All Babes is a non-profit organization that is seeking change in the United States to obtain a minimum three months full paid Parental Leave and an additional three months differential pay (aka extended sick leave) thereafter for all California taxpaying public school teachers equaling a total of six months of leave (both without the use or exhaustion of teachers’ sick days*).

We are also asking that California public school districts continue coverage of health benefits and that they remain unchanged and in place throughout the six month parental leave. All Babes is asking for this parental leave to be available to take within a year of the baby being born or adopted so that couples who are both in the public teaching profession can take them simultaneously or consecutively.

As we begin this revolution, All Babes is seeking change starting with California’s public school teachers with the plans of being successful and venturing to other professions and other states. This is why we need your help! The ultimate goal is that all United States taxpayers with current jobs receive this. All Babes also has a long list of other important ideas to help bridge the gap between what mothers, fathers, parents, and babies need in the modern world we live in. Let’s turn this around!

Hi I’m Julia! I’m a new mama of a five-month-old little one. Throughout my pregnancy and since giving birth, I cannot explain the amount of people, and the shock on their faces, when they learned what maternity leave looks like as public high school teacher.

Here is what is in place in some districts for public school teachers for maternity leave (as my postpartum brain needs simplification for just about everything). 

Teachers receive six or eight weeks of maternity leave (based on delivery method - vaginal delivery is six weeks, cesarean is eight weeks) starting on the date of birth. Your sick leave* will be exhausted during this time. If you exhaust your regular sick leave prior to your maternity leave ending, payroll will use your extended sick leave, which is your daily rate minus the cost of a sub (aka differential pay). You can use your extended sick leave for the duration of your six or eight weeks of maternity leave or until the doctor places you back to work without restrictions.

If you request FMLA (Family Medical Leave Act), that leave will start as soon as your maternity leave ends or when the doctor places you back to work. You have the option to request up to 12 weeks of FMLA, but you do not have to take the entire 12 weeks. During FMLA, you can use your regular sick leave balance. When you run out of your sick days you can use extended sick leave (aka differential pay) to cover your pay. You will retain access to your health benefits during this leave.

If you choose not to return after your FMLA, you have the option to request a Personal Leave of Absence. This is an unpaid leave and you will lose access to your health benefits at some point based on the length of this leave. You can still opt to buy in at market price for your benefits.

Ok- let’s talk about sick days* and use my personal story to illustrate this. I was going into my 5th year of teaching when I became pregnant in 2020. In my district, each year you work you are given 10 sick days. If you do not use them, they roll over to your next year. So throughout my 4+ years working, I purposely only used around nine sick days in order to take as much of leave as possible with my future baby. That means I only took about two days off each calendar year - but only when I absolutely couldn’t avoid being absent from work. How? To achieve this racking-up of your sick days you must go to work when you don’t feel well physically or emotionally - power through! People who are not planning for babies use their sick days for whatever, whenever, as everyone should be able to do. These sick days* should not have to be used or exhausted during parental leave, they should be left alone and used as actual sick days.

Here’s me in a nutshell. My name is Julia Bush. I am 33 years old. Im an artist. I’m a friend. I’m a wife and now mother. I’m a hardworking human. I love to work hard. I love to get things done. I enjoy being productive. So I thought, well naturally I’ll go back to work after six weeks of leave, that sounds doable... I guess? Here’s another part of me. I’m a lover, a cuddler, a hugger, someone who would care for anyone who needed it. So when it came time to think about going back and my tiny baby was only six weeks out of my belly, I couldn’t do it! I wanted to be a full-time stay-at-home mom AND be a full-time high school art teacher. I obviously can’t do that!

Being a parent is as tough as they say. Personally, I have had trouble getting my babe to gain weight, which is the hardest work I’ve ever done physically, and so stressful mentally because I want my baby to thrive and be healthy. I also had my baby during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. I wanted my baby to benefit from the antibodies through my breastmilk and all of the other incredible things that come through breastmilk. But WOW is breastfeeding difficult for so many women, including me. Going back to work after six weeks and continue breastfeeding? I don’t think so! With the pumping and the feeding every hour or so, it’s just impossible with everything there is to do and learn. So I decided to take the rest of the school year off, and while it made me cringe to not be with my amazingly wonderful students, and see my credit card reach enormous heights as my paycheck hit its lowest lows, I got to be with my baby. I got to make sure he was healthy. Parents need a lot more time to bond with their babies, whether they are brand new to the world or adopted, first-time, third-time parents, we all need that time. Using your sick days is not enough. Taking 12 weeks of differential pay is not enough! I pay my taxes without an issue. And side note - I love flowers but we don’t need more landscaping in the middle of the center divider - we need support from our community, our country, to grant us this time in the most important journey of our lives so that we can raise amazing humans with the loving depth they deserve from their parents.

I am absolutely in the right profession being a high school art teacher. I adore the kids, as most teachers do. But, what’s wrong with this picture? I work for the government taking care of society’s youth, teaching them everything I can think of in a creative way, changing my lessons to suit the new kiddos and their interests, being their safe space listening to them as they tell me about their days and their life - which I am more than happy to do because I care - but again, why is it that when it’s time for me to have a child, my government, my society doesn’t take care of me back? Why do we choose to live our lives in this crazy hustle? Let’s allow parents to spend that quality time with their new babes and grant three months full paid parental leave plus three months differential pay to California’s public school teachers (without the use or exhaustion of teachers’ sick days*). If we can foster healthier societal values for the family, people will be happier. 

All Babes is on a mission to make this happen for all taxpaying parents in all states. Please contact mrs.juliabush@gmail.com if you wish to join the team, the revolution. We need pro bono help with marketing, research, planning, communication, education, petitioning, and have so many ideas for change!