Ark. Code Ann. » Title 6 Chapter 17
Arkansas Code Annotated

Ark. Code Ann. § 6-17-1209 (2020)

Leave of absence for personal injury from assault or other violent criminal act

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      1. Whenever a schoolteacher is absent from his or her duties in a public school as a result of personal injury caused by either an assault or a criminal act committed against the teacher in the course of his or her employment, the teacher shall be granted a leave of absence from school with full pay for up to one (1) year from the date of the injury.
      2. Teachers who suffer personal injury while intervening in student fights, restraining a student, or protecting a student from harm shall be considered to be injured as a result of an assault or a criminal act.
    2. The leave of absence for personal injury from an assault or a criminal act shall not be charged to the teacher's sick leave authorized under this subchapter.
  2. The board of directors of each school district shall adopt written policies for the implementation of this section and incorporate them as part of the written personnel policies of the school district.

History. Acts 1993, No. 1115, § 2; 1999, No. 1494, § 1.

Case Notes

Damages.

The trial court erred in deducting a teacher's retirement disability pay from her award under this section as the teacher clearly lacked the ability to work at all, much less obtain other employment, and her retirement disability payments were not paid by the school district, but by a third party, the Arkansas Teacher Retirement System. Moore v. Pulaski County Special Sch. Dist., 73 Ark. App. 366, 43 S.W.3d 204 (2001).

Appellate court affirmed a workers' compensation award which held that a school district and its insurer were not entitled to a credit for any potential benefits the deceased's wife could receive in a lawsuit as there was no evidence that an award had been made pursuant to this section. Dollarway Sch. Dist. v. Lovelace, 90 Ark. App. 145, 204 S.W.3d 64 (2005).

Incorporation of Policies.

A general savings clause in a professional negotiations agreement was not sufficient to comply with subsection (b) where the savings clause merely stated, “The parties agree that state and federal statutes and court orders are incorporated into this Agreement.” Moore v. Pulaski County Special Sch. Dist., 73 Ark. App. 366, 43 S.W.3d 204 (2001).

Personal Injury.

A teacher sustained a personal injury within the meaning of this section where she testified that she developed hypertension that caused her to faint, in addition to depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, and mental confusion. Moore v. Pulaski County Special Sch. Dist., 73 Ark. App. 366, 43 S.W.3d 204 (2001).

Award of back pay to teacher for a 39-day leave of absence under this section was not clearly erroneous where teacher was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder after being assaulted by a student; the diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder was based on the teacher's elevated blood pressure, pain in her head and chest, blurred vision, and the fact that she was not her “normal self.” Watson Chapel Sch. Dist. v. Vilches, 2016 Ark. App. 87, 482 S.W.3d 755 (2016).

Circuit court did not abuse its considerable discretion in the amount of attorney's fees awarded to teacher; while the fees were greater than the damages awarded, the school district did not provide any evidence that the fees were excessive in light of the work required to pursue and prosecute the case. Nor did the district offer any evidence that the hourly rate charged was outside the normal range in the area for attorneys of the same experience. Watson Chapel Sch. Dist. v. Vilches, 2016 Ark. App. 87, 482 S.W.3d 755 (2016).

Private Right of Action.

This section gives a teacher a private right of action. Moore v. Pulaski County Special Sch. Dist., 73 Ark. App. 366, 43 S.W.3d 204 (2001).

Waiver.

A teacher did not waive her right to recover damages under this section by voluntarily resigning from her employment, where the evidence showed that she had no knowledge of her rights under this section until long after she had used up her sick leave and had taken disability retirement and that the defendant took no action to inform the teacher of those rights. Moore v. Pulaski County Special Sch. Dist., 73 Ark. App. 366, 43 S.W.3d 204 (2001).

Subchapter 13 — The School Employees' Minimum Sick Leave Law

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 3 cases, 2001–2016 · leading case: Watson Chapel Sch. Dist. v. Vilches, 2016 Ark. App. 87, 482 S.W.3d 755.
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Watson Chapel Sch. Dist. v. Vilches, 2016 Ark. App. 87, 482 S.W.3d 755. · cites it 12× “Vilches sought payment from the District for the thirty-nine days she was off work pursuant to Ark.Code Ann. § 6-17-1209 (Supp. 2013). The District’s superintendent refused her request, and the school board also vot'ed to' deny it.”
Moore v. Pulaski Cnty. Special Sch. Dist., 43 S.W.3d 204 (Ark. Ct. App. 2001). · cites it 4× “Appellant sued appellee Pulaski County Special School District in 1998, asserting that, under Ark. Code Ann. § 6-17-1209 (Repl. 1999), appellee should have given her a year’s paid leave of absence from work.”
Dollarway Sch. Dist. v. Lovelace, 204 S.W.3d 64 (Ark. Ct. App. 2005). · cites it 2× “The first credit is for any potential benefits the deceased’s wife may receive in a lawsuit under Arkansas Code Annotated Section 6-17-1209. That statute provides that a school teacher who is injured as a result of a criminal act in the course of their employment, can be granted…”
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