LAUSD Teacher Assistant Andrea Weathersby with her daughter Kennedy and son Cameron.
More than 4000 dedicated school workers in the Los Angeles Unified School District are currently shut out of LAUSD’s health care benefits plan, including:
- Teacher Assistants who support learning in the classroom,
- After-School Workers who who provide enrichment activities during the after-school hours when our children are most vulnerable to violent and gang related crime,
- School Supervision Aides who help provide safe and secure campuses, and
- Community Representatives who build the bridges between schools and families that are vital to a collaborative school environment
These workers are among the only LAUSD employees who do not have access to the District’s benefits plan. While Teacher Assistants are eligible to receive benefits many of them opt out of coverage because out-of-pocket costs are exorbitant. Family coverage can total as much as 90% of a Teacher Assistant’s paycheck. After-School Workers and others who support students outside of the classroom are completely shut out of the plan.
Many of these workers are also parents or guardians of LAUSD students who struggle to provide care for their own families. And a vast majority are low-income people of color. For those that have historically been exploited and marginalized, access to affordable health care can make the difference between life and death, and can begin to undo decades of neglect. Expanding access to health care at LAUSD is a matter of justice and equity – for dedicated school workers and their children.
School workers have been negotiating with LAUSD to secure benefits for nearly a year. They have yet to receive a proposal.
Andrea Weathersby is a Teacher Assistant at Purche Avenue Elementary School in Gardena, where her own son attends school. Her older daughter is also an LAUSD student. Providing health care for her family is critically important to Andrea and that’s why she opts to pay for LAUSD’s family health care plan. “But to pay for coverage, I often have to make tough decisions to either pay for coverage, eat or pay the rent,” she says. “There is very little left for extras and my children feel the strain. Both of my children are in performing arts classes and there are times they can’t go because I can’t afford it. My daughter has even asked me to take her off of LAUSD’s insurance plan so she can attend her classes.”
