Effective 28 Aug 2004

168.124. Board may place on leave — provisions governing — salary to be paid to affected teacher, when. — 1. The board of education of a school district may place on leave of absence as many teachers as may be necessary because of a decrease in pupil enrollment, school district reorganization or the financial condition of the school district. In placing teachers on leave, the board of education shall be governed by the following provisions:

(1) No permanent teacher shall be placed on leave of absence while probationary teachers are retained in positions for which a permanent teacher is qualified;

(2) Permanent teachers shall be retained on the basis of performance-based evaluations and seniority (however, seniority shall not be controlling) within the field of specialization;

(3) Permanent teachers shall be reinstated to the positions from which they have been given leaves of absence, or if not available, to positions requiring like training and experience, or to other positions in the school system for which they are qualified by training and experience;

(4) No appointment of new teachers shall be made while there are available teachers on unrequested leave of absence who are properly qualified to fill such vacancies;

(5) A teacher placed on leave of absence may engage in teaching or another occupation during the period of such leave;

(6) The leave of absence shall not impair the tenure of a teacher;

(7) The leave of absence shall continue for a period of not more than three years unless extended by the board.

2. Should a board of education choose to utilize the mechanism for reducing teacher forces as provided in subsection 1 of this section in an attempt to manage adverse financial conditions caused at least partially by a withholding of, or a decrease or less than expected increase in, education appropriations, then the district additionally shall follow the provisions of subsection 3 of this section.

3. If a school district has an unrestricted combined ending fund balance of more than ten percent of current expenditures in its teachers' and incidental funds, and in the subsequent fiscal year such district, because of state appropriations, places a contracted teacher on leave of absence after forty days subsequent to the governor signing the elementary and secondary education appropriation bill, the district shall pay the affected teacher the greater of his or her salary for any days worked under the contract, or a sum equal to three thousand dollars.

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(L. 1969 p. 275 § 168.112, A.L. 1983 H.B. 38 & 783, A.L. 1984 H.B. 1456 & 1197, A.L. 1993 S.B. 49, A.L. 2004 S.B. 968 and S.B. 969)