NC teachers now qualify for 12 weeks of paid parental leave
With the passage of the Senate Bill 1041, titled the “Public Workforce Modernization Act,” in July, permanent public school employees are newly eligible for 12 weeks of paid parental leave. The law went into effect on Thursday, Oct. 1.
SB 1041, among other things, extends paid parental leave for state employees in North Carolina. When Gov. Josh Stein signed the bill into law in July, he said the expanded leave “puts families first.”
Previously, state employees, including teachers, who gave birth received up to eight weeks of paid parental leave, and all other state employees who became parents received up to four weeks. Now, all state employees who become parents through any means will receive up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave. The law also adds one day of annual leave for all teachers through an updated vacation day accrual schedule.
Teacher retention has been a major topic of discussion across North Carolina. According to the N.C. Office of State Human Resources, “offering paid parental leave helps state agencies compete for talent, as this signals a family-friendly culture that values work-life balance and helps the State of North Carolina remain competitive.”
At their October meeting, the State Board of Education approved the publication of an amendment to State Board code for public comment in order to align Board policy on parental leave with the General Assembly’s new law. The rule is expected to return in January for final adoption following the public comment period, projected to span from Nov. 2, 2026 to Jan. 4, 2027.
“State law supersedes existing state Board rules and policies,” said Ryan Collins, Department of Public Instruction (DPI) deputy general counsel, at the Board meeting on Thursday. “That means the requirement for local school districts and the participating charter schools to offer 12 weeks takes effect immediately, even as the State Board is going through this rule making process… those revised accrual rates also take effect immediately, beginning today.”
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What does the policy cover?
Previously, the law differentiated between the amount of paid parental leave that birthing parents and non-birthing parents were entitled to.
Starting Oct. 1, all employees at public school units (PSU) who becomes the “legal guardian or custodian of a child through birth, adoption, foster care, or other legal placement” are entitled to 12 weeks of continuous parental leave, receiving 100% of their “regular, straight-time pay” for the entire duration of that time, per the Board rule. However, the law limits paid parental leave when a child is placed up for adoption or into foster care to four weeks for birthing parents.
The current understanding of the Board is that the new law only covers births starting on Oct 1, meaning it is not retroactive. If an employee gained custody of a child through any means before Oct. 1, 2026, they are still subject to the old parental leave policy.
Paid parental leave under the new law may only be taken within 12 months of the “qualifying event,” and it may only be taken once within a 12-month period.
“Multiple births, adoptions, or other legal placements within the same 12-month period shall not entitle an otherwise eligible employee to more than one award of paid parental leave,” said the updated rule.
The updated rule also establishes rules for miscarriages and stillbirths:
- If the fetus dies before the conclusion of the 12th week of pregnancy, there is no qualifying event creating an entitlement to paid parental leave under this Rule.
- If the fetus dies after the conclusion of the 12th week of pregnancy but prior to a completed birth, an otherwise eligible employee who carried the child shall be entitled to up to four weeks of leave for physical and mental recuperation. Neither a birthing parent nor a non-birthing parent shall be entitled to additional leave for bonding with the child.
- If a child dies after a completed birth, an otherwise eligible employee shall be entitled to (12 weeks of paid leave)
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Who qualifies for coverage?
According to the policy, any person employed to fill a permanent, probationary, or time-limited position in a PSU who, at the time of the qualifying event, has been employed by a PSU for at least 1,040 hours without a break in service within the previous 12-month period are eligible for the new parental leave policy.
This does not include temporary employees or independent contractors.
Part-time PSU employees may be eligible to receive a prorated share of up to 12 weeks of parental leave “based upon the hours in the employee’s regular, weekly schedule compared to the hours worked by a full-time employee in a similar position within the PSU.”
“The employee may aggregate periods of employment with different employers to satisfy this requirement, except that any period of employment by a charter school shall not satisfy this requirement unless the governing board of the charter school has elected to provide paid parental leave,” says the new policy.
More simply, North Carolina public school employees with at least 1,040 hours of service in the last year are eligible for coverage, even if they recently switched school districts.
Charter schools may choose to adopt this parental leave policy, and each charter school board of directors must notify the Office of Charter Schools at DPI of its intent to offer paid parental leave no later than Oct. 1 of the fiscal year for which it intends the leave to be available.
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Updates to vacation leave
According to the DPI presentation to the Board, “state law provides that public school employees accrue vacation leave at the same rate as state employees.” The new Public Workforce Modernization Act, on top of expanding paid parental leave, expands vacation days, which applies to employees of a PSU.
“Basically what the statute does is add a day of annual leave for all teachers, and that is accrued at different rates given your years of service,” said Tom Tomberlin, senior director of Educator Preparation, Licensure, and Performance at DPI.
The law added an additional accrual rate level for employees with 25 or more years of service. With this expanded accrual schedule, these employees will be eligible for an additional three days of leave each year on average.
You can review the updated vacation leave accrual schedule below:
Other things to know
According to state law, a teacher may use annual leave, personal leave, or leave without pay in addition to the new 12 weeks of paid parental leave. Parents who gave birth or adopted a child are also eligible for 12 weeks of unpaid parental leave, in addition to any paid parental leave they’re eligible for.
Requests for leave cannot be denied or requested to be used at a different time without the employee’s consent. Requests for leave must be provided in advance — ideally at least 10 weeks before the qualifying event. According to the policy, though, “under no circumstances shall a PSU require more than ten weeks’ notice” for a paid parental leave request by an employee.
If both parents of a child are employed by the same PSU, the PSU must allow both parents to take paid parental leave simultaneously if they request to. Any unused paid parental leave is automatically forfeited 12 months after the data of the qualifying event.
You can explore the Office of State Human Resource’s updated FAQ on paid parental leave here.