Hellobee Boards

I use to work in NY and though I wasn't part of the NYS Teacher's Union, I know someone who was and between saved up time and the sick bank (that she was able to use) she got a year off for BOTH babies (who were born two years apart). I'm pretty sure she was paid for the whole time too. It isn't uncommon for teachers to take a semester off. In TX, where there is no union, you get 12 weeks at most. I had to quit my job because I hadn't been in the school a year and they were going to make me come back at 8 weeks. Because of when DS was born, that meant I was going to have to come back that school year, until waiting until the following school year.

I have some issues with the NYS Teacher's Union, but I would have loved to have been in it hahahaaha

I teach at a private school and we get 6 wks at half pay. If I want to use more I can use my personal days. I think I can do some half days and get most of my time off, but we don't have anything other than that. We don't have a union.

As a NYS union teacher, my maternity benefits aren't that awesome. Each district negotiates their individual contract, so it varies from school to school. I get 6 weeks of paid maternity leave, but I have to use all my sick time (having a baby is considered an illness/medical issue). When I run out of sick time, I can use the sick bank, but only for the first six weeks. If I have a c-section, I can use eight weeks of sick time. If I adopt, I get zero maternity leave. Many districts do not have a sick bank in their contract, so if teachers have not accrued six weeks of sick time, the remainder of their maternity leave is unpaid.

At the moment, most schools will allow teachers to take year-long unpaid leaves, and "hold" their job because of the economy. This is to the benefit of the district, as they can hire a much cheaper teacher to replace the more veteran (expensive) teacher that's on leave.