Teachers and other school employees (school employees) do not accrue annual leave that can be used on a flexible basis. Under current law, school employees may only use 3 days of sick leave for personal reasons and may be absent for 5 days after the death of an immediate family member and for 1 day only, on the day of the funeral, after the death of a near relative. Senate Bill 61 makes the following changes to the days that school employees may be absent without loss of pay: 1. Allows a school employee to use the 1 day of leave provided for the funeral of a near relative on the day before or the day after the funeral. 2. Increases the number of days of sick leave that a school employee can use for personal reasons from 3 to 5. 3. Provides that a chief school officer may not ask a school employee the reason they are requesting to be absent for personal reasons and can only deny the school employee’s request because of operational requirements. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual, including all of the following: 1. Clarifies the definition of “immediate family”. 2. Corrects an internal reference in subsection (j) that has been incorrect since 1971 when the language regarding excused absences by employees of special school districts, the City of Wilmington, and the State Board of Education in subsection (g) was repealed and the current requirements for the payment of unused sick leave were first enacted. Finally, Sections 2 through 4 of this Act provide that if House Bill No. 65 is enacted in 2023, school employees will receive the same bereavement leave as state employees after a pregnancy loss. If HB 65 is not enacted in 2023, these changes will not take effect.
