CA Teacher Battling Cancer Forced to Pay for Substitute

[sanantone]

A 1976 statute in California does not have teachers paying into the state disability fund, so they are not entitled to those benefits. Teachers in the San Francisco Unified School District receive 10 days of sick leave and 100 days of extended sick leave. However, when teachers are on extended sick leave, they have to pay for their own substitutes. A story of a teacher battling breast cancer received attention on social media when it was found out that she was paying $200 per day for her own substitute teacher. She has received donations on GoFundMe, but it's unknown how many California teachers have faced this kind of situation. 

https://www.cnn.com/2019/05/09/health/te...index.html

[cookderosa]

A 1976 statute in California does not have teachers paying into the state disability fund, so they are not entitled to those benefits. Teachers in the San Francisco Unified School District receive 10 days of sick leave and 100 days of extended sick leave. However, when teachers are on extended sick leave, they have to pay for their own substitutes. A story of a teacher battling breast cancer received attention on social media when it was found out that she was paying $200 per day for her own substitute teacher. She has received donations on GoFundMe, but it's unknown how many California teachers have faced this kind of situation. 

https://www.cnn.com/2019/05/09/health/te...index.html

That's absolutely crazy. I can see her not getting paid during her leave (which is pretty normal across the country) but PAYING for a sub?? That's insane.

[davewill]

My understanding is that she is getting paid. You can think of it as reducing her sick pay to cover the sub.

[cookderosa]

My understanding is that she is getting paid. You can think of it as reducing her sick pay to cover the sub.

I think she is too. Her pay is being reduced to cover her sub, and I realize it's semantics, but I think if someone isn't paid for sick leave that's much more palatable than the notion of her having to pay the sub from her pay.

[dfrecore]

I live in CA, and I've never heard of this, so I think it's very misleading. I've had friends who are teachers, in a bunch of districts, and not a one has ever discussed this, and you'd think they would if it was an issue.