By Tanu Henry, Antonio Ray Harvey and Joe W. Bowers Jr., California Black Media
During a rally held at the State Capitol in Sacramento on Feb. 26,
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond announced his support for Assembly Bill (AB) 2901, or the Pregnancy Leave for Educators Act.
At the rally, Thurmond was joined by the California Teachers Association, other fellow advocates and elected officials who support the legislation, which was authored by Assemblymember Cecilia Aguiar-Curry (D-Davis).
“Teachers must be able to afford to stay in the profession and start a family. By providing paid pregnancy leave for California’s teachers, we will take an important step toward achieving gender equity in teacher pay, and we will also make critical strides toward retaining great teachers to address the staffing crisis in California’s classrooms,” Thurmond said.
According to the bill’s language, SB 2901 would require public schools and community college districts in California to “provide up to 14 weeks of a leave of absence with full pay for an employee who is required to be absent from duty because of pregnancy, miscarriage, childbirth, termination of pregnancy or recovery from those conditions.”
SB 2901 was co-authored by the Legislative Women’s Caucus, including Senator Maria Elena Durazo (D-Los Angeles) and Assemblymembers Mia Bonta (D-Alameda), Sabrina Cervantes (D-Corona), Liz Ortega (D-Hayward), Sharon Quirk-Silva (D-La Palma), and Pilar Schiavo (D-Santa Clarita).
The bill is scheduled to be heard in committee for the first time on March 17.
