Los Angeles Unified employees want district to provide childcare

Los Angeles Unified employees are circulating an online petition requesting that the district provide childcare services for teachers and staff as some of them prepare to return to their classrooms for in-person learning in April.

“We call on LAUSD to stand behind a commitment to get through this crisis together by offering parents and care-giving educators the same choice they are offering families at large — the opportunity to continue caring for our loved ones — without leaving our jobs as the current model requires,” the petition reads. “Accommodations for working parents and care-givers are essential to ensuring that LAUSD retains employees.”

The petition was launched Sunday by Maya Suzuki Daniels, a San Pedro High School teacher and mother of three. It has so far garnered over 1,500 signatures.

United Teachers of Los Angeles, the district’s teachers’ union, later issued a statement in support of the district providing accommodations for employees with childcare needs.

The district reached a tentative school reopening agreement with UTLA earlier this month that has been ratified by the district’s school board. The union’s members will be voting this week on whether to ratify it.