A San Francisco teacher with breast cancer has to cover the costs of her substitute teacher while on medical leave, but she's not the only one.
Teachers across California are required to do so as part of a state-wide policy.
The policy came to light after the San Francisco Chronicle reported that a second-grade teacher who has breast cancer will be out of work for the rest of year, and will have to pay for her substitute out of her own paycheck.
The teacher, at Glen Park Elementary School in San Francisco, has not been named publicly.
San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) spokesperson Laura Dudnick told Buzzfeed News that the policy is "not a district-only rule."
According to California's Education Code, teachers are allowed 10 sick days per year. They then are allotted an additional 100 days for extended sick leave.
While on extended leave, teachers are paid their day rate, minus the substitute teacher's daily cost, Dudnick told Buzzfeed News.
In San Francisco, substitute rates range from $174.66 to $240.26 per day, the Chronicle reported.
Teachers who don't use their sick days can donate their days into a sick leave bank that's run by the teacher's union and school district.
A teacher can take up to 85 sick days from the bank during extended leave. On these days, a substitute's day rate would not be be docked from the teacher's pay.
Families at Glen Park have also organized a GoFundMe for the teacher with breast cancer in hopes of helping her while she's on leave, the Chronicle reported.
INSIDER has contacted California's Department of Education for comment on the policy.
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