State leave may be used for illness of the employee, illness of a member of the employee's family, or death in the employee's immediate family. Refer to Board Policy DEC (Local) for a definition of the term "immediate family."  Employees earn five days of state each year and roll from year to year as well as go with you on your service record from district to district.

Local days may be taken at the employee's discretion in accordance with the guidelines outlined in DEC (Regulation). Employees earn five local days each year. These roll from year to year but will not be placed on your service record to transfer from district to district. You may not accumulate more than 35 days at any given time per DEC (Local).

Compensatory leave is available for non-exempt annualized employees after obtaining pre-approval from their supervisor. Comp time can only be taken once the regular hourly schedule has been completed, and must be used before utilizing other types of paid leave (e.g., Local, Sick, Non-Contract, Vacation).

Auxiliary employees, custodial staff, maintenance workers, and all hourly non-annualized employees will be compensated at their overtime rate and are not eligible for comp time.

All overtime work, whether compensated monetarily or through comp time, must be completed outside of the employee's regular working hours.

Dock Leave status occurs when the employee has exhausted all available paid leave that they were granted and continues to miss throughout the year. This results in the employee not earning the full contract on which the salary was calculated. The payroll department will dock the daily rate for each day that the employee misses outside of the paid leave.

The Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is a federal employment law that provides eligible employees of covered employers to take unpaid, job-protected leave for specified family and medical reasons with continuation of group health insurance coverage under the same terms and conditions as if the employee had not taken leave.

Who is eligible for FMLA leave?

Employees are eligible for leave if they have worked for BISD at least 12 months and at least 1,250 hours over the past 12 months.

Eligible employees are entitled to take up to 12 work weeks of job-protected leave in a 12-month period. Employees are required to use paid leave (local/state), including compensatory time, concurrently with FMLA leave. When paid leave is exhausted, the employee’s leave will be unpaid (DOCK).

If you are not eligible for leave under the FMLA but work in a position that requires certification issued by the State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC), visit the Temporary Disability Leave page.

What are the qualifying reasons for taking Family Medical Leave (FMLA)?

• For the birth of a son or daughter, and to care for the newborn child;
• For placement with the employee of a son or daughter for adoption or foster care;
• To care for the employee's spouse, son or daughter, or parent with a serious health condition;
• Because of a serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform the functions of the employee's job [For the definition of "serious health condition,";
• Because of any qualifying exigency arising out of the fact that the employee's spouse, son, daughter, or parent is a military member on covered active duty or call to covered active duty status (or has been notified of an impending call or order to covered active duty; and
• To care for a covered service member with a serious injury or illness incurred in the line of duty if the employee is the spouse, son, daughter, parent, or next of kin of the service member.

Intermittent FMLA Leave

Employees have the right to take FMLA leave all at once or when medically necessary, in separate blocks of time, or by reducing the time they work each day or week. The district does not permit the use of intermittent or reduced-schedule leave for the care of a newborn child or for the adoption or placement of a child with the employee.

Steps for requesting FMLA Leave

As soon as you know you need to take leave (at least 30 days for planned leave i.e. surgery, pregnancy), employees must notify the employer about the need for leave.

• Complete an FMLA Leave Request. Notification of FMLA eligibility will be given within five business days.

• Review the eligibility email sent to the email you provided, along with more information that pertains to your leave of absence. Medical forms must be completed within 15 days of receipt.

• For personal illness, you must complete the Return to Work form at least one week prior to returning to your campus/department.

FMLA for Maternity/Bonding

Per Board Policy DECA  both parents are entitled to FMLA leave to be with a healthy newborn child (i.e., bonding time) during the 12-month period beginning on the date of birth. In addition, the expectant mother is entitled to FMLA leave for incapacity due to pregnancy, for prenatal care, or for her own serious health condition following the birth of the child. The expectant mother is entitled to leave for incapacity due to pregnancy even though she does not receive treatment from a healthcare provider during the absence and even if the absence does not last for more than three consecutive calendar days. A spouse is entitled to FMLA leave if needed to care for a pregnant spouse who is incapacitated, during her prenatal care, or following the birth of a child if the spouse has a serious health condition.

Employees are required to submit absences in Skyward. Instructions on how to complete this task will be sent in the eligibility notice.

Please note, that it is the employee’s responsibility to continue insurance policy premiums if the district is unable to deduct them from the employee’s check.

Click here to view information on applying for maternity leave, substitute coverage, returning to work, and more.

Temporary Disability Leave (TDL) is offered to provide a measure of job protection to full-time educators who cannot work for a continuous, extended period of time because of mental or physical disability of a temporary nature. This includes pregnancy.

TDL is only available to individuals in a position that requires certification issued by the State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC).

An employee must complete an FMLA Leave Request in order to begin the process of requesting leave.

TDL is granted per incident as one continuous block of time and is not intended to be taken on an intermittent or reduced schedule basis. It is the only leave recorded in calendar days. If approved, the length of leave is no longer than 180 days.

Any employee who is a member of the Texas National Guard, Texas State Guard, a reserve component of the United States Armed Forces, or a member of a state or federally-authorized Urban Search and Rescue Team is entitled to fifteen days of paid leave per fiscal year when engaged in authorized training or duty orders by proper authority.  An additional seven days of leave per fiscal year are available if called to state active duty in response to a disaster. In addition, an employee is entitled to use available state and local personal or sick leave during active military service.

For additional information regarding Military leave, visit Board Policy DECB.

District closures do not count against your 12 weeks of FMLA leave entitlement. If a pregnant employee has a baby during a break when the district is closed, FMLA leave will begin on the first workday the district reopens.

Employees may not return to work until the completion of the Return to Work form is received and processed by the Benefits Office. A confirmation email from the Benefits office will be sent to you regarding your approval for return.

Disability insurance is a supplemental benefit and does not affect your leave or job status with Burleson ISD. Questions regarding disability insurance should be directed to The Hartford at 866-547-9124. Claims cannot be submitted any sooner than thirty days before your estimated due date.

If you wish to enroll your newborn for medical coverage, you must contact the benefits department after the birth of your child to request the medical enrollment form.  You must email the completed form to the Benefits office within 31 days of the baby’s birth. TRS-ActiveCare automatically provides coverage for a newborn child of a covered employee for the first 31 days after the date of birth, but this coverage ends unless the baby is added to the employee's coverage within 31 days.

If an employee is out on protective leave (Family Medical Leave (FMLA) and/or Temporary Disability Leave (TDL), they should not be performing any job-related duties.

Communication should be limited to the scope of passing on institutional knowledge or providing closure on completed assignments. Teachers cannot be required to prepare lesson plans any further in advance than if they were not taking leave. This includes responding to work-related emails and attending work-related events.

Eligible employees are entitled to take up to 12 work weeks of job-protected leave in a 12-month period. (If you are not eligible, visit Temporary Disability Leave page or reach out to the Benefits Office.)

FMLA leave for maternity is unpaid leave. Employees are required to use paid leave (local/state), including compensatory time, concurrently with FMLA leave. When paid leave is exhausted, the employee’s leave will be unpaid (DOCK).

Employees are required to submit absences in Skyward. Instructions on how to complete this task will be sent in the eligibility notice.

The district supports the practice of and makes reasonable accommodations for the needs of employees who express breast milk. A reasonable amount of break time along with a place, other than a multiple-user bathroom, will be provided for the employee that is shielded from view and free from the intrusion of other individuals. For non-exempt employees, these breaks are unpaid and are not counted as hours worked. Employees should meet with their supervisor to discuss their needs and arrange break times.

TRS ActiveCare members are encouraged to view the Resources for a Healthy Pregnancy for more information on maternity.

Eligible parents of the child may take time off for the birth of the child.

If a doctor determines that a period of leave is necessary prior to your due date, expecting employees will be able to take FMLA as soon as necessary. If you need to be out more than 5 consecutive days you will need to provide a doctor’s note to cover the days of your absences. 

Please note, your 12 workweeks of FMLA leave begins your first day out.

FMLA leave for maternity will begin the day you give birth. However, if there is a medical reason and you are unable to work, your FMLA leave will start on the day of your incapacity.

Employees are allowed to begin their maternity leave without a medical certification no more than 5 workdays before their due date.

To bond with a healthy newborn, the leave must be taken within 12 months of the newborn’s birth. Leave for bonding must be taken in one consecutive block.

In most cases, no, a newly hired employee is unlikely to meet the eligibility requirements for FML. However, if the individual is a previous employee or substitute and worked for the district in the recent past, he or she may be eligible. Visit the Temporary Disability Leave (TDL) page for more information.

Yes, medical certification is required

The district shall not permit use of intermittent or reduced schedule FMLA leave for the care of a newborn child or for the adoption or placement of a child with the employee.