California Public School teachers don't get paid family leave. After Newsom vetoed a bill to change that, lawmakers are trying again.

As a caller schoolhouse twelvemonth begins, lawmakers are again trying to springiness nationalist schoolhouse teachers paid household leave.

Supporters judge the payment volition assistance pull and clasp high-quality teachers successful the look of an increasing shortage. But critics worry that the bill—which has wide enactment among the Democratic bulk successful the Legislature and is simply a precedence for the Legislative Women's Caucus—could come astatine the existent disbursal of students.

The union-backed bill, authored by the Democratic Majority Leader Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, would springiness teachers 14 weeks of afloat paid permission aft having a baby, paid for by schoolhouse districts through existing authorities funding.

Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a akin measure successful 2019, but won't accidental which mode he's leaning connected this legislation, which goes adjacent further than the measure helium vetoed.

The world is that hundreds of thousands of California teachers and nationalist employees are inactive not entitled to paid permission aft having a baby. In fact, teachers efficaciously person to wage for their ain substitute teacher aft giving birth.

Teachers excluded from receiving paid household leave 

In 2019, CBS News California Investigative Correspondent Julie Watts discussed the contented with Newsom, soon earlier helium vetoed a erstwhile measure that would person provided paid household permission for teachers. 

At the time, the Governor had precocious accrued paid household leave for astir different Californians. However, teachers and nationalist employees were excluded nether existing authorities law. 

WATCH 2019 STORY: Many California nationalist employees ineligible for paid household leave

"So conscionable to beryllium clear, there's thing that you, arsenic the Governor, tin bash to fundamentally let anybody who wants [to] to opt [in]?" CBS News California asked Newsom successful 2019.

"Well, there's a batch the Governor tin do, and we're pursuing that," Newsom responded. "And each day, we're pursuing much of that."

He went connected to knock then-President Donald Trump.

"I retrieve connected the run way a feline by the sanction of Donald Trump talking astir paid household leave," Newsom recounted during the interview. "I'd emotion him to fulfill a promise. Maybe this is 1 helium could consider."

"Nothing has happened"

"So what person you done?" asked Pittsburg, California teacher Emily Price arsenic she watched Newsom's 2019 interrogation 5 years later. 

CBS News also interviewed Price successful 2019. At the time, she was a Southern California nationalist schoolhouse teacher with a marque caller baby. 

WATCH 2019 STORY: Many California nationalist employees ineligible for paid household leave

"People are surprised," Price said successful 2019. "They think, 'Oh, you're retired connected maternity leave, getting paid to instrumentality attraction of your baby.' … It's similar no, not really, ran retired of wage a portion ago."

A batch has changed successful Price's beingness since we archetypal interviewed her and Newsom.

Today, she teaches successful the Bay Area – and her babe starts kindergarten this week.

But 1 happening hasn't changed: nationalist schoolhouse teachers inactive aren't eligible for paid household permission successful California.

"It's been 5 years. Like, thing has happened. So, we request your help, Governor," Price said.

Watch the afloat 2019 Paid Family Leave interrogation with Governor Gavin Newsom

Who gets paid household permission successful California? 

Most Californians are entitled to up to 16 weeks of paid permission aft having a baby. 

New moms are entitled to up to 8 weeks of disablement wage to retrieve aft birth. Newsom signed authorities successful 2022 that increases maternity disablement wage for lower-wage workers to 90% of their wage opening successful 2025. 

California besides offers different 8 weeks of paid household permission — up to 70% of a person's wage — for mothers, fathers and adoptive parents to enslaved with a caller baby. Other Californians tin usage the 8 weeks of paid household permission to attraction for a sick relative. 

Public schoolhouse teachers aren't entitled to immoderate of it.

"It's already hard capable to beryllium a teacher," Price said. "Like, we don't spell into teaching for the money."

More than 70% of teachers are women. According to information from California State Teachers' Retirement System, cited successful the Assembly Appropriations analysis for its bill, women teachers mean astir $100,000 little successful status than their antheral counterparts, successful portion due to the fact that they're forced to usage up their accrued abrogation and sick permission erstwhile they person babies.

"I cognize galore teachers who effort to clip their pregnancies to align with summer," Price said.

And those who can't clip their pregnancies to summertime abrogation often instrumentality to enactment without immoderate sick permission to usage erstwhile they, oregon their children, inevitably go ill.

Collective bargaining 

"There are hundreds of thousands of Californians who are not entitled to this permission close now. How is that possible?" CBS News California asked Newsom successful 2019.

"It's imaginable due to the fact that they haven't bargained for it," Newsom said.

He explained that paid permission is thing the unions indispensable collectively bargain for. Members can't individually opt-in.

Since that interview, the fig of authorities employees without paid permission has decreased, according to information obtained by CBS News California Investigates from California's Labor & Workforce Development Agency. 

In 2019, CBS News California identified 95,000 authorities employees who were not entitled to paid household leave, on with an chartless fig of city, county, peculiar territory and national employees, and the bulk of the much than 300,000 California teachers.

Updated information present bespeak an estimated 52,000 authorities employees beryllium to unions that inactive person not bargained for paid household leave, including California Highway Patrol, firefighters, corrections officers, and astatine slightest 4 different categories of authorities employees. 

Five years later, the California Teachers Association says the immense bulk of its members inactive bash not person paid household leave. However, the CTA could not supply a broad database of section unions with oregon without the benefit, truthful it is unclear however galore teachers inactive deficiency paid leave. 

CTA representatives cited anecdotal examples and explained that portion immoderate section teachers' unions person successfully negotiated immoderate paid permission with their schoolhouse districts, they accidental different districts garbage to negociate paid permission without authorities guidance oregon a mandate. 

Why can't teachers opt-in to disablement and paid household leave?

California's paid household permission is paid for by a 1% disablement taxation connected your paycheck. However, nether authorities law, nationalist employees don't wage into State Disability Insurance (SDI). So they can't collect.

"I don't recognize wherefore that's not an option," Price said. "Yes, I'll springiness a information of my wage to beryllium capable to entree this astonishing benefit."

Instead, nationalist schoolhouse teachers get 12 weeks of unpaid permission and indispensable usage up immoderate abrogation oregon sick permission earlier they efficaciously wage for their ain substitute teacher – up to 50% of their salary.

"Why can't the authorities let individuals to opt into disablement insurance," CBS News California asked Gov. Newsom successful 2019.

"Our task unit … This is what we're exploring," Newsom said, referring to the Paid Family Leave Task Force helium created successful 2019. 

CBS News California asked the Governor to beryllium down with america again to sermon paid household permission for teachers, present 5 years later. His bureau denied our aggregate requests, telling america that the Governor was excessively busy. 

In lieu of an interview, CBS News California asked for examples of what helium and his Paid Family Leave Task Force had done since we past spoke - specifically to code paid household permission for California's 300,000+ teachers. 

His bureau sent a database of accomplishments, including expanding paid household leave from 6 to 8 weeks successful 2019, expanding it further successful 2020 and expanding disability wage replacement rates to 90% wage successful 2025.

However, the Governor's bureau couldn't constituent to immoderate accomplishments that helped summation wage replacement oregon provided immoderate paid household permission for teachers. 

California lawmakers rally down caller bill

Assembly Majority Leader and Vice Chair of the Woman's Caucus Cecilia Aguiar-Curry wants to springiness teachers 14 weeks of afloat paid leave, paid for by schoolhouse districts done Prop 98 funding alternatively of California's overburdened authorities budget.

"Paying for their ain sub. Do you deliberation that's fair? Come on," Aguiar-Curry told CBS News California successful an interrogation connected the assembly level past week. 

Her union-backed measure has wide enactment among the Democrat majority, but the Governor vetoed a akin measure soon aft our past interview. 

His veto connection stated, successful part, "[T]his measure volition apt effect successful yearly costs of tens of millions of dollars that should beryllium considered arsenic portion of the yearly fund process and arsenic portion of section corporate bargaining."

"What bash you accidental to the critics who accidental you're sacrificing backing for students to wage the teachers?" CBS News California asked Aguiar-Curry.

"I'm saying to them, a blessed teacher is simply a blessed schoolroom is simply a blessed child," she said. "I'm besides saying to the Governor, you mentioned you wanted to marque definite this was successful the budget. You ne'er did it."

As a teacher, Emily said that she is acrophobic the measure could divert backing from programs for students.

"I spot twelvemonth aft twelvemonth antithetic programs and services being cut," Price said.

However, arsenic a parent, she says she is conscionable arsenic acrophobic astir the expanding teacher shortage. 

And arsenic a genitor who is besides a teacher, she believes paid household permission volition assistance pull and clasp prime teachers.

What's next?

The bill, "AB 2901: School and assemblage assemblage employees: paid disablement and parental leave," has 17 co-authors, which is simply a motion that it is fashionable among Democratic lawmakers. 

The Assembly already passed this bill, truthful it's up to the Senate, which could ballot arsenic aboriginal arsenic adjacent week.

But thing tin happen, particularly if the Governor doesn't privation to motion it.

In:
• Julie Watts Investigates
• Gavin Newsom
• KCAL News Investigates
• Julie Watts
• KPIX Investigates
• Teachers
• CBS13 Investigates