Name that Section - Frequently Used Education Code and Title 5 Sections for Community College Districts

Name that Section: Frequently Used Education Code and Title 5 Sections for Community College Districts

a. Purpose of Leave

Sabbatical leaves may be granted for the purpose of permitting study or travel, “which will

benefit the schools and students of the district.” District policies and procedures should include

review processes to ensure that proposed sabbatical leaves are designed to serve the district. A

sabbatical leave is

not

appropriate for vacationing or other purposes unrelated to service to the

district.

b. Permissible Length of Leave

Education Code section 87767 authorizes a community college governing board to grant

sabbatical leaves,

not to exceed one year

. The governing board may, at its discretion, provide

that such a leave be taken in separate six-month periods or separate quarters rather than for a

continuous one-year period; however, the leave must be commenced and completed within three

years. Further, where a one-year sabbatical leave is taken in subparts, any service provided

between the periods of leave will count toward the service required for a subsequent leave.

c. Employee Eligibility for Leave

To qualify for a sabbatical leave, a faculty member must have rendered service to the district for

at least six consecutive years preceding the granting of the leave, but only one such sabbatical

leave can be granted in each six-year period. Approved leaves of absence during this six year

period (excluding sabbatical leave) do

not

constitute a break in service for purposes of qualifying

for sabbatical leaves. Such periods may not be counted toward reaching the six-year

threshold.

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In addition to the service requirement for eligibility, the governing board may

prescribe the standards of service which entitle its employees to sabbatical leave.

d. Compensation during Sabbatical Leave

Education Code section 87769 provides that the compensation to employees on sabbatical leave

may not be less than the difference between the salary of the employee on leave and the salary of

a substitute employee in the position held by the employee before the granting of the leave.

Alternatively, the board may pay one-half of the sabbatical employee’s salary or any additional

amount up to and including the employee’s full salary. The employee granted a sabbatical may

also agree, in writing, not to receive any compensation during the period of the leave.

As for the timing of compensation, an employee on leave for less than a year may be paid during

the first year following the leave. An employee on leave for a full year may be paid in two equal

annual installments during the first two years of service following the leave.

Alternatively, the employee must be compensated in the same manner as if he or she was

teaching in the district, if the employee furnishes a suitable indemnity bond to the district,

insuring the district’s governing board against loss in case the employee fails to render the

agreed upon service upon his or return from leave. The governing board, however, may waive

this bond requirement if the board finds, and by resolution declares, that the district’s interests

will be sufficiently protected by the employee’s written agreement to return to service for the

agreed-upon period.

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