Every certificated employee employed five days a week by a school district shall be entitled to 10 days’ leave of absence for illness or injury and additional days in addition thereto as the governing board may allow for illness or injury, exclusive of all days he or she is not required to render service to the district, with full pay for a school year of service. A certificated employee employed for less than five schooldays a week shall be entitled, for a school year of service, to that proportion of 10 days’ leave of absence for illness or injury as the number of days he or she is employed per week bears to five and is entitled to additional days in addition thereto as the governing board may allow for illness or injury to certificated employees employed for less than five schooldays a week. Pay for any day of this absence shall be the same as the pay that would have been received had the employee served during the day. Credit for leave of absence need not be accrued prior to taking the leave by the employee and the leave of absence may be taken at any time during the school year. If the employee does not take the full amount of leave allowed in any school year under this section the amount not taken shall be accumulated from year to year with additional days as the governing board may allow.

The governing board of each school district shall adopt rules and regulations requiring and prescribing the manner of proof of illness or injury for the purposes of this section. The rules and regulations shall not discriminate against evidence of treatment and the need therefor by the practice of the religion of any well-recognized church or denomination.

Nothing in this section shall be deemed to modify or repeal any provision of law contained in Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 120175) of Part 1 of Division 105 of the Health and Safety Code.

Section 44977 relating to compensation, shall not apply to the first 10 days of absence on account of illness or accident of the employee employed five days a week or to the proportion of 10 days of absence to which the employee employed less than five days a week is entitled hereunder on account of illness or accident or to additional days granted by the governing board. Any employee shall have the right to utilize sick leave provided for in this section and the benefit provided by Section 44977 for absences necessitated by pregnancy, miscarriage, childbirth, and recovery therefrom.

(Amended by Stats. 1996, Ch. 1023, Sec. 36. Effective September 29, 1996.)