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Bedford parent tells committee proposed parental-leave language disadvantages adoptive parents
Summary
Tom Walton of Concord told the committee an email attributed to the chair and superintendent describes parental-leave language that gives birth parents more paid leave than non-birth parents and said it treats adopted children and adoptive parents as less valued; the committee did not take action during public comment.
Tom Walton of 110 Concord Road used the public-comment period to urge the school committee to change proposed parental-leave language in the contract offer on the table with the Bedford Education Association.
"In this email, it is stated that the parental leave policy was changed to allow 2 weeks of paid leave for all employees with the opportunity to use accrued sick time up to 10 weeks for birth parents and 6 weeks for non birth parents," Walton said. Walton said his oldest child joined the family by adoption and his younger child by birth and argued the proposed language treats adoptive parents and their children as "less than" peers. "This policy tells teachers that any adopted child they bring into their family is not valued by their employer in the same way," he said.
Walton asked the committee to correct the provision in this contract cycle, calling the disparity "an embarrassment and a disgrace for Bedford." The superintendent later noted that "the same leave provision was ratified by the Bedford Educator Association for their educator support professionals." The committee did not take formal action on the public comment during the meeting.
Walton framed his remarks in personal terms, describing his family situation and saying he loved both children equally but that the policy creates an appearance of unequal valuation. He urged the committee to address the unintended consequence during contract negotiations or contract language review.
The committee moved on to scheduled agenda items after public comment closed; no committee vote or staff change to that leave language was recorded in this meeting.
