The idea that teachers in North Carolina have to pay for their own substitutes when they take a personal day might sound far-fetched.
But that was the case when WFDD’s Marketing and Events Manager Rachel Thomas met her husband, a teacher in Winston-Salem.
“I come from a family of teachers who have taught all over the country, and I had never heard of a policy like this," she said. "I wanted to know, where did it come from? Is it still enacted? And if so, why?”
For this edition of Carolina Curious, WFDD’s Amy Diaz spoke with one of the legislators who helped change the state’s teacher leave policy.
As of the 2021-2022 school year, North Carolina teachers have not had to pay for their substitutes when taking personal leave, under one condition: they have to state a reason for taking the day off.
That’s thanks to House Bill 362. It doesn’t say what makes a good or valid reason, or identify any reasons that won’t be accepted. But if a teacher doesn’t give one, they have to pay the full cost of a substitute.
Former Rep. Jeffrey Elmore was one of the bill’s sponsors. He was working in Wilkes County Schools at the time and saw challenges with the way teacher leave was structured in the state.
“Teachers would say, you know, I have a funeral that I need to attend of a family member, or I'm needing to do the closing on the house that I just purchased," he said. "With annual leaves, sick days and personal leave, it made it rather difficult to put those in the proper category. So personal leave is really where they needed to do it.”
But taking personal leave prior to the bill meant you would automatically be charged a fee.
Elmore thinks the old policy was to encourage teachers to take care of personal business on breaks and holidays that were already built into the school calendar.
But he didn’t feel like it was fair. And neither did his colleagues in the legislature. The bill passed in the House unanimously on May 6, 2021.
“I'm glad that teachers are able to utilize a benefit that they've had without being penalized.”