Time Off Requests for Back to School Activities

Many kiddos and teens have already returned to school. And just when parents begin to sigh with relief, they may be reminded of all the events and school meetings they will need to attend over the next 9-12 months. CEA is here to refresh employers on their responsibilities when it comes to permitting employees to take time off work for school-related activities.

California’s Family School Partnership Act was passed and signed in 1995 for the purpose of ensuring that working parents could take time off work to attend to their child(ren)s school needs without the fear of losing their jobs. California has separated the employer's requirement to provide time off into two general categories: School Suspensions & School Activities.

School Appearance Leave (for Suspensions & Expulsions)

An employee who is the parent or guardian of a child can take unpaid time off when a parent must leave work to attend the child's school due to a suspension or expulsion. Employers may request documentation from the child's school to support the need for the employee's time off. This applies to all California employers, regardless of the size of the organization.

School Activities Leave

School activities leave applies to employers with 25 or more employees at the same location. An employee who is the parent or guardian of a child can take unpaid time-off to find or enroll a child in a school/licensed childcare program, to participate in school/licensed childcare related activities, or due to an emergency occurring at the school. In leave policies, employers may limit employees to taking off a maximum of 40 hours per year, and no more than 8 hours per month for school activities (except for emergencies). Examples may include:

• Parent/teacher meetings;
• School activities such as graduation, field trips, awards ceremonies;
• Attend school to discuss a disciplinary issue;
• Emergency situation at the school (e.g., school closure).

The employee must give their employer as much reasonable notice as possible. Employers may request documentation from the child's school to support the need for the employee's time off. Time off in all cases is unpaid; however, the employee may use any accrued vacation/PTO time that is available, and the employer may require its use.

Employee Eligibility

Employees who are eligible to request time off include: parents, guardians, stepparents, foster parents, grandparents, or a person who stands in place of the child’s parent.

CEA Members can refer to our California Leave Laws Guide on our HR Forms Page to see CEA's informational guide for all required leaves in California, including School Activities.