Committee hears proposal to make maternity leave universal for teachers; vote deferred pending fiscal review

The House Education Committee heard testimony on House Bill 10‑17, a bill to broaden and require participation in the state’s teacher maternity leave program created under the LERNs reforms.

Sponsor Representative Andrew Collins described three main changes: increasing the Department of Education reimbursement from 50% to 100% of the substitute cost, making participation mandatory for all districts, and extending leave eligibility to include foster placements alongside birth and adoption. Collins said the Department of Education indicated it could absorb the additional cost within its current budget and that the overall program had been initially budgeted at roughly $3 million.

Committee members expressed support for the retention and maternal‑infant health benefits of paid leave but also raised practical concerns about substitute availability and short‑term impacts on students if long‑term substitutes are not available. Vice chair McKenzie said the expected public school fund increase would be modest — he cited a figure of about $400,000 in committee remarks — and said he supported the change if ADE confirms the fiscal implications.

Because the bill shows a fiscal impact, committee leadership announced they would not take a final vote at the hearing. The bill’s mover told the committee votes on bills with fiscal impact will be taken at a later date when the fiscal analysis is complete.