Each person who is employed by any board of education in this state, except for substitutes, adult education instructors who are scheduled to work the full-time equivalent of less than one hundred twenty days per school year, or persons who are employed on an as-needed, seasonal, or intermittent basis, shall be entitled to fifteen days sick leave with pay, for each year under contract, which shall be credited at the rate of one and one-fourth days per month. Teachers and regular nonteaching school employees, upon approval of the responsible administrative officer of the school district, may use sick leave for absence due to personal illness, pregnancy, injury, exposure to contagious disease which could be communicated to others, and for absence due to illness, injury, or death in the employee's immediate family. Unused sick leave shall be cumulative up to one hundred twenty work days, unless more than one hundred twenty days are approved by the employing board of education. The previously accumulated sick leave of a person who has been separated from public service, whether accumulated pursuant to section 124.38 of the Revised Code or pursuant to this section, shall be placed to the person's credit upon re-employment in the public service, provided that such re-employment takes place within ten years of the date of the last termination from public service. A teacher or nonteaching school employee who transfers from one public agency to another shall be credited with the unused balance of the teacher's or nonteaching employee's accumulated sick leave up to the maximum of the sick leave accumulation permitted in the public agency to which the employee transfers. Teachers and nonteaching school employees who render regular part-time, per diem, or hourly service shall be entitled to sick leave for the time actually worked at the same rate as that granted like full-time employees, calculated in the same manner as the ratio of sick leave granted to hours of service established by section 124.38 of the Revised Code. Each board of education may establish regulations for the entitlement, crediting and use of sick leave by those substitute teachers employed by such board pursuant to section 3319.10 of the Revised Code who are not otherwise entitled to sick leave pursuant to such section. A board of education shall require a teacher or nonteaching school employee to furnish a written, signed statement on forms prescribed by such board to justify the use of sick leave. If medical attention is required, the employee's statement shall list the name and address of the attending physician and the dates when the physician was consulted. Nothing in this section shall be construed to waive the physician-patient privilege provided by section 2317.02 of the Revised Code. Falsification of a statement is grounds for suspension or termination of employment under sections 3311.82, 3319.081, and 3319.16 of the Revised Code. No sick leave shall be granted or credited to a teacher after the teacher's retirement or termination of employment.

Except to the extent used as sick leave, leave granted under regulations adopted by a board of education pursuant to section 3311.77 or 3319.08 of the Revised Code shall not be charged against sick leave earned or earnable under this section. Nothing in this section shall be construed to affect in any other way the granting of leave pursuant to section 3311.77 or 3319.08 of the Revised Code and any granting of sick leave pursuant to such section shall be charged against sick leave accumulated pursuant to this section.

This section shall not be construed to interfere with any unused sick leave credit in any agency of government where attendance records are maintained and credit has been given for unused sick leave. Unused sick leave accumulated by teachers and nonteaching school employees under section 124.38 of the Revised Code shall continue to be credited toward the maximum accumulation permitted in accordance with this section. Each newly hired regular nonteaching and each regular nonteaching employee of any board of education who has exhausted the employee's accumulated sick leave shall be entitled to an advancement of not less than five days of sick leave each year, as authorized by rules which each board shall adopt, to be charged against the sick leave the employee subsequently accumulates under this section.

This section shall be uniformly administered.

Amended by 129th General AssemblyFile No.143, HB 525, §1, eff. 10/1/2012.

Amended by 129th General AssemblyFile No.28, HB 153, §101.01, eff. 9/29/2011.

Effective Date: 06-23-1976 .

Note: The amendment to this section by 129th General AssemblyFile No.10, SB 5, §1 was rejected by voters in the November, 2011 election.