Sec. 8. (a) If a probationary teacher who is described in section 6(a) of this chapter enters the defense service, the teacher's contract as a teacher and the teacher's rights to probationary successive years under contract are preserved with the school corporation as the teacher had them when entering the defense service.
(b) The period of probationary successive years of service under a teacher's contract that is a condition precedent to becoming a professional or established teacher under IC 20-28-6-8 is considered uninterrupted for a teacher to whom this section applies. However, this probationary period may not include the time spent in defense service. The teacher is granted a leave of absence during the defense service.