(1) Every educational service district board shall adopt written policies granting leaves to persons under contracts of employment with the district in positions requiring either certification or classified qualifications, including but not limited to leaves for attendance at official or private institutes and conferences and sabbatical leaves for employees in positions requiring certification qualification, and leaves for illness, injury, bereavement, and emergencies for both certificated and classified employees, with such compensation as the board prescribes. The board shall adopt written policies granting annual leave with compensation for illness, injury, and emergencies as follows:

(a) For persons under contract with the district for a full fiscal year, at least ten days;

(b) For persons under contract with the district as part-time employees, at least that portion of ten days as the total number of days contracted for bears to one hundred eighty days;

(c) For certificated and classified employees, annual leave with compensation for illness, injury, and emergencies shall be granted and accrue at a rate not to exceed twelve days per fiscal year. Provisions of any contract in force on July 23, 1989, which conflict with requirements of this subsection shall continue in effect until contract expiration; after expiration, any new contract executed between the parties shall be consistent with this subsection;

(d) Compensation for leave for illness or injury actually taken shall be the same as the compensation the person would have received had the person not taken the leave provided in this section;

(e) Leave provided in this section not taken shall accumulate from fiscal year to fiscal year up to a maximum of one hundred eighty days for the purposes of RCW 28A.310.490, and for leave purposes up to a maximum of the number of contract days agreed to in a given contract, but not greater than one fiscal year. Such accumulated time may be taken at any time during the fiscal year, or up to twelve days per year may be used for the purpose of payments for unused sick leave; and

(f) Accumulated leave under this section shall be transferred to educational service districts, school districts, the office of the superintendent of public instruction, the state school for the blind, the *school for the deaf, institutions of higher education, and community and technical colleges, and from any such district, school, or office to another such district, school, office, institution of higher education, or community or technical college. An intervening customary summer break in employment or the performance of employment duties shall not preclude such a transfer.

(2) Leave accumulated by a person in a district prior to leaving the district may, under rules of the board, be granted to the person when the person returns to the employment of the district.

(3) Leave for illness or injury accumulated before July 23, 1989, under the administrative practices of an educational service district, and such leave transferred before July 23, 1989, to or from an educational service district, school district, or the office of the superintendent of public instruction under the administrative practices of the district or office, is declared valid and shall be added to such leave for illness or injury accumulated after July 23, 1989.

*Reviser’s note: The “state school for the deaf” was abolished pursuant to 2009 c 381 § 11 and powers, duties, and functions were transferred to the Washington state center for childhood deafness and hearing loss. The “Washington state center for childhood deafness and hearing loss” was renamed the “Washington center for deaf and hard of hearing youth” by 2019 c 266 § 1.