In San Francisco, teachers are given 10 sick days per year, according to the collective bargaining agreement. Once they exhaust their sick days, including days that accumulated from past years, they are given as many as 100 days of extended sick leave. Teachers’ salaries are deducted to fund the sub’s paycheck during this time. Once the 100 days are up, teachers will go unpaid unless they are members of the Catastrophic Sick Leave Bank, in which teachers donate sick days to others who need them.<doc-sep>Parents in San Francisco are rallying around a second-grade teacher with breast cancer who will have to cover the cost of a substitute to replace her while she's on extended sick leave. A Glen Park Elementary school teacher, who did not want to be identified, will likely be on leave for the rest of the year, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Tuesday. She could have as much as $240 per day deducted from her salary to pay for a substitute thanks to a 1976 change to the California education code, the newspaper reported. "I just feel sad that from what I heard, she is a very good teacher and I just feel sad what's going on to her," Narciso Flores-Diaz, a parent, told KNTV Wednesday. "Our school is pulling together to help her and to make her feel that she’s not alone." Teacher Appreciation Week:Where teachers can get free food and discounts May 6-10 Teacher salaries:These places across the US have the most underpaid teachers Teachers in California don’t benefit from the state’s disability program because they don’t pay into it, the Chronicle reported. They are allotted 10 sick days per year which rollover if they aren’t used, and then an additional 100 days of extended sick leave during which their pay is docked to pay for a substitute, according to a spokesperson from the San Francisco Unified School District. “This reflects California Education Code language related to extended sick leave that applies to all other school districts in California,” spokesperson Laura Dudnik said in a statement. “This is not unique to San Francisco. This is not a district-only rule.” Once those days are used up, teachers can use sick days donated by others in the district to the catastrophic sick leave bank, Dudnik continued. Teachers using the catastrophic sick leave bank, which is run jointly by the teachers union and the school district, receive full pay and the cost of the substitute is covered by the district, she said. Teaching abroad:These teachers' jobs give fair salary, housing, respect. All they had to do was leave U.S. Teacher of the year:Kentucky's 2019 teacher of the year shuns White House visit in protest of Trump Teachers are able to use up to 85 days from the sick leave bank, according to the collective bargaining agreement between the district and the teachers union. More than $13,000 has been raised through a GoFundMe to help defray the costs of the Glen Park teacher’s medical leave. The campaign’s organizers described her as an “impeccable teacher” who has taught at the school for 17 years. “Her dedication and love for her students can’t be understated. Just a few days after her surgery, she took the time to write out 22 completely personalized notes to the students in the class thanking them for their support, telling them she missed them dearly and encouraging them to continue working hard.” the organizer’s wrote. “She has nurtured our children and now it is time for us to take care of her.” Organizers of the GoFundMe shared a message from the sick teacher thanking all those who have supported her. “My heart is lifted and it gives me so much strength to know that so many people care about me and my family,” the message read. “Thank you so much for everything you have done for us.” Opinion:My teacher salary was so low I slept in my car. Today, educators still barely get by. Teaching in America:We followed 15 of America's teachers on a day of frustrations, pressures and hard-earned victories Follow N'dea Yancey-Bragg on Twitter: @NdeaYanceyBragg<doc-sep>Under California’s education code, teachers who exhaust their sick leave and remain out due to illness or accident would see their salary docked to cover payment for the substitute teacher. The policy, added to the code in 1976, was recently scrutinized when a teacher at a San Francisco school had to cover the fees for the person subbing for her while she undergoes breast cancer treatment. The woman’s situation came to light when a GoFundMe page launched for the teacher last month and was reported by the San Francisco Chronicle. “By the time she has her second surgery, she will have exhausted all of her accumulated sick leave days and will be using extended sick leave, which is the regular salary minus the cost of the substitute teacher. Her colleagues will be donating sick days, but they will not be available until the next school year,” the page read. The teacher has taught at Glen Park School for 17 years. In the San Francisco School District, a teacher is allotted 10 sick days at the beginning of the school year, and 100 days of extended sick leave if they need more time. The teacher’s salary for those extra days is reduced by the cost of a substitute teacher, which is generally between $167.94 and $203.16 per day in that district. Advertisement State Sen. Connie Leyva (D-Chino), chair of the California Senate Education Committee, wants to change the law. “Candidly, I think that times have changed and it’s our job to change with the times,” Leyva told NBC Bay Area. The teacher, who has asked that her name be withheld for privacy reasons, was described in the fundraiser as an impeccable educator who wrote each of her 22 students a personalized note to thank them for their support after her first surgery. The fundraiser closed after receiving more than $13,000, exceeding the goal of $10,000. colleen.shalby@latimes.com @cshalby<doc-sep>A mural of George Floyd is shown in the intersection of 38th St & Chicago Ave on March 31, 2021 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Community members continue preparations during the third day in the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who is charged with multiple counts of murder in the death of George Floyd. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images) WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 01: President Donald Trump's lawyer and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani talks to journalists outside the White House West Wing July 01, 2020 in Washington, DC. Giuliani did an on-camera interview with One America News Network's Chanel Rion before talking to other journalists about Vice President Joe Biden and the news that Russian intelligence may have paid Taliban operatives to kill U.S. troops in Afghanistan. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) Vigils & tributes to George Floyd one year since his murder ORLANDO, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 28: Former President Donald Trump addresses the Conservative Political Action Conference held in the Hyatt Regency on February 28, 2021 in Orlando, Florida. Begun in 1974, CPAC brings together conservative organizations, activists, and world leaders to discuss issues important to them. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images) Here's what reported grand jury in Trump case may look like NEW YORK, NY - FEBRUARY 09: People walk past the Trump Tower as the impeachment trial of Donald Trump begins in Washington on February 09, 2021 in New York City. After listening to nearly four hours of legal arguments, the Senate has voted on Tuesday to move ahead with the impeachment trial of former President Trump. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images) Report: US companies may have benefited from forced labor of Uyghurs WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 20: U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the conflict in the Middle East from Cross- Hall of the White House on May 20, 2021 in Washington, DC. Israel and Hamas announced that they would agree to a cease-fire, which will take into effect on Friday, following days of fighting that claimed more than 200 lives. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images) SAN JOSE, CA - MAY 26: A view of the Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) light-rail yard where a mass shooting occurred on May 26, 2021 in San Jose, California. A VTA employee opened fire at the yard, with preliminary reports indicating nine people dead including the gunman. (Photo by Philip Pacheco/Getty Images) A healthcare worker prepares to administer a Pfizer/BioNTEch coronavirus disease (Covid-19) vaccine at The Michener Institute, in Toronto, Ontario on December 14, 2020. - Ontario, Canada's most populous province and one of the hardest hit by the pandemic, had 1,940 new cases and 23 deaths on Monday. The province is expected to give its next doses to nursing home workers as a priority, according to media reports. (Photo by CARLOS OSORIO / POOL / AFP) (Photo by CARLOS OSORIO/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) 'Never seen levels like this': Union president on airline passenger misconduct Memorial Day weekend will bring rain and cool air for much of the East Correction: A previous version of this story misstated the name of the school district. It is the San Francisco Unified School District. (CNN) — A San Francisco teacher who is on medical leave has to worry about more than just battling breast cancer. On top of footing medical bills, she has to pay for a substitute teacher at Glen Park Elementary School. All teachers receive 10 paid days of medical leave a year in the San Francisco Unified School District. If a teacher needs more time, they can get another 100 sick days – at a price. Under a 1976 California law, the cost for the substitute teacher will be deducted from the teacher’s salary. The average daily cost of a substitute teacher in San Francisco is $203.16, San Francisco Unified School District spokeswoman Laura Dudnick said. In 2018, the average teacher salary in the school district, excluding benefits, was $82,024.37. “This reflects California Education Code language related to extended sick leave that applies to all other school districts in California,” Dudnick said in a statement. “This is not unique to San Francisco. This is not a district-only rule.” Teachers who require additional medical leave can draw from a Sick Leave Bank for up to 85 days without any deduction from their paycheck. Teachers donate unused sick days to the bank to help their colleagues. Parents say it’s unfair The Glen Park teacher has chosen to remain anonymous, but parents at the school are speaking out about what they think is an unfair policy. Parent Elia Hernandez told CNN affiliate KGO that the teacher deserves better treatment. “She’s an incredible teacher and that’s not fair,” Hernandez said. “That’s crazy!” Another parent, Abby Hipps, told KGO that the the teacher is “one of the best teachers” in the school and called her situation “terrible.” Susan Solomon, president of United Educators of San Francisco, said her teachers union is hoping to negotiate better sick leave policies next year. “The issues involving teachers’ use of extended sick leave and the catastrophic sick leave bank, as well as the school district’s use of a daily substitute dock rate, are governed by law and the collective bargaining agreement,” Solomon said in a statement. “UESF is consulting with our members on their priorities for contract negotiations next year. As always, we look forward to making improvements in this and other parts of the contract.” A GoFundMe for the teacher that has now stopped collecting donations received $13,000.<doc-sep>
A group of parents in San Francisco are rallying around a second-grade teacher with breast cancer who was required to pay for her classroom's substitute teacher while she is on medical leave. The parents at Glen Park Elementary School were stunned to learn that the teacher's paycheck was being docked $195 for each day she is out ill with the disease. "I just feel sad that from what I heard, she is a very good teacher and I just feel sad what's going on to her," Narciso Flores-Diaz, a parent, told NBC Bay Area on Wednesday. "Our school is pulling together to help her and to make her feel that she’s not alone." Teachers in the San Francisco Unified School District get 10 sick days per year, and then another 100 days of extended medical leave time. But after a teacher uses the 10 sick days and is on the extended leave, the district bills them for the cost of a substitute, in keeping with a little-known provision of California's education code. Glen Park Elementary School in San Francisco. Google maps Parents at the school have raised more than $13,000 to cover the substitute's pay. The popular teacher, who has asked the media to withhold her name, also had another backstop — her union's bank of donated sick days for members in need. "This is not unique to San Francisco. This is not a district-only rule," San Francisco Unified School District spokeswoman Laura Dudnick said in a statement to NBC News on Thursday. Susan Solomon, president of United Educators of San Francisco, said the union might take on this issue during the next round of bargaining talks: "As always, we look forward to making improvements in this and other parts of the contract." Some parents and at least one key lawmaker said they'd like to see a change to this previously, little-known paragraph of the California Education Code. Download the NBC News app for breaking news Years ago, California teachers opted not to pay into the state's disability insurance program, so they can't draw from those benefits. So lawmakers in 1976 inserted into the education code that a teacher who couldn't work due to illness or injury must pay for his or her substitute. State Sen. Connie Leyva, a Democrat from suburban Los Angeles and chair of the body's education committee, vowed to change that law. "Candidly, I think that times have changed and it’s our job to change with the times," Leyva told NBC Bay Area. The 17-year veteran teacher at Glen Park deserves community support, according to a GoFundMe page established for her because "she has nurtured our children and now it is time for us to take care of her." "Her dedication and love for her students" can’t be overstated, according to the fundraiser website. "Just a few days after her surgery, she took the time to write out 22 completely personalized notes to the students in the class thanking them for their support, telling them she missed them dearly and encouraging them to continue working hard."