California legislators propose paid pregnancy leave for teachers

Amid the teacher shortage, new legislation would provide paid disability leave for pregnant educators to improve teacher retention, as K-12 Dive reported.

Authored by Assemblymember Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, D-Davis, and co-authored by members of the Legislative Women’s Caucus, the proposed leave would provide full pay for a maximum of 14 weeks. 

Currently, pregnant teachers and other school employees do not receive paid pregnancy disability leave and have to tap into other reserves for leave after giving birth or to manage their pregnancies. They are entitled to four months of unpaid leave under state law. 

“Teachers must be able to afford to stay in the profession and start a family,” said California State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, who is co-sponsoring the legislation with California State Treasurer Fiona Ma,  as K-12 Dive reported. 

This new push is the latest attempt to improve work-life balance for teachers, amid a stark shortage of educators. Introduced last month, the proposal would “make critical strides toward retaining great teachers to address the staffing crisis in California’s classrooms.” It is slated to be heard in committee later this month.

Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a parental leave measure in 2019, saying it would “result in annual costs of tens of millions of dollars.” Newsom instead wanted the issue tackled through collective bargaining or as part of the state budget.