§ 24-7-606 - Service for leave of absence to obtain advanced degree.
24-7-606. Service for leave of absence to obtain advanced degree.
(a) (1) From and after June 28, 1985, any public school teacher or administrator who is a member of the Arkansas Teacher Retirement System and takes a leave of absence from a school in order to obtain an advanced degree at an institution of higher learning or to fulfill the requirements of a scholarship or grant shall be eligible, upon application, to receive credited service in the system for the time of actual enrollment in the institution.
(2) Evidence of at least one hundred twenty (120) days' enrollment shall be presented with the application.
(b) The service shall be credited in accordance with 24-7-601.
(c) The member shall pay to the system for each year of service credit being granted:
(1) The product of the sum of the employee and employer contribution rates in effect at the time of purchase multiplied by the greater of:
(A) The annual salary received by the member for his or her first full year of credited service that precedes the fiscal year in which the service is purchased; or
(B) The average of the three (3) highest salaries earned at the time of purchase; plus
(2) Interest from the end of that year of credited service to the date of payment in full.