The Assembly Committee on Education has scheduled a public hearing to discuss AB 116, an employee school conference and activities leave bill. The hearing will take place on May 19th at 10am in Capitol room 417 North (GAR Hall). The bill is the first of three to be discussed during the hearing.

Assembly bill 116 was introduced in March with eighteen bipartisan sponsors. This bill would require that employers (with over 50 employees) allow employees to take up to 16 hours of their unpaid leave time each year for school activities (parent-teacher conferences, classroom volunteering, etc.). Employees can substitute portions of this leave with any other paid or unpaid leave provided by their employers. You can read the full text of the bill here.

The bill specifically highlights early childhood education. The 16 hours of leave time can be used to observe and/or monitor a child’s early care facility as well as volunteer and attend conferences there. The definition of school includes licensed child care facilities, certified child care providers, private or public preschool and pre-k programs, and early education that is contracted by a school board.