By:  Dutton                                                       H.B. No. 3069



A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to teacher personal leave.                                           
	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:
	Section 22.003.  Minimum Personal Leave Program.  (a)  A 
state minimum personal leave program consisting of five days per 
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.  The board of trustees of a school district may adopt a 
policy governing an employee's use of personal leave granted under 
this subsection, except that the policy may not restrict the 
purposes for which the leave may be used.  An employee is entitled 
to designate, from among the leave available to the employee, the 
order in which such leave will be used, so long as the leave 
designated is appropriate to the use of the leave.
	SECTION 2.  USE OF SICK LEAVE ACCUMULATED UNDER FORMER 
SECTION 13.904.  A public school employee who retains any sick leave 
accumulated under former Subsection (a), Section 13.904, Education 
Code, as that subsection existed on January 1, 1995, is entitled to 
use sick leave in accordance with that subsection before being 
required to use leave provided by this section or by local policy.
	SECTION 3.  This Act applies beginning with the 2003-2004 
school year.       
	SECTION 4.  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives 
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as 
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.  If this 
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this 
Act takes effect September 1, 2003.