78R10642 CAS-D


By:  Smith of Tarrant                                             H.B. No. 1626

Substitute the following for H.B. No. 1626:                                   

By:  Branch                                                   C.S.H.B. No. 1626



A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to use of personal leave by school district employees.               
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                        
	SECTION 1.  Section 22.003(a), Education Code, is amended to 
read as follows:
	(a)  A state minimum personal leave program consisting of 
five days per school year personal leave with no limit on 
accumulation and transferable among districts shall be provided for 
school district employees.  School districts may provide additional 
personal leave beyond this minimum.  Each employee may use up to two 
personal leave days per school year for personal business, except 
that the board of trustees of a school district may restrict the 
timing of the leave and may restrict the leave based on the 
availability of a substitute teacher.  The board of trustees [of a 
school district] may adopt a policy governing an employee's use of 
other personal leave granted under this subsection, except that the 
policy may not prohibit a district employee from using any personal 
leave granted under this subsection for:
		(1)  an illness of the employee;                                       
		(2)  an illness of a member of the employee's immediate 
family;      
		(3)  a family emergency, as defined by board policy; or                
		(4)  a death in the employee's immediate family
[restrict the purposes for which the leave may be used].
	SECTION 2.  This Act applies only to the use of personal 
leave a school district employee accrues on or after September 1, 
2003.  The use of personal leave a school district employee accrues 
before September 1, 2003, is governed by Section 22.003(a), 
Education Code, as that law existed on August 31, 2003, and that law 
is continued in effect for that purpose.
	SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2003.