New Jersey parents could get paid time off for school events

🍎 New bill would give parents more breathing room for school events

🍎 The New Jersey Business and Industry Association supports the bill

🍎 One critic says the legislation is confusing

New Jersey parents are often stretched thin and can't attend school events like parent-teacher conferences, graduations, and extracurricular activities.

State Sen. Vincent Polistina, R-Atlantic, says his bill helps working parents who are constantly pressed for time.

"We've heard over the years about the need to get parents more involved in children's education, and this is really a bill to try to do that," Polistina said.

Get our free mobile app

A new bill in the state Senate would give employers tax credits if they provide paid leave to workers who take off to attend these school functions.

Each employer would get tax credits for up to two days of paid leave for parents to attend school events. That includes extracurriculars and meetings with school staff.

The program is entirely voluntary for employers. A business can choose not to give its workers paid time off for school events, but will miss out on the tax credit incentive.

Polistina, the bill's prime sponsor, says the most recent version of the bill is separate from the paid family leave program. The specifics are still being worked out.

"Time goes by so quick when kids are in school. To give parents the opportunity to at least participate and interact with some of the educational community and some of the teachers and schools, even in an extracurricular setting, would benefit parents and students," Polistina said.

Potential problem with parental paid leave bill

At a Senate Labor Committee meeting last Monday, Elissa Frank, vice president of Government Affairs for the New Jersey Business and Industry Association, said the bill has their support because the program would be optional.

However, Dena Jaborska with New Jersey Citizen Action said the legislation, as it stands now, is confusing and redundant.

The state's Earned Sick and Safe Leave Law already allows parents to use paid time to cover parent-teacher conferences, Jaborska said. An alternative solution could be to just add extra days to the current law.

"At the end of the day, I do think it's confusing for the employee," Jaborska said.

Report a correction 👈 | 👉 Contact our newsroom