September 2018 Babies
646K posts 158K members
Join this group For full access & updates!

Maternity leave for educators is a JOKE!

Bookmark Discussion
domo1025 wrote:

After researching and trying to plan things out, I’m so frustrated! As an educator, our only option for “maternity leave” are the days you have saved up over the years. Once those days are used up, they take 60% of your check for missing days! I’ve only been teaching 3 years, and in October had to burn through most of those days due to a hit and run accident! I’m just so irritated with the lack of benefits for educators! Chick fil a offers better. Anyone else as frustrated as I am or is this rant unwarranted?!?!? Sigh

Sort by: Oldest Newest 75 Posts


Yup, I'm with you! I will be able to take 0 sick days and then my short term disability. I don't have professional status yet either, and there's no way I'm coming back after 6 weeks, so I am going to risk losing my job.



it’s freaking ridiculous. If you fill out the FMLA forms, it’s said that those will help protect your job BUT what is a job worth keeping when you only get partial money?! Ugh.



look into if your school offers a sick leave bank. Most districts and or BOCES do. Rules vary but generally speaking you can borrow up to the number of days you need on doctor approved time off. So say you have only 15 sick days ... that’s 3 weeks. You get 6 weeks for vaginal and 8 for csection. You could ask the sick bank for an additional 15 (vaginal) 25(csection) so all of your dr approved time off would be paid. And as long as you are on payroll and being paid any holidays etc would be days you’d get anyways.

Do you get all your sick time up front ? So starting set you’ll have xx amount ? Since we are due so close to the beginning this is a huge advantage. However it does mean you won’t have any time for the rest of year.

I work for a BOCES which is a “board of cooperative educational services” basically a school district.

Our leave is crap too. While we can take a year it’s unpaid and no insurance. But basically I get what days I have accrued. Since the year starts July 1 I will get 15 sick days and I will have 20 vacation days. I accrue vacation monthly at 1.667 so I will have slightly more but depending on how much I use from July-baby will knock me down some.

I borrowed from the sick bank with my last and I got 20 days which was a godsend because I was taken out of work 4 weeks prior due to polyhydramnios

Good luck!


I’m not an educator, but I get no paid maternity leave. It sucks so bad, so I feel ya.



Yes, I am a nurse working for the board of education/school. I only have a few sick days left. I am going to take fmla for 12 weeks to have health insurance and job security. No pay for three months. I might just take two months off. I will see. Yes, it sucks.



I too was astounded when I learned I lived in one of 3 states that offers partial pay for 6 weeks of FMLA and I can get an additional 6 weeks unpaid.. crazy that only 3 states offer this since I originally didn't think it was that great but I'm lucky



We basically get 5 personal and 5 sick days up front. Thanks for this information I will definitely look into this! Thanks so much.


At my old job i didn’t get any kind of maternity leave pay. I got 6-8 weeks off and had to go back to work on the weekends just to keep my insurance. Luckily my boss worked with me and helped me pay my insurance while i wasn’t working. I ended up putting in my notice after i was able to get my own insurance policy. It was rough. My state doesn’t require any kind of maternity leave pay for small businesses.



Maternity leave in the US is a joke period! 6 weeks is what most moms are given and that’s horrible. I hope you can figure something out! My best friend got Aflac to make up the difference. She’s a teacher in Maryland.



Paid maternity leave is the same for most people in the USA- nonexistent. Really proud of New York for taking an initiative on paid family leave! We pay about two dollars out of our paychecks and I can’t think of something more worth it!



I work for a non-profit and the only time I will have will he my vacations and sick time. We also don't qualify for FMLA. I will have about a month of time saved up and will have two weeks unpaid. I will have to go back after six weeks, for financial reasons. I'm really upset about it.



its so frustrating that this country doesn't offer paid maternity leave it really is a disgrace. I am lucky but I will never understand why especially places like educators don't get paid leave or get a higher salary to begin with. In European countries being an educator pays well, because as a society education is valued. Unfortunately, I don't feel the same is true in the US. So I am with you.



I'm a teacher and have to take unpaid leave. So frustrating as it's going to rush the time spent with baby.



Ugh this is frustrating to read. In Canada we get 50 weeks (just less then a year) and Dad can take up to 5 of those weeks so usually it’s 45 weeks in length. 1/3 of it we get at 70% and the rest is at 55% which is tough but thank god it’s an option!



I feel for you all. I live in Australia where our school currently gives 14w full pay with a yr off (rest unpaid). I can then negotiate another 12 Months off unpaid leave. Educators create our future leaders I can’t believe how poorly maternity leave is in the US!



I live in SA and I don’t get paid at all whilst on maternity leave. We can claim UIF but it is ridiculous! We get 4 consecutive months.



Public service maternity leave is generally a joke. I don’t have short term disability because last year they screwed up my enrollment, and I couldn’t apply until January at which point I was already pregnant and have to wait a year to be able to use it.



My school only lets us have a max of 30 days (10 a year). I had a previous maternity leave so I will have around 12 paid days. I will be going part time next year so I will only have 4 days a week to take off so that will stretch the days as well as a fall break and Thanksgiving. HR at least sets the pay up so that all the missing days will come from my summer checks next year.



I’m an accountant and I have no paid maternity leave, no sick days, and short term disability is unavailable. So I’ll be using all the vacation I’ve been able to safe up minus doctor appointments before hand and that’s it... and same with my husband. I’m very sad because this will force him to only be off 1 week or so and I’ll have to just take off 6 weeks.. every daycare around us doesn’t even accept infants under 6 weeks.

Popular With Our Community
A Call to Charm