What This Bill Does
This bill changes the Family and Medical Leave Act to allow education support professionals and school support staff to qualify for family and medical leave. It sets new eligibility rules specifically for workers in public schools and public colleges.
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Who It Affects
• Education support professionals and school support staff employed by public schools and public institutions of higher education
• Employers (public schools and public colleges) who employ these workers
• The Secretary of Labor (the federal official overseeing labor laws)
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Key Provisions
• Education support professionals meet the work hours requirement if they worked at least 60 percent of the total monthly hours expected for their job description in the previous school year (Sec. 2)
• Each employer must keep records on file with the Secretary showing the total monthly hours expected for each employee's job description and duties for each school year (Sec. 2)
• The bill defines "education support professional" to include paraeducators, secretarial staff, custodians, maintenance workers, skilled trade workers, food service workers, transportation workers, technical support staff, security staff, nursing and health staff, and other workers serving public education students (Sec. 2)
• The Secretary of Labor may create a method for calculating leave time for education support professionals (Sec. 3)
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What Changes
If this bill becomes law, education support professionals in public schools and public colleges would become eligible for family and medical leave protections under federal law. The hours of service requirement would be measured differently for these workers based on their expected monthly hours rather than absolute hours worked.
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Important Definitions
• **Education support professional**: An employee working primarily in a public school or public college who performs jobs like teaching assistance, administrative support, maintenance, food service, transportation, security, or health services
• **Public school**: A school maintained at public expense for community children that includes primary and secondary schools, special education cooperatives, and alternative schools
• **Public institution of higher education**: A college or university partly funded by state taxpayers
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Effective Date
Not specified in bill text
I
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 770
To establish eligibility requirements for education support professionals and
school support staff under the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993,
and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FEBRUARY 2, 2023
Mr. CASTEN (for himself, Mr. FITZPATRICK, Mr. ALLRED, Ms. BARRAGA´N,
Ms. BONAMICI, Ms. BUSH, Mr. CARSON, Ms. CRAIG, Ms. CROCKETT, Ms.
DEAN of Pennsylvania, Ms. DELAURO, Mr. DESAULNIER, Mr. FOSTER,
Mr. GARCI´A of Illinois, Mr. GOMEZ, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mrs. HAYES, Ms.
NORTON, Ms. HOULAHAN, Mr. HUFFMAN, Mr. LYNCH, Mr. MCGOVERN,
Mr. NADLER, Ms. PINGREE, Mr. POCAN, Ms. SALINAS, Ms. SA´NCHEZ,
Ms. SLOTKIN, Mr. SMITH of Washington, Ms. TITUS, Mr. TRONE, Ms.
VELA´ZQUEZ, Ms. WILLIAMS of Georgia, and Ms. WILSON of Florida) in-
troduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Edu-
cation and the Workforce, and in addition to the Committees on Over-
sight and Accountability, and House Administration, for a period to be
subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration
of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee con-
cerned
A BILL
To establish eligibility requirements for education support
professionals and school support staff under the Family
and Medical Leave Act of 1993, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
1
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
2
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•HR 770 IH
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
1
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘ESP Family Leave
2
Act’’.
3
SEC. 2. ELIGIBILITY FOR EDUCATION SUPPORT PROFES-
4
SIONALS AND SCHOOL SUPPORT STAFF.
5
Section 101(2) of the Family and Medical Leave Act
6
of 1993 (29 U.S.C. 2611(2)) is amended by adding at the
7
end the following:
8
‘‘(F)
EDUCATION
SUPPORT
PROFES-
9
SIONALS AND SCHOOL SUPPORT STAFF.—
10
‘‘(i) DETERMINATION.—For purposes
11
of determining whether an employee who is
12
an education support professional meets
13
the hours of service requirement specified
14
in subparagraph (A)(ii), the employee will
15
be considered to meet the requirement if
16
the employee has worked a number of
17
hours equal to not less than 60 percent of
18
the applicable total monthly hours expected
19
for the employee’s job description and du-
20
ties, as assigned for the previous school
21
year.
22
‘‘(ii) FILE.—Each employer of an
23
education support professional shall main-
24
tain on file with the Secretary (in accord-
25
ance with such regulations as the Sec-
26
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•HR 770 IH
retary may prescribe) information speci-
1
fying the total monthly hours expected for
2
the employee’s job description and duties
3
for each school year.
4
‘‘(iii) DEFINITIONS.—In this subpara-
5
graph:
6
‘‘(I) EDUCATION SUPPORT PRO-
7
FESSIONAL.—The
term
‘education
8
support professional’ (who may also
9
be known as ‘school support staff’)
10
means an employee employed by an
11
employer, as defined in paragraph (4),
12
whose work takes place primarily
13
within a public school or public insti-
14
tution of higher education, which may
15
include—
16
‘‘(aa)
paraeducators
that
17
provide instructional and non-in-
18
structional support;
19
‘‘(bb)
secretarial,
clerical,
20
and administrative support staff;
21
‘‘(cc) custodians and mainte-
22
nance service workers that pro-
23
vide building and grounds main-
24
tenance and repair;
25
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•HR 770 IH
‘‘(dd) skilled trade workers
1
that provide services in schools,
2
such as electricians, carpenters,
3
and workers who operate machin-
4
ery;
5
‘‘(ee) workers who provide
6
food service, including prepara-
7
tion and serving of food;
8
‘‘(ff) workers who provide
9
school transportation and deliv-
10
ery services;
11
‘‘(gg) computer, audiovisual,
12
and language technical support
13
staff;
14
‘‘(hh) security staff;
15
‘‘(ii) nursing, health, and
16
therapy support staff, who may
17
also provide community, family,
18
parent and welfare services; and
19
‘‘(jj) other staff that may
20
serve public education students.
21
‘‘(II)
EMPLOYER.—The
term
22
‘employer’ includes a public school or
23
public institution of higher education
24
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•HR 770 IH
that meets the definition of employer
1
in paragraph (4).
2
‘‘(III)
PUBLIC
SCHOOL.—The
3
term ‘public school’ means a school
4
that is maintained at public expense
5
for the education of the children of a
6
community or district and that con-
7
stitutes a part of a system of free
8
public education commonly including
9
primary and secondary schools, in-
10
cluding special education cooperatives,
11
alternative schools, and other similar
12
facilities.
13
‘‘(IV) PUBLIC
INSTITUTION
OF
14
HIGHER EDUCATION.—The term ‘pub-
15
lic institution of higher education’
16
means an institution of higher edu-
17
cation, as defined in section 101 of
18
the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20
19
U.S.C. 1001), that is funded, at least
20
partly, by State taxpayers.’’.
21
SEC. 3. ENTITLEMENT TO LEAVE.
22
Section 102(a) of the Family and Medical Leave Act
23
of 1993 (29 U.S.C. 2612(a)) is amended by adding at the
24
end the following:
25
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•HR 770 IH
‘‘(6) CALCULATION OF LEAVE FOR EDUCATION
1
SUPPORT PROFESSIONALS.—The Secretary may pro-
2
vide a method for calculating the leave described in
3
paragraph (1) with respect to employees described in
4
section 101(2)(F).’’.
5
Æ
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