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256-21
256.21 SABBATICAL PROGRAM.
1. If the general assembly appropriates money for grants to
provide sabbaticals for teachers, a sabbatical program shall be
established as provided in this section.
a. A teacher with at least seven years of teaching experience
in this state may submit an application for a sabbatical to the
department of education not later than November 1 of the preceding
school year.
b. A teacher's application shall include a plan for the use
of the period of the sabbatical, including but not limited to
additional education, use of a fellowship, conducting of research,
writing relating to a particular subject area, or other activities
relating to an enhancement of teaching skills. The teacher's plan
must be accompanied by the written approval of the superintendent of
the school district and a statement by the superintendent describing
the benefits of the sabbatical to the school district.
2. The state board of education shall adopt rules under chapter
17A relating to submission of sabbatical plans and criteria for
awarding the sabbaticals, including both the benefit to the teacher
and the benefit to the school district. Sabbaticals shall be awarded
by the department not later than January 1 of the preceding school
year.
a. A sabbatical grant to a teacher shall be equal to the
annual salary specified in a teacher's contract pursuant to the
salary schedule adopted by the board of directors or negotiated under
chapter 20 plus the cost to the district of the fringe benefits of
the teacher. The grant shall be paid to the school district, and the
district shall continue to pay the teacher's regular compensation as
well as the cost to the district of the substitute teacher. Teachers
and boards of school districts are encouraged to seek funding from
other sources to pay the costs of sabbaticals for teachers. Grant
moneys are miscellaneous income for purposes of chapter 257.
b. A sabbatical approved by the department may be for any
period of time not exceeding one year.
c. A teacher granted a sabbatical under this section shall
agree either to return to the school district granting the leave for
a period of not less than two years or to repay to the department of
education the amount of the sabbatical grant received during the
leave.
3. Notwithstanding section 8.33, if moneys are appropriated by
the general assembly for the sabbatical program for a fiscal year,
the moneys shall not revert at the end of that fiscal year but shall
carry over and may be expended during the next fiscal year.
4. This section does not preclude a school district from
providing a sabbatical program for its teachers separate from the
sabbatical program provided under this section. Section History: Recent Form
87 Acts, ch 224, §32; 89 Acts, ch 135, § 53; 2009 Acts, ch 68, §1
