Building on efforts to protect the wellbeing of education professionals and their families, Governor JB Pritzker signed House Bill 12 into law which expands access to family and medical leave for educational support staff in school districts, public universities, and community colleges. HB 12 will allow a school district, public university, or community college district employee who has been employed for at least 12 months and who has worked at least 1,000 hours in the previous 12-month period to be eligible for family and medical leave under the same terms and conditions as the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) of 1993. Previously, an employee must have worked 1,250 hours during the previous year. This change will benefit educational support staff, such as secretaries, teachers’ aides, paraeducators, maintenance workers, school bus drivers and cafeteria workers. These workers are often unable to meet the past requirement of 1,250 hours due to the limited number of days they are able to work during a school year. HB 12 is effective January 1, 2022.