L.A. Unified to provide $500 monthly child care subsidy to some employees

Los Angeles Unified, California’s largest school district, will provide a $500 monthly subsidy to full-time employees with children age 5 and under who are enrolled in a child care program, according to a district press release. The subsidy will be available to district employees through the rest of the current semester. Employees who work during summer school will receive the subsidy through July 31.

Last month, a L.A. Unified teacher Maya Suzuki Daniels started an online petition requesting that the district offer accommodations for educators with children, as the district prepared to reopen for in-person instruction. Shortly after, United Teachers of Los Angeles, the teachers union, released a statement in support of offering child care or other accommodations for district employees with children.

The district cited an increase in cost of child care and a decrease in available options throughout the pandemic, adding pressure to parents who are now preparing to return to teach in their classrooms after a year of distance learning. To assist employees looking for child care programs for their children, the district will work with Service Employees International Union Local 99, Carina Care, and the Child Care Alliance of Los Angeles.