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Morning Briefing

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Friday, May 10 2019

Full Issue

Teacher Has To Pay For Substitute To Cover For Her While She's Getting Treated For Breast Cancer

Teachers in California are allotted 10 sick days per year which roll over if they aren鈥檛 used, and then an additional 100 days of extended sick leave during which their pay is docked to pay for a substitute.

Parents in San Francisco are rallying around a second-grade teacher with breast cancer who will have to cover the cost of a substitute to replace her while she's on extended sick leave. A Glen Park Elementary school teacher, who did not want to be identified, will likely be on leave for the rest of the year, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Tuesday. She could have as much as $240 per day deducted from her salary to pay for a substitute thanks to a 1976 change to the California education code, the newspaper reported. (Yancey-Bragg, 5/9)

The California law forcing a teacher with cancer to pay for her own substitute shocked parents and students 鈥 but it wasn鈥檛 much of a surprise to teachers themselves. 鈥淧arents were outraged and incredulous 鈥 like, this can鈥檛 be,鈥 said Amanda Fried, a parent with kids at San Francisco鈥檚 Glen Park Elementary, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. 鈥淭here must be some mistake.鈥 (Gilmour, 5/9)

鈥淏y the time she has her second surgery, she will have exhausted all of her accumulated sick leave days and will be using extended sick leave, which is the regular salary minus the cost of the substitute teacher. Her colleagues will be donating sick days, but they will not be available until the next school year,鈥 the page read. The teacher has taught at Glen Park School for 17 years. In the San Francisco School District, a teacher is allotted 10 sick days at the beginning of the school year, and 100 days of extended sick leave if they need more time. The teacher鈥檚 salary for those extra days is reduced by the cost of a substitute teacher, which is generally between $167.94 and $203.16 per day in that district. (Shalby, 5/9)

This is part of the Morning Briefing, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.
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