Portantino Bill, Inspired by Burbank USD, Shields School District Employees from Financial Harm during Natural Disasters Clears First Committee

Sacramento, California – Today, State Senator Anthony J. Portantino’s (D - La Cañada Flintridge) presented SB 805 before the Senate Education Committee.  The bill passed the committee 6-0 and will now go to Senate Appropriations. Burbank Teachers Association President Diana Abasta suggested the bill idea to Superintendent Matt Hill who brought the idea to Portantino.  

SB 805 prevents school employees from having to use their sick, vacation, or other paid leave in the event there is a natural disaster and the employee faces evacuation threats within the home or school. SB 805 also applies to employees impacted by the Coronavirus and clarifies state law to protect school districts from losing Average Daily Attendance (ADA) funding due to disasters.

 “School employees should not be forced to use their earned time off when faced with a natural disaster or if the employee has to evacuate their home.  It just feels wrong and I was grateful for the suggestion from the BUSD to fix the situation. The idea for this bill originally came about due to the threat of wildfires but I believe it has become even more important in light of the ongoing pandemic,” commented Senator Portantino.

Last year, the Burbank Unified community was impacted by wildfires and evacuations. Many of its employees also lived in areas outside the district that also faced similar evacuation orders. 

“Our members reached out and told us about the degree of hardship created when their lives were impacted by natural disasters and through no fault of theirs were unable to come to work.  The only way they could be compensated was to use their own earned time.  We brought this issue forward to Supt. Hill and are happy to see that Senator Portantino responded to our concerns and took action," added Diana Abasta, President BTA.

Under current law, no protections for school district employees are in place for when a natural disaster occurs. It is required for them to use their own personal earned time off to make up for those hours lost in a natural disaster. SB 805 will place protections on our school employees earned sick, vacation, and paid time off and ensure school districts earn their Average Daily Attendance (ADA) funding when California declares a natural disaster. This bill is a win-win for both schools and their employees.

“It just doesn’t seem fair that our district and other district employees have to use their earned time when the circumstance was out of their control. I want to thank Ms. Abasta for advocating for this change for her members.  I asked Senator Portantino to create a proper solution to the problem and I’m grateful that he responded to our request,” added Matt Hill, Superintendent, Burbank Unified School District.