Teachers and other certificated personnel may attend local conferences considered by the Governing Board and superintendent to be beneficial to the educational program of the district. Necessary and actual expenses may be paid from district funds with the exception that overnight accommodations will not be provided for attendance at conferences held within a 50 mile radius of Alhambra and employees receiving monthly automobile allowance will not receive transportation expense within a 50 mile radius of Alhambra.
Employees representing recognized professional organizations may, subject to prior Board approval, attend local conferences at the expense of the organization and a substitute will be provided by the district.
Officers, Participants, Committee Members and Professional Meetings
Employees are encouraged to take an active role in those organizations, conferences, and meetings which will be of value in the performance of their assigned duties in the district. If attendance at conferences and other meetings of such organizations will require expenditure of district funds, prior approval of the Board must be obtained.
Reports
The Board and/or the Superintendent may require oral and/or written reports from employees attending conferences at the district's expense.
Special Conference Attendance - Teachers
1. Definition
For purposes of this statement, a professional conference shall be defined as including national, regional, state or sectional conferences (sometimes referred to by such terms as conventions, commissions, meetings, workshops) whose principal business is public school instruction. Not included are conferences which are of lobbying or legislative type.
2. "Approved" Professional Conferences
Any teacher or teacher organization may submit to the office of the superintendent the names of specific conferences at which it is believed the district should be represented by teachers.
3. Application to Attend Professional Conferences
A. Eligibility
Any certificated teaching employee is eligible to apply for permission to attend professional conferences.
B. Application Procedures
(1) Application forms will be available in each Principal's office.
(2) Interested teachers will find out the application form in duplicate. They will send the original to the Assistant Superintendent-Instruction and a carbon copy to the building Principal.
(3) Applications should be filed as early in the school year as information regarding professional conferences is available and no later than six weeks prior to the meeting date.
4. Budget Allocation for Teacher Attendance at Professional Conferences
A. The Superintendent shall recommend annually to the Board an amount to be designated in the district budget that may be paid to teachers, who initiate requests to attend professional conferences, to reimburse them in whole or in part for the expenses incurred in attending such conferences.
Advances
Upon the request of an employee authorized to attend a conference, the Deputy Superintendent-Administration Services may provide for an advance of district funds to cover up to 50 percent of actual and necessary expenses. A request form secured from the business office shall be submitted to the business office at least three weeks prior to date employee is scheduled to leave for the conference.
The amount of the advance shall be repaid from the claim for expenses filed by the employee. If the amount of the advance is larger than the allowance for actual and necessary expenses, the difference shall be paid to the district not later than one month from the last day the conference was in session.
Request for Substitute
When it is necessary for a teacher to be absent from the classroom for visitation, conference, workshop, etc., and there is no cost other than that for the substitute, a pink request form for "Substitute Only" should be submitted. When a Conference Request form is submitted and a substitute is needed, a pink request form should accompany the Conference Request.
The following procedure is to be followed when submitting a request for a substitute:
1. Administrative approval must be obtained by completing the form and having it signed by the Principal.
2. If special funding is available, the Substitute Form is to be forwarded to the appropriate office (Special Projects, PAVE, Title VII, etc.). The form will then be approved and submitted to the Assistant Superintendent-Instruction for final approval.
3. If no special funding is available, the pink form is to be sent directly to the Assistant Superintendent-Instruction where the district account numbers will be completed.
Regulation ALHAMBRA UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT
approved: September 9, 1997 Alhambra, California