Seminole teacher urges board to adopt paid parental leave policy for employees
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Summary
At the Dec. 16 board meeting, AP environmental science teacher Zoe Schmidley urged the board to adopt 12 weeks paid maternal leave and 6 weeks paid paternal leave after 1,250 hours of service, citing retention and equity concerns; the board did not act on the proposal.
Zoe Schmidley, an AP environmental science teacher at Seminole High School, urged the Seminole County school board during public comment on Dec. 16 to adopt a paid parental leave policy for district employees.
Schmidley proposed a 12-week paid maternal leave and a 6-week paid paternal leave policy for employees who have worked at least 1,250 hours. She said the proposal aligns with the federal Family and Medical Leave Act’s job-protection framework and argued unpaid leave disproportionately burdens early-career teachers and risks losing talent.
"We shouldn't force women to choose between having a career and having a family," Schmidley said, framing the change as both a moral issue and a practical step to prevent long-term declines in staff quality and retention.
Schmidley asked the board to consider the proposal and did not request immediate action; the public-comment segment ended when her time expired and no formal referral or vote on the proposal was recorded in the meeting transcript.
The proposal would likely have budgetary and administrative implications if the board chose to pursue it; the transcript does not include cost estimates, a motion, or staff analysis.