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SB211 ENROLLED
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SB211
5V7TAM3-3
By Senator Allen
RFD: Education Policy
First Read: 27-Jan-26
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First Read: 27-Jan-26
Enrolled, An Act,
Relating to public education employees; to amend
Section 16-22-9, Code of Alabama 1975; to revise the
definition of "education authority" for purposes of sick
leave; to require the State Board of Education to adopt a
model policy relating to sick leave; to require the model
policy to authorize the direct donation of sick leave between
education employees employed by any educational authority; to
require educational authorities to implement the model policy;
to require policies developed by the sick leave bank committee
to be approved by the educational authority; to further
provide for the duties of sick leave bank committees; and to
further provide for sick leave banks and catastrophic sick
leave.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA:
Section 1. Section 16-22-9, Code of Alabama 1975, is
amended to read as follows:
"§16-22-9
(a) The following terms shall have the following
meanings, respectively For the purposes of this section, the
following terms have the following meanings :
(1) BOARD. The State Board of Education.
(2) CATASTROPHIC ILLNESS. Any illness, injury, or
pregnancy or medical condition related to childbirth,
certified by a licensed physician , which causes the employee
to be absent from work for an extended period of time and
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to be absent from work for an extended period of time and
which is unrelated to the Public Education Employee Injury
Compensation Program or paid parental leave .
(3)(2) CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER. The superintendent of
any public county or city K-12 school system; the President of
the Alabama Institute for Deaf and Blind ; the president of any
two-year school or college under the auspices of the State
Board of Education; the President of Alabama Agricultural and
Mechanical University ; the Superintendent of the Department of
Youth Services School District; the Executive Director of the
Alabama School of Fine Arts; and the Executive Director of the
Alabama High School of Mathematics and Science ; the Executive
Director of the Alabama School of Cyber Technology and
Engineering; and the Executive Director of the Alabama School
of Healthcare Sciences .
(4)(3) EDUCATIONAL AUTHORITY or AUTHORITY or BOARD .
Each city and county local board of education; the Board of
Trustees of the Alabama Institute for Deaf and Blind; the
Alabama Youth Services Board in its capacity as the Board of
Education for the Department of Youth Services School
District; the Board of Directors of the Alabama School of Fine
Arts; the Board of Directors of the Alabama High School of
Mathematics and Science; the Board of Directors of the Alabama
School of Cyber Technology and Engineering; and the Board of
Directors of the Alabama School of Healthcare Sciences the
State Board of Education as applied to two-year postsecondary
institutions; and the Board of Trustees of Alabama
Agricultural and Mechanical University .
(5)(4) EMPLOYEE. Any person individual employed by the
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(5)(4) EMPLOYEE. Any person individual employed by the
an educational authority on a full-time or part-time basis.
(6) PARTICIPATING MEMBER. An employee who voluntarily
chooses to participate in a sick leave bank.
(5)(7) SICK LEAVE. The same meaning as Section
16-1-18.1.
(8) SICK LEAVE BANK COMMITTEE. A committee of five
employees, one representing the authority and four
representing the participating members of the sick leave bank.
(b)(1) The board shall adopt a model sick leave policy
and adopt rules to implement and administer the model policy.
(2) The board's model policy shall provide for:
a. Employees to deposit an equal number of days, not to
exceed five, of their earned sick leave into the bank. The
days deposited shall be available to be loaned to any
participating member whose sick leave has been exhausted;
b. The use of catastrophic leave, as provided in
subsection (f); and
c. Employees to donate their earned sick leave directly
to any other employee, as provided in subsection (g).
(3)a. The board shall develop uniform state forms:
1. Necessary for the operation and administration of
sick leave banks and sick leave donation;
2. To ensure the orderly transfer and acceptance of
catastrophic sick leave days from one sick leave bank to
another; and
3. To ensure the orderly direct donation of sick leave
days from one employee to another.
b. The forms established under this subdivision may be
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b. The forms established under this subdivision may be
used by any educational authority.
(c)(1) Each An educational authority, upon the request
of 10 percent of its full-time certificated and full-time
support personnel, shall establish a sick leave bank plan for
each of the two groups either jointly or separately. The
decision whether to have a joint or separate sick leave bank
shall be the exclusive decision of the employees, utilizing a
secret balloting process.
(2)(c) At the beginning of each scholastic year, an
election shall be held among the sick leave bank participating
members to determine by secret ballot the four participating
members who are to serve on the sick leave bank committee. The
term of office shall be one year. The chief executive officer
of the authority shall be responsible for conducting the
election in a fair and equitable manner and, ensuring the
confidentiality of the secret balloting process. The chief
executive officer of the authority shall also appoint the
authority's representative on the committee, subject to board
approval by the educational authority .
(d)(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to
the contrary, it shall be the exclusive responsibility of the
each sick leave bank committee to write shall provide
administrative and clerical support to the educational
authority related to the operation of the sick leave bank by:
a. Implementing and administering the model sick leave
policy created pursuant to subsection (b); and
b. Developing and implementing any additional the
guidelines and or administrative procedures of as necessary
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guidelines and or administrative procedures of as necessary
for compliance with this section, the orderly operation of the
sick leave bank, including the catastrophic leave and direct
sick leave donation as provided in provisions of this section ,
subject to the approval of the educational authority . It shall
also be the committee's duty to develop all necessary forms
for the orderly operation and administration of the sick leave
bank and catastrophic leave provisions of this section.
To ensure the orderly transfer and acceptance of
catastrophic sick leave days from one sick leave bank to
another, the State Board of Education shall provide a uniform
state form.
(e) Each plan shall allow the employees to deposit an
equal number of days (not to exceed five) of his or her earned
sick leave into the bank. The days deposited shall be
available to be loaned to any participating member whose sick
leave has been exhausted.
(f) Upon the establishment of a sick leave bank, the
sick leave bank committee shall establish procedures providing
for the uniform administration of the sick leave bank.
Guidelines shall be developed by the sick leave bank
committee for the operation of the sick leave bank.
(2) The guidelines developed by a sick leave bank
committee shall be approved by : (i) a secret ballot vote of
the participating members of the sick leave bank ; and (ii) the
educational authority . The accounting of the sick leave bank
shall be the responsibility of the authority. Vacancies
occurring on thea committee shall be filled by the respective
parties in the same manner as provided in subdivision (c)(2) .
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parties in the same manner as provided in subdivision (c)(2) .
No representative on the committee shall serve for a term
longer than five years.
(e) Each educational authority may adopt rules and
policies to implement and administer this section as to its
employees and the educational institutions under its control,
provided that no educational authority (g) Each sick leave
bank's guidelines shall include the regulations of this
section. Additional guidelines shall be adopted by the sick
leave bank committee as may be deemed appropriate and
beneficial. No board or sick leave bank committee shall may
adopt any policy or rule that regulation which conflicts with
the model policy developed under subsection (b), the
catastrophic leave provisions of subsection (f), the sick
leave direct donation provisions of subsection (g), any other
provision of this section, or any of the following general
regulations:
(1) No employee shall be allowed to owe more than 15
days to the sick leave bank, unless over 50 percent of the
participating members of the bank vote to extend the limit.
(2) Appropriate administrative forms for administering
the sick leave bank shall comply with the model policy and
uniform forms created pursuant to this section and be
developed by the sick leave bank committee , subject to the
approval of the educational authority .
(3) Sick leave days borrowed from the sick leave bank
shall be repaid to the sick leave bank monthly as re-earned by
the participating member. Upon the resignation or other
termination of an employee who has an outstanding loan of sick
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termination of an employee who has an outstanding loan of sick
leave days, the value of the loan shall be deducted from the
final paycheck at the employee's prevailing rate of pay.
(4) A participating member of the sick leave bank shall
not be allowed to accumulate more days than allowed in Section
16-1-18.1, including days in the sick leave bank.
(5) Employee membership in the sick leave bank shall be
voluntary.
(6) Any alleged abuse of the use of the sick leave bank
shall be investigated by the applicable sick leave bank
committee. On the finding of wrongdoing, the participating
member shall repay all of the sick leave credits drawn from
the sick leave bank and be subject to other appropriate
disciplinary action as determined by the localeducational
authority.
(7) Upon retirement or transfer of the sick leave bank
member, days on deposit with the sick leave bank shall be
withdrawn and transferred with the employee or made accessible
for retirement credit, as applicable.
(8) Before being eligible to use catastrophic sick
leave days, the participating member of the sick leave bank
shall first borrow and utilize days from the sick leave bank,
up to a maximum of 15 days. However, if the participating
member later qualifies for catastrophic sick leave, donated
catastrophic sick leave days may be used to repay days owed to
the sick leave bank to the credit of the affected
participating member.
(9) At the beginning of the scholastic year, or upon
employment of a new employee, as the case may be, the
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employment of a new employee, as the case may be, the
appropriate number of sick leave days shall , upon application
of the employee, shall be credited to the employee's account
to enable the employee to join the sick leave bank if the
employee does not have the minimum number of sick leave days
to enable him or her to join the bank. TheEach sick leave bank
committee shall develop in its guidelines a provision whether
or not to allow other employees who have previously failed or
refused to join the sick leave bank the option to join upon
deposit of the prerequisite number of sick leave days. Any
policy developed by the sick leave bank committee shall be
uniformly applied to all employees.
(10)a. No employee may be required to appear before the
sick leave bank committee or request approval from the sick
leave bank committee in order to donate or receive leave under
this section, provided that each employee shall provide the
applicable educational authority with a written plan regarding
the employee's intended use of leave that he or she intends to
take pursuant to this section.
b. Any discretionary functions relating to the sick
leave bank are the responsibility of the educational
authority.
(f) (h) Catastrophic sick leave. Employees, at their
discretion, may donate a specific number of days to the sick
leave bank to be designated for a specific employee for use
against a catastrophic illness as defined by this section . A
donating employee shall not be required to donate a minimum
number of catastrophic days to the sick leave bank. The
recipient employee may use catastrophic sick leave days for
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recipient employee may use catastrophic sick leave days for
himself or herself or for other covered persons individuals as
provided in Section 16-1-18.1. Before sick leave days for a
catastrophic illness may be used by a recipient employee, the
recipient employee shall have first exhausted all sick and
personal leave. Donated days shall become available for use by
the particular employee who shall not be required to repay the
days. Any employee who donates sick leave days to the sick
leave bank for a particular employee suffering from a
catastrophic illness shall be clearly informed that the
donated days are not to be recovered or returned to the donor.
If a particular employee does not require all of the days
donated to the credit of the employee, the days shall revert
to the credit of those employees who donated the days in
accordance with the guidelines adopted by the sick leave bank
committee. No employee may donate more than 30 sick leave
days, exclusive of the provisions of subsection (e), to the
sick leave bank for the catastrophic sick leave of any one
employee. A sick leave bank is authorized to may donate sick
leave days to another sick leave bank for use by a particular
employee who is suffering a catastrophic illness. An employee
must be a participating member of the sick leave bank to
donate or receive catastrophic sick leave days.
(g)(1) (i) Beginning with the 2027-2028 school year, an
employee may directly donate sick leave to any other employee
of any educational authority for any reason. An employee
donating leave under this section may donate to an employee of
any other educational authority, even if the donor is employed
by a different educational authority than the receiving
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by a different educational authority than the receiving
employee. Sick leave donated under this subsection shall not
be deposited into a sick leave bank. The recipient employee is
not required to repay the donor for the sick leave. No
individual employee may receive more than 30 total sick leave
days per academic school year under this subsection.
(2) If an educational authority has not authorized a
sick leave bank, the authority shall adopt procedures to
implement this subsection as the policy pertains to the direct
donation of sick leave.
(h)Compliance required. If an authority fails to comply
with this section within 30 calendar days after receiving the
petition to establish a sick leave bank, the State
Superintendent of Education (for the public schools), the
Chancellor of Postsecondary Education (for the two-year
postsecondary schools), or the president of the governing
board of trustees (for four-year colleges and universities)
shall investigate the situation and shall immediately take due
and appropriate steps to ensure compliance with this section."
Section 2. This act shall become effective on July 1,
2026.
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2026.
________________________________________________
President and Presiding Officer of the Senate
________________________________________________
Speaker of the House of Representatives
SB211
Senate 10-Mar-26
I hereby certify that the within Act originated in and passed
the Senate, as amended.
Patrick Harris,
Secretary.
House of Representatives
Amended and passed: 07-Apr-26
By: Senator Allen
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