encouraged to consult your union's master agreement for more information on excessive absenteeism or the use of unpaid days.

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