https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Mon, 06 Apr 2026 07:35:13 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/maternity-leave-for-teachers#post-2640989 Sun, 23 Oct 2016 22:05:27 +0000 matador84 2640989@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Anagram: wow. I haven't read your link yet but I can't wait to. </p> <p>So I took 8 weeks off with my first child. I used up all my days (saved over 3 years!) so I could have pto. I had another child the next year so I had no days saved up, so I was docked my daily rate every day I was gone AND had a vacation day taken away from me the next year because 10 days off is based on working 187 days...which I didn't work. My maternity leave that year fell over some of Spring Break and Easter and those days were included in my mat leave 12 week eligibility. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/maternity-leave-for-teachers#post-2640734 Sun, 23 Oct 2016 02:31:30 +0000 meadow 2640734@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I used sick days first. Then summer break didn't count and FMLA this fall. My understanding was that it's calendar weeks regardless. There were 2 weeks in this span where school was only in session 2 days but those count as full weeks for FMLA. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/maternity-leave-for-teachers#post-2640681 Sat, 22 Oct 2016 21:01:22 +0000 DesertDreams88 2640681@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Anagram: Ah, very interesting, thank you! I will tuck this away for future reference!! So, I could have gotten a whole extra unpaid week at home with baby... :bummed: oh well. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/maternity-leave-for-teachers#post-2640648 Sat, 22 Oct 2016 19:51:54 +0000 Anagram 2640648@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p><a href="https://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/whdfs28i.pdf" rel="nofollow">https://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/whdfs28i.pdf</a></p> <p>It's here. Top of the second page. I encourage you to fight for your rights. I had to, and it wasn't pretty, and it involved getting our union mediators involved, but I got my time off and everyone should get the time they are legally entitled to. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/maternity-leave-for-teachers#post-2640647 Sat, 22 Oct 2016 19:49:40 +0000 Anagram 2640647@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Actually none of this is right. I went round and round with my school district. If you google, or call the DOL, you will find that school districts CAN NOT run your FMLA time on weeks when you would normally not be at work. But it has to be a holiday that takes the majority of a week.</p> <p>For example, if your district gives 2 days off for "winter break", then that's less than half time so that week still counts towards your 12 weeks FMLA. But if your district gives a full week for winter break, then it can NOT count toward your 12 FMLA weeks.</p> <p>However, when I lived in Texas, the school district I worked for (a huge school district, who should know better) did this wrong. They were either clueless or intentionally swindling teachers out of their full leave. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/maternity-leave-for-teachers#post-2640632 Sat, 22 Oct 2016 19:20:51 +0000 JoyfulKiwi 2640632@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Double post </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/maternity-leave-for-teachers#post-2640616 Sat, 22 Oct 2016 19:00:33 +0000 katsupgirl 2640616@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Boopers: wow. That's cold. It's pretty much implied but to put it in writing like that. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/maternity-leave-for-teachers#post-2640608 Sat, 22 Oct 2016 18:43:59 +0000 petitenoisette 2640608@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My doctor signed off on 12 weeks and then the HR person told me I'd be getting paid for 13. I don't know if that was because of the week of vacation that took place during my leave or what. Honestly I didn't ask any questions at that point because I didn't want them to realize it was a mistake or something. </p> <p>My school is pretty good about maternity leave, we have to take our sick days to be paid but usually people have plenty to cover that and if not you can take from the sick bank. The bigger issue is it being a crapshoot how many weeks your dr will sign off on. Mine signed off on the twelve even before I had a c section. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/maternity-leave-for-teachers#post-2640605 Sat, 22 Oct 2016 18:38:26 +0000 JoyfulKiwi 2640605@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I had my first child in sept and came back in January. In that time we had 5 days off (holidays, days off, snow days) and another 3 weeks of holiday time, none of which counted towards my leave time. My HR said that those days off are calculated into my yearly salary and, if I were working during that time, I would have gotten them "for free", so they couldn't "dock" me just because I was on mat leave. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/maternity-leave-for-teachers#post-2640579 Sat, 22 Oct 2016 17:44:25 +0000 Boopers 2640579@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>In my district and the districts around me, school breaks count towards your 12 weeks. </p> <p>Oh and for an extra kicker, HR specifically states in multiple places "we do not offer extra time off to bond with your baby." 😡😩 </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/maternity-leave-for-teachers#post-2640572 Sat, 22 Oct 2016 17:28:08 +0000 LemonJack 2640572@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I think it depends on the district. I don't think my district counts breaks as part of the FMLA, but I don't know for sure. I know colleagues have said they got some extra time due to breaks, but that's also from people who had kids 7-8 years ago. A lot has changed since then. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/maternity-leave-for-teachers#post-2640570 Sat, 22 Oct 2016 17:20:45 +0000 travellingbee 2640570@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Mine did not include any breaks or days that we already had off. So I ended up having 13 weeks because of the week from spring break. Well really I had 15 weeks because I didn't go back after the two week break from Christmas. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/maternity-leave-for-teachers#post-2640568 Sat, 22 Oct 2016 17:13:40 +0000 katsupgirl 2640568@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Maternity leave sucks for teachers! Just had to put that out there. I'm in NYC and according to what I understand the only time FMLA doesn't apply is in the summer. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/maternity-leave-for-teachers#post-2640564 Sat, 22 Oct 2016 17:04:53 +0000 DesertDreams88 2640564@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>School breaks still count as part of your 12 weeks, right?? How did that work for you?</p> <p>I was out for 12 weeks of FMLA, Jan 19-April 11. This included my spring break. I know based on intermittent leave I could have come back the Friday before spring break and then been on break and started my leave back again after break, but it was hard enough to get my OB to sign off for 12 weeks since he was focused on the 6 weeks of STD. My time was all unpaid but I cashed in my STD insurance and 8 weeks of sick leave. Rationally, we are still employed during breaks, so breaks still count, right?</p> <p>However, I was talking to a teacher friend of mine in another district, and she's due in early November. She said that her HR isn't counting Thanksgiving break or Christmas break, so she gets 15 weeks off. Is this legit? Does this happen? Or did her HR just misunderstand FMLA? </p>