Paid parental leave rules now in place for 200,000 NC school employees. Here's what they are

The State Board of Education approved temporary parental leave rules the state’s nearly 200,000 public school employees.

The rules, approved Thursday, provide eight weeks of paid parental leave for full-time employees who give birth after July 1. Four weeks of paid leave will be available to other biological parents, anyone who adopted a child or otherwise became a guardian of a child after July 1. Part-time employees will be prorated amounts of leave.

Paid parental leave is expanding to every state government employee this fiscal year under the state’s new law that also restricts abortion at 12 weeks of pregnancy, Senate Bill 20.

Before now, only agencies under the direction of the governor — and others that chose to — offered paid parental leave.

The policy mirrors one already in place for those other employees.

It’s only a temporary policy — intended to provide guidance as soon as possible — until state agencies have more time to come up with permanent rules later this fiscal year.

The temporary rules look like this:

• Leave is only available once during a 12-month period.
• Leave is only available for biological parents of children born on July 1, 2023, or later, and to others who adopted or otherwise became a guardian after July 1, 2023. That’s a change from the first draft of the temporary rule presented in July. Back then, North Carolina Department of Public Instruction officials said lawmakers intended for the benefit to begin only for children born on July 1, 2023, even those who were adopted or taken into a foster home. Officials said this week the intent is to allow people taking in a child after July 1 to also have the benefit, even if the child was born before then.
• When possible, employees must provide advance notice of their intent to take leave.
• Employees can only receive the benefit if they have been employed for 12 consecutive months in the same school system or state agency.
• Time-limited employees, such as those whose positions are grant-funded, will be eligible for paid parental leave, so long as they have already worked for 12 months at their agency.
• Paid parental leave is a benefit on top of any annual or other leave a state employee may also wish to take. Many employees currently use annual leave or other paid leave to continue receiving a paycheck while on parental leave.
• Employers won’t be required to pay out leave if employment is terminated during leave.

Charter schools aren’t required to offer paid parental leave but can choose to offer it.

The bill provides schools with $10 million to use toward substitute teachers during paid parental leave. That’s the only funding related to paid parental leave included in the bill.