Subcommittee adopts amendment expanding paid parental leave eligibility, adds stillbirth coverage

The House Ways and Means subcommittee on Monday advanced S 11 after adopting an amendment that clarifies which state employees would be eligible for paid parental leave and adds language covering stillbirths.

Kylie Ann Ragley, chief external affairs officer at the South Carolina Department of Social Services, told the subcommittee the change would benefit DSS’s workforce of more than 4,700 employees, noting the agency includes many women and that 46 temporary grant employees currently are ineligible for the department’s paid parental leave program. “We believe this will be a retention tool … We want people to come and stay and work in state government,” Ragley said.

Representative Jackie Hayes pressed proponents on the effect of extending leave to 12 weeks for teachers, noting 12 weeks would equal roughly 60 school days and could reduce in-class instruction time materially. The chair asked stakeholders and proponents to consult with school districts so the committee can understand operational impacts if language to treat teachers differently is proposed later.

An audience speaker, identified by the chair as Patrick Kelly, acknowledged the concern about teacher absences but said the amendment under consideration was intended to clarify eligibility rather than immediately change the prior leave standard. Ashley Leto, chief strategy officer for the Women’s Rights Empowerment Network (WREN), argued that 12 weeks is an industry standard and that the state has a history of supporting 12 weeks in prior cycles; she said that granting at least six weeks to grant employees would still be transformative.

Terrica Staggers, the subcommittee analyst, summarized the amendment before the vote: it would allow leave expansion up to 12 weeks (and up to six weeks for the non‑birthing parent in some language), add the stillbirth provisions, and explicitly include certain temporary full‑time higher‑education employees in the definition of eligible employees. The subcommittee adopted the amendment by roll call vote, 4–0, and then voted 4–0 to report S 11 favorably as amended.

The chair closed the discussion by asking proponents and school administrators to talk before the full committee so members could consider operational responses if teachers’ leave is extended. The bill will proceed from the subcommittee as amended.