A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to provide that teachers are not penalized for taking personal leave time under certain circumstances.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 115C‑302.1(d) reads as rewritten:
"§ 115C‑302.1.  Salary.
(d)	Personal Leave. – Teachers earn personal leave at the rate of.20 days for each full month of employment not to exceed two days per year. Personal leave may be accumulated without any applicable maximum until June 30 of each year. A teacher may carry forward to July 1 a maximum of five days of personal leave; the remainder of the teacher's personal leave shall be converted to sick leave on June 30. At the time of retirement, a teacher may also convert accumulated personal leave to sick leave for creditable service towards retirement.
Personal leave may be used only upon the authorization of the teacher's immediate supervisor. A teacher shall not take personal leave on the first day the teacher is required to report for the school year, on a required teacher workday, on days scheduled for State testing, or on the day before or the day after a holiday or scheduled vacation day, unless the request is approved by the principal. On all other days, if the request is made at least five days in advance, the request shall be automatically granted subject to the availability of a substitute teacher, and the teacher cannot be required to provide a reason for the request. Teachers may transfer personal leave days between local school administrative units. The local school administrative unit shall credit a teacher who has separated from service and is reemployed within 60 months from the date of separation with all personal leave accumulated at the time of separation. Local school administrative units shall not advance personal leave.  If a substitute teacher is required while a teacher is on personal leave, the teacher shall receive full salary less the required substitute deduction for that time. If no substitute is required, the teacher shall receive full salary with no deduction.
SECTION 2.  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of Public Instruction the sum of three hundred thousand dollars ($300,000) for the 2008‑2009 fiscal year to reimburse local school administrative units for revenue lost due to the implementation of G.S. 115C‑302.1(d), as rewritten by section 1 of this act.
SECTION 3.  This act becomes effective July 1, 2008.