“This is what union advocacy is about. This win is proof that when educators raise our voices together, we can create meaningful change,” says Stacie Thurman, president of Oxnard Education Association. “It gives me goosebumps that we were able to achieve this! Our work is improving people’s lives.”

Starting Jan. 1 of next year, all California public school employees will be able to use up to 14 weeks of paid pregnancy disability leave — a monumental victory powered by thousands and thousands of CTA members determined to right a historic wrong and create meaningful change for future generations of educators (and mothers) to come. This massive win capped an extraordinary effort that spanned multiple years and two different pregnancy leave bills, showing just how much we can accomplish when we organize and take action together.

“So many before us had to fight for this, lose pay, leave the profession and have their retirement impacted for decades,” says CTA Secretary-Treasurer Erika Jones, who led the campaign. “As a woman educator and CTA leader, this is a moment where we can look ahead to a time where we are no longer penalized for starting a family. As a mother, this is a moment where I recognize we are leaving the profession better for the next generation.”

The lack of paid pregnancy leave for California public school educators has long been a dirty secret, forcing generations of women teachers to plan their births around summer break, endure major financial strain, return to work too soon after having a child, and negatively impact their retirement security.

“As a union president, I’ve spent countless hours helping members try to piece maternity leave together like a puzzle,” Thurman says.

These shared experiences helped spawn the movement to win pregnancy leave in October 2023, when CTA State Council of Education voted to sponsor legislation that would affect all public school employees.

“It was the right thing to do, especially in an industry that’s more than two-thirds women,” says Eva Ruiz, member of the CTA Board of Directors. “As a veteran teacher, I’ve never been able to catch up because I had four children and lost almost a complete year of service. I am so excited for the next generations of educators who won’t fall behind just because they choose to have a family.”

Following the State Council vote, our union began a major public education campaign. We learned quickly that most people — including some members and many of the 120 elected state legislators we needed to convince to support our bill — were unaware that educators didn’t receive paid pregnancy leave or were forced to pay for our own substitute teachers. Ruiz says in the early days of the campaign, many assembly members and state senators expressed shock upon learning about the lack of pregnancy leave, “so it took time to bring people along.”

Asm. Cecilia Aguiar-Curry (front row, center in red jacket), author of both PPL bills

The fight for paid pregnancy leave kicked off in the Legislature in February 2024 when Assemblywoman Cecilia Aguiar-Curry (D-Winters) introduced CTA-sponsored AB 2901, joining our union in a press event on the steps of the State Capitol that included Sacramento-area educator Lydiana Alfaro and her newborn. According to CTA Board of Directors member Mara Harvey, this was the first of many educators bringing their babies to take part in our union’s efforts to win the leave.

“That really helped people understand ‘this is what a 14-week-old baby looks like,’” Harvey says. “I had to come back to the classroom when my kids were six weeks old, so I think this is just an incredible life-changing win for people. To be able to see the next generation of educators come into the profession to a system that respects them as parents makes me emotional.”

At the 2024 CTA press conference, member Lydiana Alfaro holds her baby as she addresses the crowd.

For United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) leader Maya Suzuki Daniels, this ongoing fight for equity and access has roots in Los Angeles, where she led a 2021 grassroots campaign centering working parents that culminated in a contract win of four weeks of paid parental leave for all LA Unified educators. Suzuki Daniels says she appreciates the focused and continued effort our union’s leaders put into centering the issue and staying on it despite setbacks.

“If it’s a problem for members, then it’s a problem for the union,” Suzuki Daniels says. “It was a need and we put in the work required to fill that need and improve the lives of working people.”

Maya Suzuki Daniels and Erika Jones — both pregnant — walked the Writers Guild of America West strike line with CTA President David Goldberg in 2023.

The power of our stories

As AB 2901 worked its way through legislative committees in Spring 2024, our union started collecting stories from members about how the lack of paid pregnancy leave had impacted their lives. Thousands of members shared their experiences navigating their pregnancy (and after) as a teacher — many of them very raw and very personal.

“Everything they put into those stories is a big part of how we won this. These members should know their stories made a huge impact on people and our fight,” Harvey says. “It was so important to keep sharing these stories with legislators to make them aware that we didn’t have paid pregnancy leave. It was surprising how many of them assumed we did and were unaware we had to pay our own substitutes.”

Mara Harvey (second from right)

More than 20,000 educators signed our online petition and thousands told their stories, which were then shared with elected officials and the media to help build the movement. Jones says these experiences were key to convincing lawmakers that paid pregnancy leave for educators was not only good policy but the right thing to do. The Los Angeles kindergarten teacher told her own story as the campaign unfolded, giving birth to her first child and now currently pregnant with her second.

“I felt a camaraderie and also a commitment to our members to bring this home,” Jones says.

But after passing the Assembly in mid-2024, AB 2901 was in trouble. Amid concerns of how to fund the bill, state senators got cold feet and the bill stalled. Democratic leaders in the state Senate never brought AB 2901 to the floor for a vote and it died there.

This proved to be a crucial moment in the fight for pregnancy leave. One of a small group of leaders on our union’s Paid Pregnancy Leave Task Force, Ruiz says the disappointment in the bill’s failure quickly turned into determination, with Jones rallying the team and reminding the group that members statewide were ready to keep up the fight.

“Erika said ‘no, we can’t give up on this.’ She refocused us and we renewed our fight for our profession and the future educators who aren’t here yet,” says Ruiz. “It was a constant commitment that we would not let it go and just accept what we’ve been told.”

Upward of a thousand members attended a CTA virtual town hall meeting in November 2024 for an update on the campaign, leaving no doubt that our union was all-in on the historic struggle. The following month, Asm. Aguiar-Curry introduced AB 65, essentially the same bill as AB 2901, and with the new year, it began to work its way through the legislative process. Following a successful March 2025 press event inside the Capitol, AB 65 received bipartisan support in committees before winning unanimous approval in the Assembly.

Paid pregnancy leave advocates in the state Senate, however, felt they needed more time to ensure similar support in their chamber. Aguiar-Curry cancelled a scheduled hearing in a key Senate committee and made AB 65 a two-year bill as talks with lawmakers continued, meaning we would once again need to wait while keeping up the momentum.

“This is where real leadership matters — when you don’t make it, leadership that keeps you motivated,” Thurman says. “Our officers and governmental relations staff were doing a lot of that work behind the scenes. Even as a local leader, I was thinking ‘can we do this?’ and they inspired me and reminded me that yes, we can.”

Our union leaders including Eva Ruiz (second from left) met numerous times with state legislators at the State Capitol to advocate for paid pregnancy leave.

Incremental progress becomes historic change

When the Legislature reconvened at the beginning of this year, there was a shift in attitude about the issue among many legislators, with a marked interest in finding funding for paid pregnancy leave and addressing the issue in the state budget process, rather than solely through AB 65. Throughout the winter and into the spring, our members and staff continued to meet with lawmakers and share our stories. There was finally a massive breakthrough in May: Paid pregnancy leave was in the governor’s revised budget.

“This was one of the first times I felt the full force of what we can do as a union for educators — about making this a profession that respects the people who can do it,” Harvey says. “This victory shows that we don’t have to make choices — we as a union have the power to fight for all the things that educators deserve. As long as we keep fighting for the righteous things people need and deserve, we can win them.”

After negotiations, the Legislature and governor agreed on a budget that included paid pregnancy leave for educators, which the governor signed into law in late June. With the new leave going into effect Jan. 1, Jones says it’s important to now look at other disability leaves as well to see what other improvements can be made to support educators.

“Healthy and supported educators make great public schools. This victory shows that collectively we can take on something that everyone says will never happen, organize and win,” Jones says. “This all started as a vote of State Council to co-sponsor legislation and turned into a huge organizing opportunity. We have members involved now that never saw themselves playing a role in their union. That’s also a huge victory!”

Paid Pregnancy Leave (PPL) Q&A

When does the leave go into effect?
Jan. 1, 2027

How much leave can be taken?
Up to 14 weeks

Who does this leave apply to?
Certificated and classified employees at public school employers and academic and classified employees at community college districts

Will PPL be deducted from sick leave?
No, this is separate from sick leave.

What does this leave cover?
PPL covers periods when an employee is unable to work because they are experiencing or recovering from pregnancy, miscarriage, childbirth, termination of pregnancy or related medical conditions. The leave may begin before childbirth and continue afterward, as long as the employee is actually disabled by one of these conditions.

If I am the non-birthing parent, can I take this leave?
No. Paid Pregnancy Leave is available only to employees who are disabled as outlined above. It does not provide leave for baby bonding.

Is this separate from maternity/paternity leave?
Yes, PPL is a separate benefit for an employee disabled due to pregnancy, miscarriage, childbirth, termination of pregnancy or related medical conditions. If an employee is eligible for both types of leave, PPL may be taken for the period of pregnancy-related disability, and parental or baby-bonding leave may be available separately under a collective bargaining agreement or other applicable law.

What if I am a part-time employee?
Part-time certificated employees are also eligible for PPL. The amount of pay received during the leave depends on the work schedule.

Full PPL Q&A available online HERE.

The Fight for Paid Pregnancy Leave Timeline

October 2023: CTA State Council of Education members vote to approve sponsoring legislation to win Paid Pregnancy Leave for all California public school employees.

February 2024: Asm. Cecilia Aguiar-Curry (D-Winters) introduces AB 2901, which would provide up to 14 weeks of paid pregnancy disability leave to all public school employees. Steering committee formed to lead campaign.

August 2024: State Assembly votes to approve AB 2901 and the bill moves on to the State Senate.

August–September 2024: AB 2901 breezes through committees before state senators let it stall out in their chamber. Our union vows to continue the effort in the next legislative session.

Fall 2024: Statewide campaign continues, as our union gathers more than 20,000 signatures calling on lawmakers to support PPL and highlighting some of the thousands of personal stories shared by educators.

November 2024: Thousands of members attend virtual town hall meeting discussing next steps of the fight for PPL.

December 2024: Aguiar-Curry introduces CTA-sponsored AB 65, essentially the same bill as AB 2901.

March 2025: Our union holds a press conference inside the State Capitol on AB 65.

Spring 2025: AB 65 passes through Assembly committees, receiving bipartisan support and unanimously passing the Assembly in late May.

June 2025: AB 65 is scheduled for a hearing by the Senate Education Committee but Aguiar-Curry cancels it. AB 65 becomes a two-year bill and remains in committee while negotiations on funding and implementation continue.

January 2026: Legislature reconvenes. Campaign gains momentum, emphasizing educator recruitment, retention and equity, and rooted in the voices and experiences of CTA members.

February–April 2026: Our union and friends in the Legislature work to secure funding for PPL through the budget process rather than relying solely on the policy bill.

May 2026: In a major breakthrough, the governor’s May Budget Revision includes funding for PPL.

June 2026: Assembly and State Senate include PPL in their budget plans, signaling agreement on the policy as negotiations continue about implementation. PPL becomes part of the state budget, which the governor signs into law on June 29.

July 2026: PPL moved into the 2026–27 Education Omnibus Trailer Bill (AB 126) as part of the state budget package, and signed by the governor on July 9. AB 65 continues its way through the Legislature; passage of the bill would enhrine it in state law.

Jan. 1, 2027: Paid Pregnancy Disability Leave takes effect, with up to 14 weeks for all public school employees. The pregnancy leave steering committee continues to meet to continue the fight for reproductive justice for all.