Gives teachers who takes an unpaid parental or medical leave during the year credit for a year of service for that school year if they served a minimum of 135 days.

Rhode Island Teacher Leave Bill: Plain-English Summary

This bill would change the rules for how Rhode Island teachers earn credit toward their retirement benefits when they take unpaid leave for personal or medical reasons. Under current rules, teachers may lose credit for a full year of service if they take an extended unpaid leave during the school year. This bill would allow a teacher to still count that school year as a full year of service toward their retirement — as long as they worked at least 135 days during that year.

The bill covers two specific types of unpaid leave: parental leave (such as time off after having or adopting a child) and medical leave (time off due to illness or a health condition). If a teacher meets the 135-day minimum threshold, the time they spent on unpaid leave would not count against them when calculating how many years they have worked toward retirement eligibility.

This change would primarily affect Rhode Island public school teachers who participate in the state teacher retirement system and who need to take time away from work for family or health reasons. It is designed to ensure that taking necessary medical or parental leave does not delay a teacher's path to retirement benefits. The bill has been introduced and sent to the Senate Finance Committee, where it will be reviewed before any further action is taken.