File: GBGG - Staff Discretionary Leave

Discretionary Leave refers to any time off taken for personal reasons, such as illness, family emergencies, or other non-work-related matters. This leave is available to all employees. Discretionary Leave for building administrators and the superintendent is defined in their employment contracts.

Annual discretionary leave is granted at the beginning of the school year, with prorated allocations for employees who work less than a full school year. The total amount of Discretionary Leave is determined according to the schedule specified below.

Hours worked per week is an "average" work week.

Discretionary leave includes paid sick leave, consistent with the requirements of the Healthy Families Healthy Workplace Act, C.R.S. 8-13.3-401, et. seq.

Leave for the following purposes constitutes sick leave:

•  personal mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition or the need to obtain medical care, or the need to evacuate from an employee's place of residence due to inclement weather or other unexpected events;

•  the necessary care and attendance for the employee's family member who has a mental or physical illness, injury or health condition, the need to obtain medical care, or whose school or place of care has been closed due to inclement weather or other unexpected events;

•  seeking medical attention or related services if the employee or a member of the employee's family has been the victim of domestic abuse, sexual assault, or harassment;

•  the district has been ordered to close by a public official due to a public health emergency;

•  the school or childcare provider for the employee's child has been ordered to close by a public official due to a public health emergency and the employee needs to be absent from work to care for their child; or

•  bereavement, including funeral services and other financial or legal matters, after the death of a family member.

For sick leave purposes, the term "family member" means a member of the employee's immediate family (a person who is related by blood, marriage, civil union, or adoption), a child to whom the employee stands in loco parentis or a person who stood in loco parentis to the employee when the employee was a minor, or a person for whom the employee is responsible for providing or arranging health- or safety-related care. Exceptions may be made by the superintendent.

Notwithstanding anything else contained in this policy, documentation may be required for approval of taking four or more consecutive paid sick days. Any health or safety information relating to an employee or employee's family member will be maintained on a separate form and in a separate file from other personnel information, treated as confidential medical records, and will not be disclosed except to the affected employee or with the express permission of the affected employee.

Employees who choose to take Discretionary Leave, other than sick leave, on the day before or after a vacation or scheduled break, including summer break, will need to choose between two options: either have their payroll deducted by an amount equivalent to the annual daily rate of pay, or incur an additional charge of two (2) discretionary days for each day used. 

Full-time employees may accumulate up to 80 days of Discretionary Leave annually, while part-time employees may accumulate up to 40 days.

PERA retirees working under 110/140-day or critical shortage contracts must use their discretionary days during the contract term and are not eligible to carry over or receive compensation for unused Discretionary Leave at the end of the year. contract year.

Employees are required to report their absences to the building administrator. To request Discretionary Leave, other than sick leave, employees must submit a "Time-Off Request" through AptaFund as early as possible. Building administrators will review the requests to ensure compliance with Board policies. Approval for leave is contingent upon confirmation of adequate coverage; no request will be considered approved until this confirmation has been obtained.

If an employee is absent for half of a normal workday or longer for any leave that is not sick leave, a full day will be deducted from their leave allowance. If the absence is less than half of a normal workday, the deduction will be equivalent to half a day. Sick leave may be taken in hourly increments.

If an employee is terminated and they have used more leave days than they were entitled to for that period, the excess leave will result in a deduction equal to their daily rate of pay for each excess day from their final paycheck.

Reimbursement For Accumulated Leave

Upon termination or retirement, an employee may be paid for accumulated Discretionary Leave up to a total of 80 days (full time staff) or 40 days (part-time staff) according to the following schedule:

This policy replaces Policy GCCAA & GDCA.

Revised and Recoded:

Adopted May 13, 2015

Revised and Adopted: May 16th, 2024.

Statutory References
Healthy Families Healthy Workplace Act, C.R.S. 8-13.3-401 et seq.