Photo: FREDERIC J. BROWN / AFP / Getty Images
Los Angeles teachers, mostly women, often time their pregnancies for the summertime school break to cobble together unpaid leave with vacation months. But a bold new Los Angeles Unified School District resolution could rewrite that script, offering robust paid family leave and parental support to make teaching a top career choice, according to the Los Angeles Times.
As California grapples with a teacher shortage, per education research nonprofit the Learning Policy Institute, will this spark a family-friendly revolution or stall like past efforts?
Unanimously passed by the LAUSD board, the resolution — championed by school board members and mothers Tanya Ortiz Franklin, Kelly Gonez and Karla Griego — aims to make the district a magnet for educators. Unlike private sector workers, teachers lack access to California's paid family leave, forcing them to burn through sick days of take unpaid time, with a reported 73% of LAUSD teachers being women, per the LA Times. The plan calls for studying 12 weeks of paid leave, better lactation rooms to respect the privacy of breastfeeding mothers, infertility support, and affordable child care by November.
California’s tried this before. Bills for teacher paid leave were reportedly vetoed by Govs. Jerry Brown in 2017 and Gavin Newsom in 2019 over costs. Now, Assembly Bill 65, backed by teachers’ unions, pushes for 14 weeks of paid leave at $120 million annually, but school boards cry foul, warning of budget strains and staffing woes. New teachers, often short on sick days, face the toughest pinch, with jobs protected for 12 weeks but wallets strained.
Research shows paid leave keeps women in the workforce post-birth, yet teachers navigate a maze of benefits, getting only 50% “differential pay” after sick days run dry. LAUSD’s move, if funded, could curb teacher burnout and draw talent, but opponents fear it’s a costly gamble. The fight for family-friendly teaching hangs in the balance.