California teachers don't get paid family leave. Gov. Newsom vetoed a bill to change that. Lawmakers are trying again.

As a new school year begins, lawmakers are again trying to give public school teachers paid family leave.

Supporters believe the benefit will help attract and retain high-quality teachers in the face of an increasing shortage. But critics worry that the bill—which has widespread support among the Democratic majority in the Legislature and is a priority for the Legislative Women's Caucus—could come at the actual expense of students.

The union-backed bill, authored by the Democratic Majority Leader Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, would give teachers 14 weeks of fully paid leave after having a baby, paid for by school districts through existing state funding.