u/Old-Reference-7756

Hi everyone! Concerned (and slightly stressed) husband here 😅

My wife recently earned her Master's in Speech-Language Pathology and is currently working as an SLP at Elk Grove Unified School District. We have one daughter and are planning to try again this winter, so I'm trying to get ahead of the maternity leave conversation now while I have some downtime. Planning is very important in our family.

We've already heard from a colleague that she may be required to pay for a substitute SLP out of pocket, which honestly caught us off guard. At her previous employer, she received approximately 8 months of leave (roughly 2 of which were unpaid), and her leave was covered through California's SDI (State Disability Insurance) and PFL (Paid Family Leave/Bonding). When she returned, she did have to cover our health insurance — around $400–$500/month, totaling about $4K. We're trying to understand if EGUSD operates similarly or very differently, especially since school districts sometimes opt out of SDI.

A few things we're trying to figure out:

• What does maternity leave actually look like at EGUSD?

• Is the substitute SLP cost common, and is there any way around it?

• Does EGUSD participate in SDI/PFL, or does the district handle leave compensation differently?

• She's not currently in the union — could joining before the next academic year make a difference?

• Are there any benefits consultants or advisors who specialize in helping educators navigate this?

She plans to speak with HR directly, but we want to go in as informed as possible.

Any insight from current or former EGUSD employees — especially SLPs — would be hugely appreciated. Thanks in advance!

https://preview.redd.it/gf48am8zhdzg1.png?width=1759&format=png&auto=webp&s=6c3b8d87ffe1d00334e1e1ab4cfcd3c92af6491d

Hey everyone,

I'll keep it real — growing up I never thought college was for me. I struggled in school, had no idea what I wanted to do with my life, and ended up dropping out after just 2 semesters. That was 10 years ago.

But I'm back. I'm attending Los Rios to eventually transfer to Sac State and earn a BS in Construction Management, and honestly? This is the first time in my life I've actually felt ready and excited about school.

Not gonna lie, it's still intimidating af — but I'm doing it anyway.

I wanted to get the community's thoughts on my class schedule. I'm also 1st on the waitlist for Business Law, and if I get in, I'm considering dropping another class to keep my workload manageable. After a 10-year gap, the last thing I want to do is bite off more than I can chew and psych myself out before I even get started.

Any advice is appreciated — thanks in advance! 🙏

Also, the math prep lab is to help prepare me for trigonometry in the spring.