A person employed by a school district, county superintendent of schools, or state special school in a position requiring certification qualifications who accepts a professional education position in the department, the appointment that is, or is intended to become, permanent, shall have transferred with the employee to the department the employee’s accumulated total number of days of leave of absence for illness or injury. The amount of that leave to be transferred shall be determined in the same manner as provided in Section 44979, except the transferred accumulated sick leave shall not exceed that amount of accumulated

sick leave that the person would have earned as an employee in the system to which the employee is transferring. All other provisions of Section 44979 shall also apply to the employees and employers described in this section.