Oklahoma 2023 2023 Regular Session

Oklahoma Senate Bill SB364 Amended / Bill

Filed 02/23/2023

                     
 
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SENATE FLOOR VERSION 
February 22, 2023 
 
 
SENATE BILL NO. 364 	By: Pugh, Pemberton, Stanley, 
and Stephens of the Senate 
 
  and 
 
  Baker of the House 
 
 
 
 
[ school employees - maternity leave – benefits - 
funds - shared leave - codification - effective date 
-  
 	emergency ] 
 
 
 
 
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA: 
SECTION 1.     NEW LAW     A new section of law to be codified 
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 6-104.8 of Title 70, unless 
there is created a du plication in numbering, reads as follows: 
A.  A full-time employee of a public school district in this 
state who has been employed by the school distric t for at least one 
year and has worked at least one thousand two hundred fifty (1,25 0) 
hours during the preceding twelve-month period shall be entitled to 
twelve (12) weeks of paid maternity leave following the birth of the 
employee’s child.  The twelve (12) weeks of paid maternity leave 
shall be used in the twelve (12) months following t he birth of the 
school district employee’s child and shall expire at the end of the 
twelve-month period.   
 
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B.  Paid maternity leave provided pursuant to this section shall 
be in addition to and not in place of s ick leave due to pregnancy, 
as provided for in Section 6-104 of Title 70 of the Oklahoma 
Statutes. 
C.  A school district employee who takes maternity leave 
pursuant to the provisions of this section shall not be deprive d of 
any compensation or other benefi ts to which the employee is 
otherwise entitled. 
D.  Each fiscal year, the Legislature shall appropriate adequate 
funding to the State Board of Education for the purpose of providing 
paid maternity leave to eligible scho ol district employees pursuant 
to this act.  If the Legislature does not appropriate adequate 
funding specifically for the purpose of providing paid maternity 
leave to school district employees, the State Board of Education 
shall allocate from the funds ap propriated to the State Board of 
Education for the support of public school activiti es an amount to 
fully fund paid maternity leave. 
E.  The State Board of Education may promulgate rules to 
implement the provisions of this section. 
SECTION 2.    AMENDATORY     70 O.S. 2021, Section 6-104.1, is 
amended to read as follows : 
Section 6-104.1.  After exhausting sick leave and extended leave 
pursuant to Sections 6 -104 and 6-104.5 of Title 70 of the Oklahoma 
Statutes this title and maternity leav e pursuant to Section 1 of   
 
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this act, a full-time teacher who, with the proper approv al of the 
district board of education, takes not more than ninety (90) school 
days of leave without pay to care for the teacher ’s child during the 
first year of the child ’s life, shall receive full credit for the 
days on leave without pay as though the tea cher had been on leave 
with pay for purposes of computing experience for the minimum 
teacher salary schedule.  A teacher on leave without pay pursuant to 
this section who pays the actuarial cost, as determined by the Board 
of Trustees of the Teachers ’ Retirement System of Oklahoma, shall 
have the period during which such leave without pay is taken, 
counted toward retirement service credit as though the teacher had 
been on leave with pay.  The teacher shall notify their his or her 
employer and the System in writing within thirty (30) days from the 
date he or she returns to service that they he or she will pay such 
actuarial cost.  The teacher shall have up to twelve (12) months 
from the date he or she returns to s ervice to pay such actuarial 
cost. 
SECTION 3.     AMENDATORY    70 O.S. 2021, Section 6 -104.5, is 
amended to read as follows: 
Section 6-104.5.  A.  If, after exhausting all sick leave 
pursuant to Section 6 -104 of this title and maternity leave pursuant 
to Section 1 of this act, a teacher is absent from h is or her duties 
due to personal acciden tal injury, illness, or pregnancy, the   
 
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teacher shall receive for a period of not to exceed twenty (20) days 
his or her full contract salary less the amount: 
1. actually Actually paid a certified substitute teacher f or 
his or her position if a certified substitute teacher is hired; or 
2.  normally Normally paid a certified substitute teacher for 
his or her position if a c ertified substitute teacher is not hired. 
B.  The district’s plan may provide that the teacher is entitled 
to payment for accrued but unused sick leave upon termination of 
employment. 
SECTION 4.     AMENDATORY     70 O.S. 2021, Section 6 -104.6, is 
amended to read as follows: 
Section 6-104.6.  A.  The board of education of each school 
district may establish a leave sharing progr am for all district 
employees.  The program shall permit district employees to donate 
sick leave to a fellow distr ict employee who is pregnant or 
recovering from childbirth or who is suffering from or has a 
relative or household member suffering from an ex traordinary or 
severe illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition 
which has caused or is likely t o cause the employee to take leave 
without pay or to terminate employment. 
B.  As used in this sec tion: 
1.  “Relative of the employee” means a spouse, child, stepchild, 
grandchild, grandparent, stepparent, or parent of the employee;   
 
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2.  “Household members” means those persons who reside in the 
same home, who have reciprocal duties to and do provide fin ancial 
support for one another.  This term s hall include foster children 
and legal wards even if they do not live in the household.  The term 
does not include persons sharing the same general house, when the 
living style is primarily that of a dormitory or commune; 
3.  “Severe” or “extraordinary” means serious, extreme , or life-
threatening including temporary disability resulting from pregnancy, 
miscarriage, childbirth, and recovery therefrom; and 
4.  “District employee” means a teacher or any full -time 
employee of the school district. 
C.  A district employee may be eligible to receive shared leave 
pursuant to the following conditions: 
1.  The board of education determines that the employee meets 
the criteria described in this section; and 
2.  The employee has abided by district policies regarding the 
use of sick leave. 
D.  A district employee may donate annual leave to another 
district employee only pursuant to the following conditions: 
1.  The receiving employee has exhausted, or will exhaust, only 
maternity leave granted pursuant to Section 1 of thi s act or sick 
leave earned pursuant to Section 6 -104 of this title due to 
pregnancy, miscarriage, childbirth and r ecovery therefrom, an 
illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition, which   
 
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is of an extraordinary or severe nature, and involve s the employee, 
a relative of the employee , or household member; 
2.  The condition has caused, or is likely to cau se, the 
employee to go on leave without p ay or to terminate employment; 
3.  The board of education of the district permits the leave to 
be shared with an eligible employee; 
4.  The amount of leave to be donated is within the limits set 
by the board of educ ation of the district; and 
5.  District employees may not donate excess sick leave that the 
donor would not be able to otherwise take. 
E.  The board of education of each school district shall 
determine the amount of donated leave an employee may receive. 
F.  The board of education shall require t he employee to submit, 
prior to approval or disapproval, a medical certificate from a 
licensed physician or health care practitioner verifying the severe 
or extraordinary nature and expected duration of the conditio n. 
G.  Donated sick leave is transferable between employees of 
different school districts in the s tate with the agreement of both 
boards of education of each school district. 
H.  The receiving employee shall be paid the regular rate of pay 
of the employee. The sick leave received will be designa ted as 
shared sick leave and be maintained separately fro m all other sick 
leave balances.   
 
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I.  Any donated sick leave may only be used by the recipient for 
the purposes specified in this section. 
J.  Only Maternity leave granted pursuant to Section 1 of thi s 
act and sick leave earned pursuant to Section 6 -104 of this title 
available for use by the recip ient must shall be used prior to using 
shared sick leave. 
K.  Any shared sick leave not used by the recipient during each 
occurrence as determined by the boar d of education shall be returned 
to the donor.  The share d sick leave remaining will be divided am ong 
the donors on a prorated basis based on the original donated value 
and returned at its original donor value and r einstated to the 
annual leave balance of each donor. 
L.  All donated sick leave must shall be given voluntarily.  No 
employee shall be coerced, threatened, intimidated, or financially 
induced into donating sick leave for purposes of the leave sharing 
program. 
M.  In addition to the sick leave sha ring program provided for 
in this section, the board of e ducation of each school district may 
establish a sick leave sharing bank for all district employees.  A 
district employee may donate sick leave to a common fu nd which may 
be used by any district empl oyee who is eligible to receive shared 
leave as set forth in subsection A of this section.  Th e terms and 
conditions for donation and use of sick leave to a leave sharing 
bank shall be subject to the provisions of t his section, unless   
 
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negotiations, entered into pursuant to Section 509.1 et seq. of this 
title, between district employees and the scho ol district establish 
terms and conditions for a sick leave sharing bank in excess of 
those provided for in this section. 
SECTION 5.  This act shall become effective July 1, 2023. 
SECTION 6.  It being immediately necessary for the preservation 
of the public peace, health , or safety, an emergency is hereby 
declared to exist, by reason whereof t his act shall take effect and 
be in full force from and after its passage and approval. 
COMMITTEE REPORT BY: COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS 
February 22, 2023 - DO PASS