In teacher lounges throughout California, the same advice year after year: Plan your baby during the summer vacation.

Unlike California’s private sector employees, teachers and other public officials do not have access to the state’s paid family leave or state disability insurance plans. This has led teachers (73% of whom are women) to use up all their time to get sick under a complex series of benefits. Despite their work being protected for 12 weeks, many people can’t afford it. Planning to have pregnancy around the summer vacation can allow teachers and parents to stop during the summer months while they are in school.

"It seems crazy when it comes to reproductive choices around your work schedule," said Maya Suzuki Daniels, an English teacher at San Pedro High School. Daniels was lucky to give birth to her son in July. But she had to go back to work just two weeks after school, when her son was about 8 weeks old - she couldn't afford the leave.

But this week, the Los Angeles Unified School District Commission unanimously passed a new resolution that sought to provide paid family leave for teachers and workers in other districts and improve parental support to make Rolls a “choice zone” for employees amid a shortage of teachers across the state.

The board is trying to make progress on a problem that makes the legislature when it comes to address paid leave for paid teachers. Members passed two separate bills that could have offered paid leave after birth. The first was vetoed by Gov. Jerry Brown in 2017, and the second was vetoed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2019. The third General Assembly Bill 65 proposed by General Assembly Majority Leader Cecilia M. Aguiar-Curry (D-Winters) is passing the General Assembly.

Call on teachers and parents

School Board members Tanya Ortiz Franklin, Kelly Gogez and Karla Griego proposed the LAUSD resolution - all mothers.

“We now have a school board with five moms on it who have some experience with school staff while having kids,” “We know that parenthood is happy, but we also know the challenges it brings in a very tangible way.”

"Parent Package: Loss as a equitable employer for thriving families" addresses the scope of parental needs - including infertility support services, paid leave, lactation and childcare services - but that's only the first step. The resolution requires the region to study the reproductive health and parenting needs of employees and propose an action plan by November.

This includes determining the cost of providing 12 weeks of paid family leave and studying the possibility of state payments.

The resolution also calls on the region to take several immediate actions, including improving the lactation space, identifying contacts for each location to help employees create confusing benefits from the region, and finding providers of affordable and backup child care services for workers.

The effort also aims to improve employee retention and recruitment when hiring enough teachers can challenge, especially in an expensive city where the cost of owning a family rises more than teachers’ salaries.

“These things will make it easier for our employees to stay in the area and build family while they continue to build careers with the area.” “It’s not only good for them, but also for the district, as the increased retention rate means consistency in staff at our school and benefits are gained from students as well.”

Current Teacher Parenting Leave

For two decades, California has provided paid family leave to private sector employees who pay state disability insurance and paid leave plans. Private sector workers can take some paid leave or take care of sick family members eight weeks after the child is born. Those who give birth can also receive an additional six to eight weeks of paid leave through the state disability insurance plan. These benefits have been strengthened in recent years, including higher proportions of paying workers.

However, public sector employees, including teachers, are exempt from payments and are therefore not eligible for benefits. Trade unions can choose through labor negotiations, but this is rare.

This makes teachers under a complex system after the child is born. According to the California Teachers Association, their jobs are usually protected for 12 weeks, but they have to go through days of accrued sick leave to get at least 50% of the “differential salary” for the rest of the time.

Newer teachers or people who have run out of sick days may not have accrued to the sick days. Many people barely reside after taking out health insurance premiums and other expenses from their salaries, said Erika Jones, teacher Lausd and CTA secretary Treasurer.

"It's common to get pregnant and not have a salary," Jones said. "I've been to the lunch room and women are working, expanding and trying to work until the last moment because they don't have enough days."

Jasmin McGregor, a social worker at Audubon High School, shared her story in a video at a board meeting on Tuesday, struggling after she had a baby last May.

"During my pregnancy and postpartum period, money is stressful," she said. "For me, it became very difficult and that's one of the reasons I didn't spend a full 12 weeks of contact with my parents. Because I don't have more money."

Legislation efforts to provide paid leave for teachers

Research shows that women with paid leave are more likely to return to work after having children. However, two previous efforts by the Legislature to extend paid family leave to teachers.

"In this regard, they're completely abandoned in this regard," said Liz Morris, co-director of the Center for Staff Law at the University of California Law School of San Francisco. "Not providing paid leave for teachers is shortsighted because it goes a long way to retain teachers."

In 2019, Newsom vetoed a bill that would provide teachers with six weeks of paid maternity leave. “Providing paid family leave to every California worker is a lofty goal of my administration and a priority for me,” he said in a veto message. “However, the bill could result in annual costs of tens of millions of dollars and should be considered as part of the annual budget process and part of local collective bargaining.”

During this legislative session, AB 65 will provide 14 weeks of paid leave for school and community college staff. The bill, estimated to cost about $120 million a year, will be paid through the 98th ordinary fund and supported by the teachers' union.

But opponents, including Assn. In the California School Administrators and the California School Board Association, the law does not work for the region because there is no dedicated funding source and can exacerbate staff shortages.

Dorothy Johnson, the association’s legislative advocate, said instead, bargaining through teacher union negotiations. California School Administrator. “To provide a blank check for this holiday – from the end of the staff or financial perspective, it’s impossible to really plan or prepare it, and that will ultimately hurt the students.”

This article is part of the Times Early Childhood Education Program, focusing on learning and development of California children from birth to 5 years of age. For more information about the program and its charitable funders, please go to latimes.com/earlyed.