Public Act 102-0866
 
SB3914 EnrolledLRB102 24654 NLB 33893 b

    AN ACT concerning education.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Section
24-6 and by adding Section 34-18.78 as follows:
 
    (105 ILCS 5/24-6)
    Sec. 24-6. Sick leave. The school boards of all school
districts, including special charter districts, but not
including school districts in municipalities of 500,000 or
more, shall grant their full-time teachers, and also shall
grant such of their other employees as are eligible to
participate in the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund under
the "600-Hour Standard" established, or under such other
eligibility participation standard as may from time to time be
established, by rules and regulations now or hereafter
promulgated by the Board of that Fund under Section 7-198 of
the Illinois Pension Code, as now or hereafter amended, sick
leave provisions not less in amount than 10 days at full pay in
each school year. If any such teacher or employee does not use
the full amount of annual leave thus allowed, the unused
amount shall be allowed to accumulate to a minimum available
leave of 180 days at full pay, including the leave of the
current year. Sick leave shall be interpreted to mean personal
illness, mental or behavioral health complications, quarantine
at home, or serious illness or death in the immediate family or
household. The school board may require a certificate from a
physician licensed in Illinois to practice medicine and
surgery in all its branches, a mental health professional
licensed in Illinois providing ongoing care or treatment to
the teacher or employee, a chiropractic physician licensed
under the Medical Practice Act of 1987, a licensed advanced
practice registered nurse, a licensed physician assistant, or,
if the treatment is by prayer or spiritual means, a spiritual
adviser or practitioner of the teacher's or employee's faith
as a basis for pay during leave after an absence of 3 days for
personal illness or as the school board may deem necessary in
other cases. If the school board does require a certificate as
a basis for pay during leave of less than 3 days for personal
illness, the school board shall pay, from school funds, the
expenses incurred by the teachers or other employees in
obtaining the certificate.
    Sick leave shall also be interpreted to mean birth,
adoption, placement for adoption, and the acceptance of a
child in need of foster care. Teachers and other employees to
which this Section applies are entitled to use up to 30 days of
paid sick leave because of the birth of a child that is not
dependent on the need to recover from childbirth. Paid sick
leave because of the birth of a child may be used absent
medical certification for up to 30 working school days, which
days may be used at any time within the 12-month period
following the birth of the child. The use of up to 30 working
school days of paid sick leave because of the birth of a child
may not be diminished as a result of any intervening period of
nonworking days or school not being in session, such as for
summer, winter, or spring break or holidays, that may occur
during the use of the paid sick leave. For paid sick leave for
adoption, placement for adoption, or the acceptance of a child
in need of foster care, the school board may require that the
teacher or other employee to which this Section applies
provide evidence that the formal adoption process or the
formal foster care process is underway, and such sick leave is
limited to 30 days unless a longer leave has been negotiated
with the exclusive bargaining representative. Paid sick leave
for adoption, placement for adoption, or the acceptance of a
child in need of foster care need not be used consecutively
once the formal adoption process or the formal foster care
process is underway, and such sick leave may be used for
reasons related to the formal adoption process or the formal
foster care process prior to taking custody of the child or
accepting the child in need of foster care, in addition to
using such sick leave upon taking custody of the child or
accepting the child in need of foster care.
    If, by reason of any change in the boundaries of school
districts, or by reason of the creation of a new school
district, the employment of a teacher is transferred to a new
or different board, the accumulated sick leave of such teacher
is not thereby lost, but is transferred to such new or
different district.
    For purposes of this Section, "immediate family" shall
include parents, spouse, brothers, sisters, children,
grandparents, grandchildren, parents-in-law, brothers-in-law,
sisters-in-law, and legal guardians.
(Source: P.A. 102-275, eff. 8-6-21.)
 
    (105 ILCS 5/34-18.78 new)
    Sec. 34-18.78. Sick leave; mental or behavioral health
complications. In addition to any interpretation or definition
included in a collective bargaining agreement or board of
education or district policy, sick leave, or its equivalent,
to which a teacher or other eligible employee is entitled
shall be interpreted to include mental or behavioral health
complications. Unless contrary to a collective bargaining
agreement or board of education or district policy, the board
may require a certificate from a mental health professional
licensed in Illinois providing ongoing care or treatment to
the teacher or employee as a basis for pay during leave after
an absence of 3 days for mental or behavioral health
complications.
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.