CalSTRS has reversed its earlier decision on how certain leaves are treated in the retirement system, according to a client news brief from Lozano Smith Attorneys at Law.  Due to the significant concerns that were raised by many groups in response to the restrictive position taken by CalSTRS in its Jan. 23 Circular Letter that paid administrative leave was not creditable compensation under the Teachers’ Retirement Law, CalSTRS responded by sponsoring new legislation to address these concerns.  Assembly Bill 2101, signed into law on Sept. 29, amended Education Code section 22144.3 and expanded the definition of “leave of absence” included in the Teachers’ Retirement Law. The new definition makes it clear that employer-approved compensated leaves, such as paid administrative leave, do count for service credit in the CalSTRS system and the corresponding compensation qualifies as creditable compensation.  In addition, this amendment applies retroactively to any paid administrative leave taken on or after Jan. 1, 2016, resulting in certain paid leaves that were previously excluded by the statute now considered as creditable.  Lozano Smith notes that these statutory amendments do not impact lump sum severance arrangements, which still do not count for purposes of retirement in the CalSTRS system. 

The CDC has released interim considerations for K-12 administrators who are considering testing students and staff for COVID-19.   The considerations, which are meant to supplement any existing state or local laws and policies that are already in place, recommend first testing symptomatic individuals, then those who have had contact with someone with COVID-19, and then all students, faculty, and staff with possible exposure.   “The benefits of school-based testing need to be weighed against the costs, inconvenience, and feasibility of such programs to both schools and families,” according to the CDC considerations, which were released Oct. 11.  The CDC has included a suggested strategy for identifying those with possible exposure to a COVID-infected person, with the highest risk of transmission (those who were less than 6 feet apart for more than 15 minutes), next highest risk (those in the same cohort who maintained 6 feet of distance), and lowest risk (those who use common spaces, but not at the same time as the positive case).  The CDC also outlines types of testing (molecular and antigen) and considerations for each. For instance, antigen tests can return results quickly in 15 minutes, but they are more likely to miss detecting the virus in asymptomatic individuals.  There are also considerations on required reporting of testing results, training and PPE requirements for those doing the testing, how to obtain consent from parents, and concerns about who will be tested and how to avoid stigmatizing infected students, teachers and staff.  Read the full CDC considerations page at .