Simply finding the time to take a bathroom break during the school day can be tricky for teachers. Fitting in breaks of 20 minutes or so every couple of hours during the school day to pump can feel impossible for breastfeeding teachers. Laura Patranella knows this all too well.
Patranella was teaching 8th grade in Seguin, Texas, when her middle child was born in January 2017. When she returned to work that March, she would ask a coworker to cover the first 20 minutes of class once a day as she ran to a closet in the library to pump. When her administration found out and told her to stop, Patranella鈥攁lready wracked with guilt over stepping away from her students during class time鈥攄idn鈥檛 push back.
Six years later, countless other teachers continue to encounter similar obstacles, despite recently enhanced federal that guarantees employees the right to reasonable break time and private space to pump during the workday.
A recent, unscientific 澳门跑狗论坛 on social media bore this out. When asked, 鈥淎re breastfeeding teachers at your school given time and resources to pump during the school day?,鈥� 40 percent of 790 respondents answered 鈥渘o.鈥�
Accommodations and time for pumping at work is an unmet need that affects countless educators, as more than three-quarters of public school teachers are women, and many are of childbearing age.
澳门跑狗论坛 spoke to teachers and a legal advocate to understand why so many schools fail to provide pumping accommodations to teachers, despite federal policies intended to guarantee this access. But while many schools have been slow to adhere to these workplace policies, some are finding ways to make pumping possible for women at work.
What the law says schools must do for breastfeeding teachers
The Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers, or PUMP, Act, signed into law by President Joe Biden in December 2022, expanded breastfeeding accommodations in the workplace to salaried employees, including teachers.
It requires employers to provide breastfeeding workers a place to pump that鈥檚 shielded from view and is not a bathroom. It also requires employers to allow for reasonable break times for an employee to pump throughout the workday for the first year of their baby鈥檚 life.
Previously, the federal law granted this protection only to hourly employees, which left out teachers.
A 2024 to Title IX, the federal law prohibiting sex-based discrimination, offers a similar protection for school employees. It requires any schools and postsecondary institutions that receive federal funds to 鈥渁llow for reasonable break time for lactation for employees, and access to a clean, private lactation space for students and employees.鈥� This final Title IX rule went into effect Aug. 1.
Some teachers pump in subpar settings, others stop
Reports from teachers reveal that not all schools are adhering to these laws.
鈥淲hen I had my children, I was not given the time or space until I provided the law and then it was provided, but so many parents complained about taking the time during class that I gave up,鈥� educator wrote in response to the 澳门跑狗论坛 poll on breastfeeding accommodations at work.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a sense of resignation and fear among educators,鈥� said Jessica Lee, co-director of the Center for WorkLife Law, an advocacy and research organization affiliated with the University of California College of the Law, San Francisco. 鈥淭hey feel like: If I complain, I might get put in a grade that鈥檚 not my favorite, or [be asked to] change schools. They鈥檙e worried about rocking the boat.鈥�
Employees who give up on trying to pump at work are less likely to continue breastfeeding. It鈥檚 a decision that can come with health implications, as the practice has long been endorsed by , which refers to breastfeeding as a 鈥減ublic health imperative鈥� and recommends exclusive breastfeeding for six months after birth and continued breastfeeding for months beyond because of breastfeeding鈥檚 medical and neurodevelopmental advantages.
While some teachers decide to stop pumping in workplaces that don鈥檛 support the practice, others persist despite less-than-ideal circumstances.
鈥淚 have a co-worker who said: 鈥業 hope you鈥檙e not uncomfortable that I鈥檒l be pumping during staff meetings and at lunch,鈥欌�� said Patranella, the Texas teacher, adding that another coworker of hers鈥攁 behavioral specialist at an elementary school鈥攚ould regularly pump with one or two students in the room.
鈥淪chools are doing the best they can do,鈥� said Patranella, who is now a mother of three and has been an educator for 11 years. 鈥淏ut there is the reality of very tightly staffed campuses.鈥�
Lee sees the issue differently. 鈥淭here is a clear duty to provide lactation breaks and space. That obligation is enforceable [by law],鈥� she said.
Lee also attributes the uneven enforcement of pumping policies in schools to long-held cultural norms.
鈥淭he attitude that educators need to be willing to sacrifice everything for their students has created a culture where noncompliance was the norm,鈥� Lee said. 鈥淎 lot of school systems have been betting that their teachers will not hold them accountable.鈥�
Culture shift and 鈥榓ll-hands-on deck鈥� mentality can make pumping work
It can take a significant culture shift within a school system before administrators and staff recognize that obstacles like understaffing aren鈥檛 an excuse for violating federal laws, Lee said.
But it鈥檚 not unheard of. She shared examples of school districts that have gotten creative鈥攆or example, increasing staffing during recess so that a teacher can be relieved of that duty to pump, or having administrators step in to monitor a classroom.
Michael Kalb, a retired principal from San Jose, Calif., describes taking an 鈥渁ll-hands-on-deck鈥� approach to support his breastfeeding teachers.
鈥淎ll staff would help cover the classroom, including me and my assistant principal, should the need arise. For several teachers we kept this up until the baby no longer needed breast milk,鈥� he said.
Michael Martin, the principal at New Washington, Ohio鈥檚 Buckeye Central High School and the 2024 Ohio Principal of the Year, takes a deliberate approach of scheduling employees鈥� pumping needs.
鈥淚 will usually plan a week out, so there is advance knowledge, which makes it easier to accommodate changing schedules,鈥� he said.
He schedules pumping breaks during the staff members鈥� planning periods, allowing for privacy while minimizing disruptions to teaching schedules and responsibilities. He also makes sure students know not to seek help from these teachers during designated pumping periods.
鈥淭his clarity helps maintain a respectful and understanding environment for everyone involved,鈥� Martin said.
鈥淚 know it鈥檚 a lot to juggle in our schools, and everyone鈥檚 stretched thin, but pumping breaks don鈥檛 take that long. There鈥檚 a way to build them into a teacher鈥檚 schedule,鈥� Lee said. 鈥淎t the end of the day, it鈥檚 just a matter of taking it seriously.鈥�
