Thank you all, for your responses. We hadn't heard of anyone in our district asking for this, so appreciate the feedback.
Yes, am looking to do this for the upcoming 2017-2018 school year. Husband is tenured and does not sign a contract year to year. So, the purpose of taking a leave is just knowing that he has a job within the district upon his return at the same salary/benefits. We will have to buy our own health insurance if we take the LOA.
We are currently living in the same city in which we grew up. We have considered the possibility of relocating; from my perspective this will allow us time and freedom to explore this without having the permanency of selling our home and having to change jobs. I am thinking about seeking out (maybe a young, single teacher co-worker) someone to rent our guest bedroom. We would still have access to our home but then someone would also be in the home while we are gone. Secondly, it would help bring in funds to cover the added healthcare expense.
I think we have a good argument about travel improving his curriculum since he is a social science/history/avid teacher. We inquired about the process and was told to write a memo with our request to the head of HR. So, we will get to working on that tonight!