The board voted unanimously to pass the measure that will extend through the end of the 2021-22 school year.
Previously, the Federal Family and Medical Leave Act extensions that covered employees in 2020 during the first few months of the pandemic covered district employees that had to quarantine or isolate through Dec. 31. As of Jan. 1 of this year, sick leave reverted back to normal.
On Jan. 28, the CISD board of trustees elected to extend the program to the more than 2,900 employees through the remainder of the 2020-21 school year.
As of Sept. 17, the district recorded 167 teachers who have requested additional COVID-19 leave time, said Bobbi Supak, human resources executive director for CISD.
Employees wishing to use the leave must provide proof of a positive COVID-19 test and a doctor’s note with a date that the employee can return to work.
Several trustees raised concerns that limiting the sick days to five would cause employees to use additional paid leave to cover the entirety of their quarantine period. Teachers in CISD are given five sick days and five personal days each year, according to the district.
The district also has a sick leave bank that allows employees that have been employed by the district for at least one year to donate local sick days during the month of October.
Should a member of the bank suffer a significant health issue that has required them to use all of their regular leave days, they would be able to withdraw additional days from the sick leave bank.
