AN ACT relating to sick leave for school district personnel.
SB124 revises Kentucky law governing sick leave for school district personnel and related retirement treatment. The bill expands and reorganizes provisions in KRS 161.155 to address ordinary sick leave, sick leave banks, sick leave donation programs, leave for religious holidays, leave following birth or adoption, and compensation for unused sick leave at retirement or death. It also adds a new requirement that each school district establish, by July 1, 2030, a policy providing up to 30 paid maternity leave days for an employee who gives birth, to be used before other leave and not convertible to other leave types.
The bill also changes how sick leave interacts with workers’ compensation, disability retirement, and the Teachers’ Retirement System. It requires districts and the state to coordinate benefits so an injured employee does not lose income or benefits after an assault on the job, and it creates new reporting obligations for school districts and the Kentucky Department of Education regarding sick leave balances, policies, and compensation programs. In addition, SB124 amends KRS 78.616 and KRS 161.220 to adjust retirement credit and compensation rules tied to unused sick leave, including limits on how much sick leave may be counted, how actuarial costs are paid, and how sick leave payments are treated for retirement calculations.
SB124 would materially affect school district leave policies, payroll practices, and retirement reporting in Kentucky. It amends KRS 161.155, KRS 78.616, and KRS 161.220 to expand leave benefits for teachers and school employees, require district-level maternity leave policies, formalize sick leave donation and bank programs, and alter the treatment of unused sick leave for retirement purposes in both the Teachers’ Retirement System and the County Employees Retirement System. The bill also shifts some actuarial and reporting responsibilities to school districts, the Kentucky Department of Education, and the retirement systems, and it preserves or clarifies how sick leave compensation is counted for retirement and benefit coordination.
The available vote history suggests strong support in the Senate, where SB124 passed third reading unanimously 34-0. No committee transcript was provided, but the bill’s broad leave protections and retirement-related adjustments indicate a generally favorable posture toward expanding benefits for school personnel. The later action recommitting the bill to Appropriations & Revenue suggests fiscal and funding issues remained important even after initial passage.
The main points of potential contention are fiscal and administrative. The bill requires districts and the state to coordinate salary, workers’ compensation, health insurance, and retirement contributions for assault-related leave, and it creates new actuarial cost obligations tied to unused sick leave at retirement. The new paid maternity leave mandate by 2030 may also raise concerns about cost, implementation timing, and whether districts should be required to provide a uniform benefit statewide. Retirement-system treatment of unused sick leave, including limits, billing, and reporting requirements, is another likely area of scrutiny because it affects employer costs and benefit calculations for both school districts and retirement systems.