Article 26
Institution Teachers
26.1 School Calendars
Labor/management committees will discuss school calendars for institution teachers including their duration and their starting and ending dates.
26.2
(a) Any full-time teacher in a State institution as defined in Section 136 of the Civil Service Law shall be given the option to receive biweekly salary payments either over the facility’s academic year or over the calendar year.
(b) An eligible employee electing to receive salary payments over the calendar year shall notify the appropriate payroll office in writing between May 15 and June 15 of each year. Such election shall remain in each year unless the employee withdraws the election during the May 15-June 15 period of a subsequent year. Notifications shall be in effect for the entire school year and may not be withdrawn during the school year.
(c) The State agrees to continue, at the employee’s option, the calendar year pay basis of institution teachers who opt to receive their biweekly salary payments over a calendar year rather than a facility’s academic year and who experience a change in pay status (e.g., sick leave at half-pay, leave without pay, change in percentage of time worked, etc.) during the school year. The State will not require such employees to revert to being paid based on the facility’s academic year at the time the change in pay status goes into effect. Manual pay adjustments will be made to keep such employees on the calendar-year pay basis following any change in pay status during the school year.
26.3 Special Holidays
Employees serving as institution teachers at times other than during the facility’s academic year shall not lose pay for days which have been declared by the State, as employer, to be special holidays provided such employees were scheduled to work on such days.
26.4 Leave
Effective April 1, 1995, the State agrees to provide each institution teacher a maximum of three days of leave with pay during each school year for religious observance, teacher conferences, professional meetings, extraordinary or emergency absences or other personal use and effective with the beginning of the 2004-2005 school year, the State agrees to provide each institution teacher a maximum of four days of leave with pay during each school year for religious observance, teacher conferences, professional meetings, extraordinary or emergency absences or other personal use. Such leave shall be approved on request insofar as it would not interfere with the proper conduct of governmental functions. Employees on leave as provided above, shall not be required to make up such time off by adjustments in their daily or weekly work schedules. Institution teachers shall not be allowed any other time off with pay for such purposes except as provided by Section 12.15.