Education Code § 44965
ARTICLE 3. Resignations, Dismissals, and Leaves of Absence
The governing board of any school district shall provide for leave of absence from duty for any certificated employee of the district who is required to be absent from duties because of pregnancy, miscarriage, childbirth, and recovery therefrom. The length of the leave of absence, including the date on which the leave shall commence and the date on which the employee shall resume duties, shall be determined by the employee and the employee’s physician.
Disabilities caused or contributed to by pregnancy, miscarriage, childbirth, and recovery therefrom are, for all job-related purposes, temporary disabilities and shall be treated as such under any health or temporary disability insurance or sick leave plan available in connection with employment by any school district.
Except as provided herein, written and unwritten employment policies and practices of any school district shall be applied to disability due to pregnancy or childbirth on the same terms and conditions applied to other temporary disabilities.
This section shall be construed as requiring the governing board of a school district to grant leave with pay only when it is necessary to do so in order that leaves of absence for disabilities caused or contributed to by pregnancy, miscarriage, or childbirth be treated the same as leaves for illness, injury, or disability.
This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2027, and as of that date is repealed.
Other version (effective July 9, 2026): not in force on 2026-09-28
Repealed (in Sec. 78) and added by Stats. 2026, Ch. 65, Sec. 79. (AB 126) Effective July 9, 2026. Operative January 1, 2027, by its own provisions.
(a) (1) A public school employer shall provide for a leave of absence from duty for a certificated employee of the public school employer who is required to be absent from duty because the employee is experiencing or has experienced pregnancy, miscarriage, childbirth, termination of pregnancy, or recovery from those conditions. The length of the leave of absence, including the date on which the leave shall commence and the date on which the employee shall resume duties, shall be determined by the employee and the employee’s physician. Except as provided in paragraph (2), the leave of absence shall be with full pay, subject to a maximum of 14 weeks. The paid leave may begin before and continue after childbirth if the employee is actually disabled by pregnancy, childbirth, termination of pregnancy, or related medical conditions.
(2) For part-time certificated employees, the amount of paid leave per week, subject to a maximum of 14 weeks, shall be calculated in accordance with the following:
(A) If the part-time employee works a fixed number of hours per week, the employee shall receive weekly pay for the total number of hours the employee is normally scheduled to work for the public school employer.
(B) (i) Except as provided in clause (ii), if the part-time employee does not work a fixed number of hours per week, the employee shall receive weekly pay in an amount equaling the employee’s average weekly pay during the six-month period immediately preceding the date that the employee began their paid leave.
(ii) If the part-time employee has been employed for less than six months, the employee shall receive weekly pay in an amount equaling the employee’s average weekly pay during the entire period of that employment preceding the date that the employee began their paid leave.
(3) Notwithstanding any other law, a public school employer shall maintain group health coverage for an employee who takes a leave of absence under this section for the duration of the leave of absence at the same level and under the same conditions that coverage would have been provided if the employee had not taken a leave of absence.
(4) A leave of absence taken under this section shall not be deducted from any other leaves of absence available to the employee for subsequent injury, illness, or disabilities, including those caused or contributed to by pregnancy, miscarriage, or childbirth, pursuant to state or federal regulations or laws, except as provided in subdivision (e).
(5) Compensation during the leave of absence taken under this section shall include retirement fund contributions required of the public school employer. The employee shall earn full service credit during the leave of absence and shall pay member contributions to the retirement fund.
(b) Disabilities caused or contributed to by pregnancy, miscarriage, childbirth, termination of pregnancy, or recovery from those conditions are, for all job-related purposes, temporary disabilities, and shall be treated as such under any health or temporary disability insurance or sick leave plan available in connection with employment by a public school employer.
(c) Except as provided in this section, written and unwritten employment policies and practices of a public school employer shall be applied to disability due to pregnancy or childbirth on the same terms and conditions applied to other temporary disabilities.
(d) Except as provided in this section, there are no eligibility requirements, including, but not limited to, minimum hours worked or length of service, before an employee disabled by pregnancy, childbirth, termination of pregnancy, or related medical conditions is eligible for a paid leave of absence under this section.
(e) A public school employer that has elected to become an employer subject to Part 2 (commencing with Section 2601) of Division 1 of the Unemployment Insurance Code pursuant to Section 710.4 of the Unemployment Insurance Code may apply the disability benefits of an employee under Part 2 (commencing with Section 2601) of Division 1 of the Unemployment Insurance Code in partial satisfaction of the requirements of this section. Full satisfaction of the requirements of this section is met if the employer ensures that the employee receives the full amount of pay during the leave of absence required by this section without a reduction to the vacation, sick, or other compensated leave time balances of the employee.
(f) This section shall not apply to any employee classified as a substitute or temporary employee.
(g) Nothing in this section shall be construed to diminish the obligation of a public school employer to comply with any collective bargaining agreement entered into by a public school employer and an exclusive bargaining representative pursuant to Chapter 10.7 (commencing with Section 3540) of Division 4 of Title 1 of the Government Code that provides greater disability or parental leave rights to employees than the rights established under this section.
(h) For purposes of this section, “public school employer” means a school district, county office of education, charter school, or educational joint powers authority.
(i) This section shall become operative on January 1, 2027.