NEARLY 1,000 EDUCATORS SHARED their pregnancy experiences in support of AB 2901 and the need for #PregnancyLeaveNOW. Add your story and sign the petition in support of the bill by visiting cta.org/ab2901:

“I gave birth to three children (1986, 1988 and 1991). I was shocked to discover we had no maternity leave, so I used up all my accumulated sick leave, and after that had to have my paycheck docked to pay for a sub! And I returned to work way too soon after each birth because we needed my paycheck to survive. This has to change!”
—Janice Wong, teacher, CTA/NEA-Retired

“I had a high-risk pregnancy. I didn’t realize that teachers do not get social security disability. I was out of the classroom for an entire semester. Thankfully my local members donated hours, but I still could not afford diapers and formula when my daughter was born.”
—Melanie Bean, training specialist, Sacramento City Teachers Association

“As a currently pregnant teacher, I am very worried about the impacts of my upcoming need for Pregnancy Disability Leave and [how] it will possibly completely wipe out all my accumulated sick days before I even get to my maternity child bonding leave. My partner is also a teacher and we’ve been in the profession less than 10 years each. We want to stay in the profession AND raise a family.”
—Chris Clauss, special education teacher, United Educators of San Francisco

“I am currently 36 weeks pregnant, unable to go on maternity leave until my due date because I am new to this district, and I have used up all my sick leave when I caught COVID and other illnesses from my students this school year. It is taking a toll on my body and my students and I deserve better.”
—Talia Wadhwa, SDC inclusion teacher, Fremont Unified District Teachers Association

“As a first-time parent in January, choosing between less pay or spending time with my newborn was the worst decision. Ultimately, I returned to the classroom five weeks after my child was born, leaving my wife and first-time mom alone with our child with no support from me. In a profession where we put children first, why do we continue to put educators’ newborn children last?”
—Gary Cao, teacher, Hayward Education Association

“I lost out on a year of service and retirement benefits due to the current policies in place for maternity leave. This is not an equitable practice as my male counterparts are not required to take at least the six weeks of postpartum time away from the classroom and can flex how they use their paternity time in a way that will not impact their placement on the salary schedule, sick days available to them or retirement options.”
—Brittani Alfaro, teacher, Temecula Valley Education Association

“I had to deplete my accumulated sick leave during both of my six-week pregnancy leaves. Considering that unused sick time is factored into our retirement benefit, this is a glaring example of sexism that can be rectified with this bill.”
—Catrina Choudhry, teacher, Association of Colton Educators

“As an educator, I had a hard time paying my bills on maternity leave. I had to get rental assistance and go on food stamps to make ends meet while I was out bonding with my baby and waiting for her to be old enough to start daycare. I didn’t qualify for disability insurance to cover me during this time because I had just found out the day before that I was pregnant and no longer qualified due to my ‘pre-existing condition.’”
—Victoria Kim, teacher, Folsom Cordova Education Association

“As union president, I see how difficult it is for new mothers to navigate the disability system and figure out how to manage compensation during their leave. Many members have spent their first days with their baby on the phone with insurance providers, district officials and state agencies trying to figure out how they’ll support their families and substitute their lost income. Women should not be penalized for having children.”
—Hayden Gore, teacher, High Tech Education Collective

“Coming out of working for the hospital and experiencing traditional paid maternity leave, the experience in the schools was awful. I was forced to pay for my sub, one was never found but my pay was still docked, and I had incredible financial hardship postpartum.”
—Amanda Deardorff, school nurse, San Juan Teachers Association

“During both of my pregnancies, I was floored at my lack of options. This is a concrete reason that we are facing teacher shortages. I personally would not advise other women to go into teaching at the community college system here in California under the current conditions.”
—Emily Lohorn Carpenter, adjunct faculty, Southwestern College Educators Association

“I’m currently pregnant and would like more people to understand the challenges and concerns teachers face just in deciding to try to get pregnant all because of the lack of paid disability/parental leave. We make so many sacrifices to teach the children of other families, but this system doesn’t honor or respect our own decision to have children by not guaranteeing paid disability/parental leave.”
—Liz Martinez, teacher, United Teachers Los Angeles

“I returned to teaching via Zoom when Charlotte was six weeks old and she frequently napped on my chest while I balanced the workload of teaching remotely.”
—Chelsea Jones, Rocklin Teachers Professional Association

“I had two children during my work in the school district. My wife is also an educator. My children are adults now, but we remember vividly how difficult it was for my wife to return to work after only six weeks maternity [leave]. This should not happen in this country. Mothers should not have to choose between work and their children.”
—Ariel Tellez, teacher, United Teachers Los Angeles

“I worked for a charter school for eight years and paid into state disability; I had access to pregnancy disability and baby bonding, and then took my paid time off. I was able to have three-to-five months off because of how my benefits worked. I now work for a traditional school district and am appalled with how they do leave here.”
—E. Reyes, Associated Teachers of Pomona

“My family and I had to endure several weeks of no pay not long after I gave birth. It created a lot of extra stress [on us] physically and emotionally. With my second child I had to go back to work sooner than I had hoped and then took a week off because I got shingles. My doctor attributed my case to the fact that my body was worn down from birth and having to go back to work before I was physically ready.”
—Kelly Earlywine, teacher, San Carlos Teachers Association

“My family and I shouldn’t have to struggle because I had a baby and I shouldn’t have to put off having a baby because of a lack of paid maternity leave. I feel like I have to choose between being a teacher or a mom.”
—Kayla, Modesto Teachers Association