Senate Passes Bills that Expand Reasons for School Employee Leave

The Senate passed two bills last week that will expand the legitimate reasons for excused school employee leave. Senate Bill 60 ensures that teachers and other school employees that they will not be docked their pay if they miss hours of work to testify as a witness at trial or to report to serve on a jury. Senate Bill 60 passed unanimously.

Senate Bill 60 – Excused Reasons for Paid School Employee Leave	Currrent Status – Senate Passed 20-0-1. House Education 3/17/23
House Sponsors – Williams, Baumbach, Lambert, Morrison, Romer	Senate Sponsors – Sturgeon, Townsend, Hansen, Hoffner, Walsh
House Yes Votes –	Senate Yes Votes – Brown Gay Hansen Hoffner Huxtable Lockman Mantzavinos McBride Paradee Pinkney Poore Sokola Sturgeon Townsend Walsh // Hocker Lawson Pettyjohn Richardon WilsonHocker Lawson Pettyjohn Richardon Wilson
House No Votes –	Senate No Votes – None
House Absents or Not Voting –	Senate Absent or Not Voting –Buckson

A related bill, Senate Bill 61, also passed unanimously. It provides new rules for teachers’ and school employees’ paid time off (PTO):

1. Allows a school employee to use the 1 day of leave provided for the funeral of a near relative on the day before or the day after the funeral.

2. Increases the number of days of sick leave that a school employee can use for personal reasons from 3 to 5.

3. Provides that a chief school officer may not ask a school employee the reason they are requesting to be absent for personal reasons and can only deny the school employee’s request because of operational requirements.

Senate Bill 61	Currrent Status – Senate Passed 20-0-1. House Education 3/17/23
House Sponsors – Williams, Heffernan, Longhurst, Moore, Baumbach, Lambert, Morrison, Romer	Senate Sponsors – Sturgeon, Lockman, Townsend, McBride, Hansen, Hoffner, Pinkney, Walsh
House Yes Votes –	Senate Yes Votes – Brown Gay Hansen Hoffner Huxtable Lockman Mantzavinos McBride Paradee Pinkney Poore Sokola Sturgeon Townsend Walsh // Hocker Lawson Pettyjohn Richardon Wilson
House No Votes –	Senate No Votes –
House Absents or Not Voting –	Senate Absent or Not Voting – Buckson

Senator Laura Sturgeon, the sponsor of both bills: “I want to thank all my colleagues for UNANIMOUSLY supporting SB61 giving our hard-working school employees the flexibility of being able to take 2 additional sick days as personal days and the option of a travel day for funerals. The bill also ensures employers will not unreasonably deny leave requests and prohibits them for asking the reason for such requests. Thank you so much to Delaware State Education Association for your partnership and the dozens of individual members who shared their stories to illustrate why these changes were needed.

On to the House where the bill will be shepherded by [Representative] Kim Williams. Please thank her and the many House sponsors and co-sponsors for their support of our education workforce.”