Provided 6-17-16
1516 RTKL 0181

PHILADELPHIA SCHOOL DISTRICT
Office of School Safety

Directive #19

SUBJECT: ABSENCE POLICY
I.

POLICY
A.

B.

C.
D.

II.

All School Police personnel are expected to report to their assignment each day,
and on time; however, it is understood that various circumstances will arise
requiring absences. In the event of an absence, it is the responsibility of the
SPO, who is assigned to a school, to notify his/her work location, radio
dispatcher, and supervisor when he/she will be absent. Task Force Scan
personnel will also notify 215-400School Police Patrol Officers must notify his/her immediate supervisor and the
School Police Radio Dispatcher of the absence.
*NOTE: Radio Dispatcher reports absences but is not authorized to approve
absences.
If the employee needs to be absent for an extended period of time, he/she must
follow the guidelines to be defined in this directive.
For extended periods of absences, requests should be submitted to the pertinent
Commander.

DEFINITIONS AND TYPES OF ABSENCES
A.

Personal Leave Days (Code 01)
1.
SPOs shall be granted three (3) days leave each year without loss of
salary for urgent personal business which cannot be conveniently
scheduled on other than workdays and for personal emergencies
requiring immediate attention. Extension of school holidays, or
beginning the summer vacation earlier or extending it later, shall not be
deemed an emergency and personal leave and may not be taken except
in most unusual circumstances as hereinafter provided. Application for
such personal leave shall be made upon a form to be furnished by the
District.
2.
Attendance at the commencement of relatives and friends, absence in
connection with the death or funeral of distant relatives and friends, or in
connection with the marriages of relatives or friends, and appearances in
court in a case in which the employee is plaintiff or defendant, will be
treated solely as personal leave.
3.
The Office of Talent shall also determine whether or not the request for
personal leave, including extending the school holidays, or beginning the
summer vacation earlier or extending it later, shall, undermost unusual
circumstances, be granted.

1 - 19

 B.

Personal Illness Leave (Code 04)
1.
Each employee’s bank is loaded with ten (10) additional personal illness
days per year on September 1. This is in addition to the three (3) days
for personal leave.
2.
Unused days remain in the employee’s bank and can accumulate for
his/her entire career.

C.

Family Member Illness Leave (F-31):
1. An employee is eligible for an absence due to the illness of an immediate
family member not to exceed ten (10) days per year during the first two
years of employment and not exceeding thirty (30) days per year after that.
2. There will be a deduction of 1/20th of the bi-weekly salary (or 1/2 pay) for
each day of this leave.
3. As it is with personal illness leave, any illness in family leave exceeding 3
days in a row requires a doctor’s certification.

D.

Vacation (Code 02)
1. Active employees working on a twelve (12) month schedule shall be entitled
to the following vacation with pay at the annual rate of pay such employee
is receiving at the time such vacation is actually taken:
Length of Uninterrupted Service to July 1st
Vacation Time
If appointed between January 1 and April 30
One Week
Six months to four years
Two Weeks
Four years to eight years
Three Weeks
Eight years to fifteen years
Four Weeks
Over fifteen years
Four Weeks
and Two Days
2. For an employee who seeks a part of his/her vacation during the school year,
his/her request shall be approved provided the needs of the school do not
require otherwise.

E.

Pregnancy, Parental, and Adoption Leave (Code 60)
1. Pregnancy and Parental Leave:
a. For active employees, the present regulation governing pregnancy
and parental leave shall apply and shall not be changed except by
agreement of the parties.
b. An employee returning for parental leave within two (2) years,
calculated from the first day of the eighty-nine (89) day parental
leave, is entitled to return to the former school if a vacancy exists. If
such employee is not assigned to her former school, she shall be
considered as having received an involuntary transfer.
c. An eligible employee who is granted an eighty-nine (89) day
parental leave that expires after May 1 may choose to extend such
leave to the end of the school year.

2 - 19

 d. At least twenty-one (21) days prior to the expiration of the initial two
(2) year parental leave; an employee may apply for an extension of
the parental leave. The entire parental leave shall not exceed a total
of four (4) years from the first day of the eighty-nine (89) day
parental leave. If the employee uses this extension, she loses her
entitlement to return to her former school as well as her school
seniority. An adjustment shall be made from her system wide
seniority for the total period of the parental leave.
F.

Adoption Leave:
1.
Those employees eligible for parental leave who adopt children shall
have an equal leave available to them as employees who give birth to a
child- up to four (4) years even if adopted child is over eighteen (18)
months.

G.

Funeral Leave (Codes 01,11-15,32,41,42)
1.
Active employees shall be eligible for the following funeral leaves:
a. For death of a parent, spouse, or a child, the employee shall be
entitled to take up to five (5) working days, including the day of the
funeral, to be taken within ten (10) working days of the death.
b. For the death of a sister, brother, grandparent, grandchild, or resident
of the same household, the employee shall be entitled to take up to
three (3) working days, including the day of the funeral, to be taken
within ten (10) working days of the death.
c. For the death of an aunt, uncle, or first cousin, the employee shall be
entitled to take off the day of the funeral.
d. For the death of a distant relative, the employee shall be entitled to
take off the day of the funeral by using personal leave or a day off
with one-half (1/2) pay.
e. For a period of mourning, the employee shall be entitled to take off
up to five (5) days at one-third (1/3) pay, upon production of a letter
from the head of the employee’s congregation.
*NOTE: Relationship by marriage is treated the same as the relationship by
blood.

3 - 19

 H.

Other Leaves (Codes 01,44,51,51HR,60)
1. Religious Holiday:
a. An active employee may take a personal leave day or a day off
with one-third (1/3) pay to observe a religious holiday, upon
production of a letter from the head of the employee’s
congregation.
2. Graduations/Marriages of Children:
a. An active employee may take a personal leave day or (if no
personal leave is available) a day off without pay to attend the
graduation or marriage of the employee’s child.
3. Inclement Weather:
a. An SPO who is unable to get to work will not be paid.

III.

PROCEDURE
A. When reporting absences from the location of assignment School Police are to
ensure the following notifications are carried through each day of the absence:
1.
SPO’s work location must be called and informed of the absence.
2.
The School Police Radio Dispatcher at 440 N. Broad Street
(215-400-6000) must be notified within 1 hour before tour of duty is
scheduled. The radio dispatcher may not approve an absence.
3.
Notify your supervisor.
4.
Task Force personnel will also notify 215-400B. Request for a personal leave must be submitted three (3) days in advance to the
site administrator for school officers and to the patrol supervisor for patrol
officers.
C. The request must be submitted on a SEH 86 (Request for Absence) card in
accordance with School District policy.
D. When an Officer is reporting an absence, he/she is to:
1. Notify his/her immediate supervisor or supervisor on duty.
2. Notify Police Radio Dispatcher 1 hour prior to scheduled tour.
(215-400-6000)
3. Radio dispatcher may not approve an absence.
E. Employees with an illness intending to leave Philadelphia:
1. If an employee is advised by his/her physician to leave the city for a
continuous period of time due to an illness, he/she must secure permission
from the Executive Director of Human Resources prior to leaving. The
employee will be required to submit medical documentation that will be
forwarded to the Division of Employee Health Services for evaluation. The
employee will also be required to submit a statement indicating the length of
absence and the new temporary address.

4 - 19

 F.

If the employee leaves the city and is residing elsewhere, the SEH-3 form must
be completed and submitted for each payroll period. The physician who signs
the absence card must reside in the area in which the employee has moved for
the period of recuperation. Certificates secured by an employee from his/her
local physician in advance of such absence will not be acceptable.
1.
If an employee does not submit an SEH-3 form within ten (10) working
days after the first report of the illness and each pay period thereafter
during the illness, the absence will not be approved and the
administrator will be required to make a salary deduction for all such
absences.

G. Failure to comply may be grounds for disciplinary action.

07-14-04
Revised 1-28-2010
JUNE 2015

BY ORDER OF THE CHIEF SAFETY EXECUTIVE
OFFICE of SCHOOL SAFETY

5 - 19