Sick leave days may be shared donated from one District employee to another within the following guidelines:

1. Any eligible employee who requests to participate in Sick Leave Sharing will be required to use the Sick Leave Bank first, please see board policy 5098-A. If there is insufficient leave in the Sick Leave Bank, the employee shall use Sick Leave Sharing, pending approval from the Superintendent. Both programs will be used in accordance with this policy and Title 70, Section 6-104 of the Oklahoma Statutes.

2. Permission to receive donations will be granted only for a District employee who is suffering from or has a relative or household member suffering from an extraordinary or severe illness, injury, impairment or physical or mental condition that has caused or will cause the employee to exhaust all accumulated sick leave earned pursuant to Title 70, Section 6-104 of the Oklahoma Statutes and that has caused or is likely to cause the employee to take leave without pay or to terminate employment, as determined by the Board of Education.

3. For purposes of this Policy, the following definitions apply:
   “Relative of the employee” means a spouse, child, stepchild, grandchild, grandparent, stepparent or parent of the employee.
   “Household members” means those persons who reside in the same home, who have reciprocal duties to and do provide financial support for one another, including foster children and legal wards, even if they do not live in the household. This term does not include persons sharing the same general house, when the living style is primarily that of a dormitory or commune.
   “Severe” or “extraordinary” means serious, extreme or life-threatening.
   “District employee” means any full-time or part-time regular employee of the district.

4. The request for permission to receive donations must be in writing and may be presented to the Superintendent by the District employee or another employee (acting with the affected employee’s permission) in his or her behalf. The Superintendent may approve or disapprove the request. The employee may appeal the denied request to the Board of Education. A District employee may be eligible to receive donations if the Superintendent or Board determines that the employee meets the criteria described in this policy and the employee has followed District policies regarding the use of sick leave. To allow the Superintendent or Board to determine whether the employee meets the criteria described in this policy, the employee must first submit a medical certificate from a licensed physician or health care practitioner verifying the severe or extraordinary nature and expected duration of the condition.

5. A donee may not use any shared donated sick leave until his or her own sick leave earned pursuant to Title 70, Section 6-104 of the Oklahoma Statutes has been exhausted, and the use of the Sick Leave Bank BP 5098-A has been exhausted. The donee may use shared donated sick leave only for the purposes specified in this policy.

6. Shared Donated sick leave will be paid at the daily rate of the donee, not the donor. The sick leave received by the donee will be designated as shared donated sick leave and will be maintained separately from all other sick leave balances.

7. Shared Donated sick leave not used by the donee during an occurrence as determined by the Board shall be returned to the donating employee. The shared donated sick leave remaining will be divided among the donors on a prorated basis based on its original value, returned at its original donor value and reinstated to the sick annual leave balance of each donor.

8. The maximum total number of days that may be received as donations by any employee, when using the Sick Leave Sharing or the Sick Leave Bank, is a maximum of 120 days during his/her total District employment. Donations may be made only during the academic year (July 1 – June 30) in which the employee is determined to be eligible to receive shared sick leave donations.

9. An employee may donate only share days that are earned and accumulated. The donor may donate share any amount of sick leave provided the donation does not cause his or her sick leave balance to fall below ten (10) days.

10. Any contribution or sick leave by one employee to another is strictly voluntary. No employee shall be coerced, threatened, intimidated or financially induced into sharing donating sick leave under this policy. Each contribution of sick leave must be confirmed in writing by the donor to the office of the Superintendent.

11. Shared Donated Sick Leave may be used in accordance with NTC Sick Leave Board Policy 5082.

Approved by the Board of Education on April 21, 1997
Amended 02/13/17; 02/13/23; 07/08/24; 08-12-24