Cobb County School District Administrative Rules
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RATIONALE/OBJECTIVE:

The Board of Education provides a Catastrophic Illness Leave Bank for all employees who wish to join. The Catastrophic Illness Leave Bank shall be maintained on a continuing basis provided there is a minimum participation of two hundred (200) employees.

Employees who elect to participate shall contribute one (1) day initially and thereafter as requested from their accumulated short term leave account. Employees may withdraw sick leave days only within the guidelines established by the Catastrophic Illness Leave Bank Committee and in accordance with Board Policy and Regulations.

For the purpose of the Cobb County Schools Employee Catastrophic Illness Leave Bank, a catastrophic illness is defined as a permanent and continuous condition caused by disease, illness, or injury. A physician, after personally examining the individual, shall certify in writing that the medical condition found during the course of the examination is such that: (1) There is no reasonable expectation the individual may be able to return to work within the following six (6) months; or (2) Death of the individual from this condition would likely occur as a result of the disease, illness, or injury within one year without the application of life-sustaining procedures.

RULE:

A. The Catastrophic Illness Leave Bank shall be administered by a Catastrophic Illness Leave Bank Committee (CILBC) consisting of nine (9) employees randomly selected from a list of names consisting of elected representatives from each of the following departments:

1. Elementary teacher
2. Middle grades teacher
3. High school teacher
4. School based administrator
5. Central office administrator
6. Classified employee, elementary
7. Classified employee, middle school
8. Classified employee, high school
9. Classified employee, central office (non-administrative)
10. Human Resources administrator (ex-officio)
11. Medical Consultant if available (does not vote)

Committee members will serve for three years. The appropriate Benefits Specialist for Human Resources will oversee the procedure for filling vacancies.

B. The committee shall have the responsibility of receiving, verifying, and approving or denying requests for Catastrophic Illness Leave Bank withdrawals. The committee shall annually elect a chairperson, a vice chairperson, and a secretary. The CILBC will establish guidelines for administering the Catastrophic Illness Leave Bank.

1. The committee shall render a decision on all applications received at its next scheduled meeting.

2. A quorum of committee members must be present to conduct the official business of the Catastrophic Illness Leave Bank Committee. The ex-officio member must be present.

3. The decision must reflect a majority of the Catastrophic Illness Leave Bank Committee members who are present. The decision shall be final and binding, and not subject to appeal. The committee members shall use the following criteria in administering the bank and in rendering their decisions:

a. Medical documentation of illness/injury.
b. Use of all accumulated short term leave.
c. Review of attendance records.
d. Base decisions of the definition of a catastrophic illness.

For the purpose of the Cobb County Schools Employee Catastrophic Illness Leave Bank, a catastrophic illness is defined as a permanent and continuous condition caused by disease, illness, or injury. A physician, after personally examining the individual, shall certify in writing that the medical condition found during the course of the examination is such that: (1) There is no reasonable expectation the individual may be able to return to work within the following six (6) months; or (2) Death of the individual from this condition would likely occur as a result of the disease, illness, or injury within one year without the application of life-sustaining procedures.

C. All records of the Catastrophic Illness Leave Bank shall be maintained by the Payroll Department of the Financial Services Division. The committee shall inform that office of all applications they approve and the amount of additional leave granted the employee.

MEMBERSHIP

Membership in the Catastrophic Illness Leave Bank is voluntary.

Any employee entitled to accumulate short term leave in the Cobb County School District who has been employed 120 consecutive days may become a member of the Catastrophic Illness Leave Bank by donating one day of his/her accumulated short term leave initially during an announced annual open enrollment period. The donation of one sick day to establish membership must be deposited in writing on the Catastrophic Illness Leave Bank Donation Form [P5018] (See Exhibit 1, GBRIG). Members will be assessed on an as needed basis.

Donations of sick leave to the Catastrophic Illness Leave Bank are not refundable and not transferable.

Membership in the Catastrophic Illness Leave Bank is considered continuous unless written notice of withdrawal of membership is received by the Catastrophic Illness Leave Bank Committee within the enrollment period of a subsequent year.

PROCEDURES FOR APPLICATION FOR CATASTROPHIC ILLNESS LEAVE BANK WITHDRAWALS

A. A member of the Catastrophic Illness Leave Bank shall be eligible to make application to the Bank provided that he/she has been absent due to catastrophic illness/injury at least ten (10) consecutive work days.

B. In the event that a member is physically or mentally unable to make a request to the Catastrophic Illness Leave Bank, a family member or agent may file the request on the member's behalf.

C. All requests to withdraw days from the Catastrophic Illness Leave Bank shall be filed with the committee on the Catastrophic Illness Leave Bank Request Form [P 5019] (See Exhibit 2, GBRIG).

D. The Catastrophic Illness Leave Bank Request Form [P-5019] shall be accompanied by a physician's statement verifying illness and attesting to the individual's incapacity to perform assigned duties (See Exhibit 3, Form P 5020, GBRIG).

E. An applicant may be requested to undergo at his/her own expense a medical review by a physician approved by the Catastrophic Illness Leave Bank Committee.

F. Additional leave days granted by the Catastrophic Illness Leave Bank Committee may be used only for personal illness of the employee.

G. Additional leave days granted by the Catastrophic Illness Leave Bank Committee shall not exceed twenty (20) work days annually (July l-June 30).

H. An employee who has been granted less than twenty days by the Catastrophic Illness Leave Bank Committee may request additional days, if the need is warranted, before days originally granted have been exhausted.

I. All leave granted but not used by the employee must be returned to the Catastrophic Illness Leave Bank.

J. Short term leave granted to an employee by the Committee does not have to be repaid except as all members are uniformly assessed.

K. Each employee shall sign the Catastrophic Illness Leave Bank Donation Form [P-5018] stating that he/she relieves the Catastrophic Illness Leave Bank Committee and the Cobb County School District from any liability as a result of action taken by the Catastrophic Illness Leave Bank Committee (See Exhibit 1, Form P 5018, GBRIG).

Reclassified an Administrative Rule: 9/1/04