(Calif.) With an important legislative deadline quickly approaching, Senate education committee members passed about a dozen bills last week targeting topics including time off for teen parents, statewide assessment options and charter school transparency.
AB 1951 would require the State Superintendent of Public Instruction to approve a nationally recognized high school assessment–such as the SAT or ACT–that districts can administer to students instead of the grade 11 California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress.
Meanwhile, AB 2289 would create a consistent policy across the state that provides a minimum of six weeks of protected parental leave from school for teen mothers, and two additional weeks for births with complications. The bill also provides four weeks of school leave for teen fathers to care for and bond with their infant.
Assemblywoman Shirley Weber, D-San Diego, the bill’s author, said there is a lack of awareness of existing rights for parenting student rights under state and federal law among schools, as well as inconsistent policies among school districts for excused family leave–especially for male parents who often are given no access to bonding time.
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