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Assembly bill would guarantee up to 14 weeks paid pregnancy leave for California public school employees
Summary
Assemblymember Aguiar Curry introduced AB 65 to provide up to 14 weeks of paid leave with full benefits for certificated and classified public school employees for pregnancy and pregnancy-related health issues; unions and school employees testified in support, while a committee member asked for clearer funding and eligibility language; the bill was passed out of committee with amendments and sent to the Senate Labor, Public Employment and Retirement Committee.
Assemblymember Aguiar Curry proposed AB 65 to establish up to 14 weeks of paid pregnancy leave with full benefits for public school certificated and classified employees, aiming to replace the current practice that forces educators to exhaust sick leave or accept differential pay that reduces retirement credit.
AB 65’s author told the Senate Education Committee that the bill would let teachers take medically necessary time for pregnancies and pregnancy-related conditions without draining sick-leave balances or losing retirement service credit. “As we work to ensure Californians can care for their families, we cannot allow the very people who care for our children to bear the burden,” the author said in presenting the measure.
Union leaders and school employees who testified described cases they said illustrate the problem. Britney Ward, an elementary school teacher and president of Twin Rivers United Educators, said teachers are leaving the profession because of financial pressures and that forcing staff to use sick leave for pregnancy harms retirement benefits. “Forcing teachers to exhaust their accumulated sick leave to welcome a child is stressful and inequitable,” Ward said. Adara Clark Gunn, a San Juan Unified special education technician and CSEA chapter president, described being denied disability benefits after a pregnancy-related complication and having to return to work early when insurance claims were denied.
Committee members pressed the author on funding and whether some districts would be excluded from eligibility. Senator Chobok said she supported paid leave in principle but voiced concern that the bill’s current structure might leave some districts without access to funding, and she indicated she would lay the bill over to allow trailer-language and amendments that ensure equitable access across districts. Seth Bramble, a California Teachers Association representative, said an early statewide estimate of cost was about $220 million and that options discussed with the Administration include augmenting districts’ COLA to cover costs.
The committee recorded a motion to pass AB 65 to the Senate Labor, Public Employment and Retirement Committee after the author agreed to continue work on funding and implementation details. The committee’s procedural record shows the item passed out of committee and was placed on call for absent members.
