Employee Association Leave

A full-time regular employee may request a leave of absence to hold office as an officer, director, trustee, or agent of a national, statewide, or technology center employee association. The full-time regular employee requesting employee association leave must provide the technology center superintendent, or their designee, with proof of election and proof of the term of office for the national, statewide, or technology center employee association. Proof of election must include certification by the employee association of the date of the election and the results of the election.

The board of education may, in its sole discretion, grant a request for leave of absence under this section, but such leave will be without pay and without benefits granted by the technology center, regardless of whether the benefit is paid by the employee on leave or the association for which the employee is serving as an officer, director, trustee, or agent. If the request for employee association leave is granted, the board of education will provide definitive beginning and end dates for the approved leave of absence.

During the employee association leave period, the employee’s position with the technology center will be maintained without advancement on the minimum salary schedule and without accrual of sick leave, personal business leave, or personal leave. Furthermore, the employee on leave will not accumulate service credit within the Teacher’s Retirement System of Oklahoma. Following the conclusion of a leave of absence approved by the board of education under this section, the employee may return to their former position or a comparable position.

During the leave of absence, the employee granted leave will be prohibited from accessing technology center office space.

Adopted on October 10, 2022