Bf and the law is not my area of expertise, but I do know something 
about bf and the workplace.
Did this Mom get something in writing about her agreement with her 
employer?

In general, it is better to try to educate employers and work something 
out. It may be that they felt they had no choice but to offer the 
substitute the double planning period. Does that have to come off of 
the new mother's free periods? What rules are they following? Are there 
rules that address this issue of teachers and subs and free periods, or 
are you in a grey area here? Does she have a good relationship with the 
supervisor? Can she assume that the supervisor/school wants to help, 
but they don't know how, or feel they are in a bind?

The fact of this Mom needing to pump is not negotiable. She had a 
agreement with her supervisor and the law is on her side, besides the 
baby needs her/his mom's milk. The question is how to make it work. I 
didn't get a sense from your note how the school was responding. You 
mentioned that they aren't very concerned about the bfing, that they 
feel it's expendible. But are they angry, immovable or can the Mom and 
perhaps some advocate work with them to work it out.
Is there someone from the teachers' union she can contact for some 
help?  Are there precedents in other schools? If someone else has 
already dealt with this problem, they may have come up with a solution 
that will work or could be modified for this situation.

The school year is almost over, what kind of temporary arrangement can 
be worked out for the next few weeks? Try to think creatively, think 
outside the box. Can the kids be left alone for a few minutes at the 
beginning or end of a  period? In high school, this happens all the 
time, I don't know what the rules or protocols are for middle school. 
Does she have a particularly mature class where this would work better 
than in another class? Is there an aide who could be called in  for 
those few minutes to help out?

Hope this helps. Keep us posted.

Naomi

--------------------------------
Naomi Bar-Yam Ph.D.
[log in to unmask]

Researcher, Writer, Educator
in Maternal and Child Health
--------------------------------

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