Arkansas teacher rejoices over new paid maternity leave law
BENTONVILLE, Ark. — A new law in Arkansas that went into effect on Aug. 5 requires all school districts to offer paid maternity leave. One Northwest Arkansas school teacher said this would have made all the difference for her during her last pregnancy.
Rebecca Reynolds is going into her fifth year as a first-grade teacher at Apple Glen Elementary in Bentonville. She says she did her best to time out her pregnancy with her firstborn.
“I tried to time it where I'm having babies in the spring or early summer, so that I'm only taking off about a month or so, and then the normal school year ends so I'm not docked as many days,” she said.
But things didn’t go as planned the second time around.
“With my daughter, I just had her on April 1st. I did not have a full paycheck from about the middle of April to just about a week ago, mid-July,” Reynolds said.
She says she even had to pay out of pocket.
“I've had hospitalizations. I've had surgeries," she said. "By the time I was having my first child, I only had maybe six sick days, so I actually ended up having to pay the district for my insurance they were taking out.”
Now, for new moms like Reynolds, PTO and time with their newborn won’t be an added stress during pregnancy, thanks to Act 904 that went into effect Tuesday.
“I probably re-read it like eight times to make sure I wasn't, like, hallucinating, because it seems like such a huge deal that they would make this change," she said.
Bentonville schools say the law requires paid maternity leave for new mothers and paid paternity leave for a father welcoming a foster or adopted child into their family.
Parents with a baby born after July 1st qualify for 12 weeks of paid leave, as long as they apply 30 days before the expected due date.
“To me, that sounds like a much easier way to go about getting it than it was before, where you had to set up all these meetings with HR, figure out how many sick days you had, so that maybe you could figure out how many days you're going to be docked and budget.”
Reynolds says this change will make all the difference for her and other teachers.
“I do feel like deep down, most moms want at least a few months at home with their newborn to bond. They feel like they're still part of you in those early months," Reynolds said. "When you're a working mom, knowing that it's hurting your family to stay home with your baby, even though that's the greatest gift you can give your family, it’s just really challenging.”