The governor today signed an executive order that requires local school districts to provide paid quarantine leave for public school educators and staff. CEA advocacy, unions working together, and your postcards to legislators made a positive difference.
We appreciate the governor taking this action to ensure that school employees continue to be paid when they are being forced to quarantine. Too many school districts were not accommodating educators’ requests to work remotely or receive paid quarantine leave when having to quarantine. This executive order helps ensure that we have consistent policies regarding how school districts handle quarantines and leaves in our public schools.
The Board of Education Union Coalition, representing teachers, paraeducators, and other education support staff, sent the governor a letter in January calling for an extension of paid quarantine leave for educators and staff in our public schools.
Executive Order 10 requires all local and regional boards of education to provide paid leave consistent with the leave provisions of the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act (EPSLA) of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), which expired on December 31, 2020. The order allows full-time employees 80 hours of paid leave and part-time employees leave for the average number of hours they work over a two-week period.
We thank all of you for your advocacy: making phone calls, sending emails and postcards to legislators, and putting pressure on the governor to issue this executive order. The governor and his staff listened to our voices and took action on this important issue.
Next: We are continuing to advocate for vaccine priority for teachers and staff when the essential worker phase begins after vaccinating the elderly.
