KENTUCKY (WHAS11) – Education Commissioner Wayne Lewis issued guidance in a memo to 10 superintendents, ones who were experiencing a high volume of teacher absences, about how to handle sick-outs.
Eight districts — Bath, Boyd, Carter, Fayette, Letcher, Madison, Marion and Oldham — closed for one day. Bullitt County closed for three and Jefferson County closed for six days.
Lewis stated in the memo more than 2,000 teachers took advantage of a loophole in state law leading to a work stoppage.
He is suggesting that the districts should work to address the issue through the following actions:
- Teachers desiring to miss work to engage in political advocacy must request and receive approval to use personal leave under KRS 161.154 – not sick leave under KRS 161.155.
- Teachers requesting sick leave for the purpose of closing the district amounts to an illegal work stoppage. If a district suspects that sick leave has been requested to create a work stoppage, the district will preserve the list of teacher sick leave requests and submit this list to the Secretary of Labor, upon request, for investigation and possible civil penalties pursuant to KRS 336.050, 336.130, 336.985, and 336.990.
- Teachers found to have falsified sick leave requests will be disciplined by the district up to and including possible termination under 161.790 and/or will be reported by the superintendent to the EPSB pursuant to KRS 161.120.
“These school closures come at a tremendous cost to families, classified district employees, taxpayers, and – most importantly – our children,” said Lewis. “If district closures because of work stoppages continue and districts and local boards are unwilling or unable to address this problem, I will explore further action to do so, including recommending that the labor cabinet issue citations to teachers engaged in illegal work stoppages. At this time, however, I will allow local districts an opportunity to address this issue first.”
Lewis said teachers don’t have the right to organize a work stoppage by lying about being sick.
He said he supports a delegate system, like the one created by Bullitt County, which allows teachers to participate in political advocacy but keep schools open.
“These ‘sick-outs’ have impeded students’ academic learning, created tremendous inconveniences for thousands of families, and caused classified staff to lose pay on days their districts closed,” said Lewis. “It’s imperative that students receive classroom instruction without interruption throughout the school year, barring major weather events or illness.”
The Kentucky Education Association released a statement saying the commissioner's conclusion that schools should be in charge of what happens to teachers is one he could have come to without the request for names.
"[Commissioner Lewis] claims to support teachers’ right to advocate and engage in the political process; if that’s true, he should use his bully pulpit to encourage all districts to grant the maximum number of personal days under KRS 161.154 and to permanently establish plans to allow employee delegations to travel to Frankfort during the legislative sessions," the statement said.