Paid family, medical leave for teachers considered

A bill that would provide Nebraska certified teachers with paid family and medical leave was considered by the Education Committee March 10.

LB440, introduced by Omaha Sen. Ashlei Spivey, would adopt the Education Leave and Support Act and provide teachers facing family or medical challenges with six weeks of paid family and medical leave.

Under the bill, a payroll fee of 0.35% would be applied to the taxable wages of certificated teachers in Nebraska beginning Jan. 1, 2026. School districts would match the contribution before remitting the fee quarterly to the state treasurer, who would direct the funds to a newly created State Education Leave Fund.

The new fund would be administered by the state Department of Education and be used solely to reimburse school districts for substitute teacher costs for the first six weeks of a covered employee’s family and medical leave.

LB440 also would create the Education Retention Fund to be used to address teacher shortages and support professional development. If the State Education Leave Fund accumulates a surplus exceeding 20% of its projected annual needs, the bill directs the state treasurer to transfer those excess funds to the Education Retention Fund.

An amendment brought by Spivey to the hearing would clarify that teachers would continue to receive their full salary and benefits while on a six-week leave. The amendment also would allow payroll contributions to cover the program’s operating and administrative costs.

Spivey said teachers who need maternity or extended medical leave often must use all their paid sick and vacation leave or take unpaid time off, which leads to burnout. Providing teachers with six weeks of paid family and medical leave, she said, can help Nebraska retain its current educators, attract new ones and better compete with the private sector.

“With teacher burnout and shortages at critical levels, there is no reason to leave our educators without adequate support during significant life events,” Spivey said.

Tim Royers testified in support of the bill on behalf of the Nebraska State Education Association. He said teachers throughout the state, particularly young female educators, have strongly expressed the need for paid family and medical leave.

By passing LB440, he said, the Legislature would send a powerful message to educators that it supports them — especially during a time when teachers feel unsupported.

“Just 8% of our educators feel that this body takes them into account when it crafts education policy,” Royers said. “They feel the bills discussed here, for the most part, do not align with their experiences or their means, and that is a contributing factor to some people leaving the profession.”

Lincoln Public Schools teacher Sydney Jensen also supported the bill, saying she began saving sick and vacation leave for years in anticipation of starting a family. Despite those years of planning for maternity leave, Jensen said, she experienced postpartum depression after the birth of her first child and had to take an additional four weeks of unpaid leave, which added stress on her family.

“Teachers shouldn’t have to choose between their families and their financial stability, and Nebraska should be a state where mothers are able to continue working while expanding their families,” Jensen said.

Millard teacher Bryant Bull also testified in favor of LB440, saying his 2011 Crohn’s Disease diagnosis resulted in hospitalizations and weeks of missed work. As a result, he used most of the leave time that he had been saving for the birth of his daughter, Bull said, and was able to stay home for only five days after her birth.

“If LB440 had been law back then, it would have changed the entire situation and I never would have been forced to make an impossible decision,” Bull said.

No one testified in opposition to LB440 and the committee took no immediate action on it.