- Gibson Martucci
- 916-319-3104
- gibson.martucci@asm.ca.gov
SACRAMENTO, CA — On December 3, 2024, Assembly Majority Leader Cecilia AguiarCurry (D-Winters) reintroduced landmark legislation to expand pregnancy leave benefits for public school educators. The proposed bill, AB 65, would provide public school employees, including community college faculty, with up to 14 weeks of fully paid leave for pregnancy and pregnancy-related health conditions.
Under current California law, educators facing pregnancy-related complications must exhaust their accrued sick leave to cover extended absences beyond the standard six weeks of maternity leave. Disproportionately penalizing women educators, this policy forces many to leave the profession, often without returning, which exacerbates the state’s ongoing teacher shortage crisis.
“Educators should not have to choose between starting a family and their financial well-being,” said Majority Leader Aguiar-Curry. “AB 65 will create equity in the education workforce and give educators paid leave to care for themselves and their children, as we ask them to give so much to care for ours.”
On average, women educators earn nearly $100,000 less in retirement than male educators because of policies that require them to deplete sick leave during pregnancy, leading to diminished long-term earnings and pension benefits. California’s teaching workforce is 73 percent women, and most educators starting families early in their careers have not accrued enough sick leave to cover pregnancy-related absences. This forces many women educators to take a 50 percent pay cut through differential pay, their salary minus the cost of a substitute, to cover pregnancy-related disabilities, leaving them in financial distress.
State leaders and advocates voice their broad support for AB 65 as a matter of economic sensibility and fairness.
“The California Teachers Association strongly urges support for the Pregnancy Leave for Educators Act,” said Secretary-Treasurer Erika Jones of the California Teachers Association. “Because women giving birth tend to be younger and teachers having children are generally at an early stage in their careers, most, like me, will not have banked enough sick leave to carry them through a pregnancy-related absence. Once sick leave is exhausted, mothers go on differential pay. This is a double-dose of gender discrimination. Women educators are not only forced to exhaust sick leave early in their careers due to pregnancy, but are also later penalized in retirement. I’ve had countless conversations with educators still recovering from childbirth forced back to work due to lack of leave. In schools across this state we have mothers who should be home due to sickness but are working because they have no sick leave to fall back on.”
“As the child of a high school art teacher, I’ve witnessed the struggles educators go through firsthand. Many instructors are forced to make an impossible choice between starting a family and meeting their financial obligations,” said California State Treasurer Fiona Ma. “This legislation is not just necessary—it’s a matter of fairness. It addresses the retirement disparities that disproportionately affect female educators and ensures they receive the financial security they’ve earned. I am committed to advocating for this bill and will work tirelessly to see it through.”
Underscoring the critical role AB 65 could play in addressing California’s teacher shortage, Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond said, “Teachers must be able to afford to stay in the profession and start a family. Reintroducing the Pregnancy Leave for Educators Act is an important step to address the gender wage gap for teachers and the teacher staffing shortage. This is an issue of economic justice for our teachers that has the power to retain incredible educators for our students.”
Lagging behind states like Tennessee and Oklahoma, which already provide pregnancy leave for educators, AB 65 would set a functional labor and economic standard for California—aligning the state with international labor standards by meeting the International Labor Organization’s recommendation of 14 weeks of maternity leave.
“It’s time for California to lead in providing pregnancy leave for educators,” said AguiarCurry. AB 65 is a critical step toward creating a more equitable future for California’s educators, their families, and the students they serve.”
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Assemblymember Cecilia Aguiar-Curry represents California’s 4th Assembly District, which includes all of Lake, Colusa, Napa, and Yolo Counties, and part of Sonoma County. She serves as the Assembly Majority Leader and Chair of the California Women’s Legislative Caucus.