COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina lawmakers advanced a bill Thursday that would provide paid family leave for teachers across the state.
It's a policy that teachers like Erin Rigot wish was around when she had her first child seven years ago.
Rigot was diagnosed with a rare case of preeclampsia, causing her to leave school two months earlier than planned.
After giving birth, her son spent 47 days in the NICU, forcing her to use up all of her sick days and take months of unpaid leave.
“It wasn’t nearly enough to get us through that time that was already stressful with a baby in the NICU but then you're trying to figure out how you're going to pay your bills," said Rigot.
Last year, lawmakers passed up to six weeks of paid parental leave for state employees, but teachers were left out because they are employees of individual school districts.
Now, lawmakers are advancing legislation that would make South Carolina teachers and other full-time school district employees eligible for paid parental leave.
A House bill sponsored by Rep. Neal Collins (R-Pickens) provides six weeks of paid family leave for school employees who give birth and the adoption of a child by the primary parent.
A school employee who is a co-parent would be eligible for up to two weeks of paid leave. That would also apply to co-parents of an adopted child or foster parents.
"This is one of the lowest-hanging fruits that we can pluck for teachers. I think it will help with our recruitment I think it will help our retention of teachers. And to me, it's also the right thing to do," said Collins.
School districts say they're concerned about how to pay for such a policy. According to a fiscal impact report, paid leave could cost up to $8,000 per occurrence, if an employee takes a maximum of 12 weeks off allowed under federal law.
“Our school districts have a billion and a half in reserves and I can’t think of a better bang for your buck than having paid parental leave," said Collins.
Rigot hopes in the future, teachers won't have to face the same struggles she did.
“I think every teacher in the state shouldn’t have to choose between staying at home with their baby and being able to pay bills and keeping their teaching job," said Rigot.
Rock Hill Schools, Spartanburg 5, Spartanburg 6b and Florence 1, have adopted paid parental leave policies.