SB412: SB412 Education; accumulated sick leave days teachers and other school personnel may take each school year for personal or professional reasons; increase

Under current Georgia law (O.C.G.A. § 20-2-851), teachers and other school personnel may use up to three days of their accumulated sick leave each school year for personal or professional reasons, as long as they get prior approval from their local school superintendent or a designated representative. This bill would raise that cap to five days per school year. The bill keeps the existing protections in place: schools cannot require an employee to disclose the specific reason for the absence, and approval cannot be denied because someone refuses to share those details. Employees can still be asked to say only whether the absence falls under the general category of 'personal' or 'professional.' The bill also keeps the rule that the absence cannot conflict with a local school board policy about days when an employee's presence is essential.

• Raises the number of accumulated sick leave days teachers and school personnel may use for personal or professional reasons each school year from three to five.
• Keeps the requirement that personnel get prior approval from the local school superintendent or an authorized representative before taking such leave.
• Preserves the rule that approval cannot be denied because an employee refuses to disclose the specific reason for the absence.
• Continues to allow schools to ask only whether the absence is for a 'personal' or 'professional' reason, without requiring further detail.
• Retains the limit that the absence cannot conflict with local board policy on days when the employee's presence is considered essential for school operations.

Public school teachers and other school personnel across Georgia who accumulate sick leave, as well as local school superintendents and local boards of education, who approve these absences and set policies about essential school days.

School employees would get two extra paid days each year to handle personal matters or professional needs without having to explain the reason, giving them more flexibility while keeping existing privacy protections and local scheduling limits intact.

• Section 1 amends O.C.G.A. § 20-2-851 to raise the cap on accumulated sick leave usable for personal or professional reasons from three days to five days per school year.
• Section 1 keeps the requirement that the absence have prior approval from the local school superintendent or an authorized representative.
• Section 1 retains the ban on requiring disclosure of the specific purpose of the absence as a condition of approval.
• Section 1 keeps the exception allowing personnel to be asked whether the absence is 'personal' or 'professional' without further detail.
• Section 2 repeals any conflicting laws.

1. 2026-01-29Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
2. 2026-01-28Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)
3. 2026-01-27Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
4. 2026-01-16Senate Hopper (Senate)

• Billy Hickman (R, SD-004)Primary sponsor
• Chuck Payne (R, SD-054)
• Sonya Halpern (D, SD-039)
• RaShaun Kemp (D, SD-038)
• Shawn Still (R, SD-048)
• Ed Harbison (D, SD-015)
• Bo Hatchett (R, SD-050)
• Timothy Bearden (R, SD-030)
• Clint Dixon (R, SD-045)
• Greg Dolezal (R, SD-027)
• Ed Setzler (R, SD-037)
• Donzella James (D, SD-028)
• Elena Parent (D, SD-044)
• Freddie Sims (D, SD-012)
• Larry Walker (R, SD-020)
• Jason Anavitarte (R, SD-031)

• teacher sick leave
• school personnel benefits
• education law
• school district policy