A leave of absence without salary for professional improvement may be authorized by the Board, in its sole discretion, for any employee.

I. At the end of a leave, an employee may request another leave of absence, the granting of which shall be at the sole discretion of the Board.

II. Application for such leave shall be submitted to the Superintendent not later than sixty (60) days prior to the start of the leave.

III. Experience credit on the salary schedule in the amount authorized in the leave shall be granted upon the employee’s return from leave if he/she has engaged in related studies at an accredited university or he has served in a capacity similar to one he/she occupies in the Sarasota County School System. No experience credit will be granted for any year in which the employee does not work or participate in the leave as approved one day more than one-half of the regular contract year.

IV. Upon return from such leave, the employee shall be returned to his/her former position, if available, or to a substantially similar position for which the employee is fully qualified and certified if such similar position for which the employee is fully qualified and certified if such similar position is available. If no such position is available, the employee shall be placed upon the preferential recall list and shall be placed in the first open substantially similar position for which he/she is fully certified, or, in the case of a bargaining unit employee, the employee will be placed back into a position pursuant to the procedures established in the relevant collective bargaining agreement.