California Teachers Have To Pay For Their Own Subs While On Sick Leave
When a second grade teacher in San Francisco’s public school system was diagnosed with breast cancer, she quickly ran through her ten allotted sick days while undergoing treatment. And because of a 40-year-old California state law, she’s paying for the substitute teacher who’s helming her class during each day of her extended sick leave. Specifically, while the teacher, who has asked to stay anonymous, fights for her life, she’s also losing $195 a day, straight from her paycheck. Now that the beloved teacher’s story has hit the news, parents, teachers, administrators, and politicians are trying to understand why these laws exist and trying to take steps to get them dismantled if possible. The history of the law goes back to the mid-1970s, when the rule was added to the state education code: instead of paying into a state disability program like most other workers, their pay is docked when they face an extended leave. At the time, it was considered good that teachers could retain ...