House and Senate committees have passed important education bills. Here’s a summary of bills we are following so far:
Teacher Pay Raise
SB 2001: passed Senate Education and Appropriations Committees, passed full Senate – $37,000 starting salary for teachers with two years of experience and less ($1,110 raise); $1,000 pay raise for other certified teachers and assistant teachers (increases base salary for assistants from $14,000 to $15,000)
HB 852: passed House Education Committee – $37,000 starting salary for teachers with two years of experience and less ($1,110 raise); $1,000 pay raise for other certified teachers; $1,100 pay raise for assistant teachers (increases base salary for assistants from $14,000 to $15,100)
Teacher Shortage
SB 2267: passed Senate Education Committee – teacher license reciprocity with other states
SB 2305: passed Senate Education and Appropriations Committees – Winter and Reed Teacher Loan Repayment Program
HB 1179: passed House Education Committee – Winter and Reed Teacher Loan Repayment Program
School Funding
SB 2149: passed Senate Education Committee – holds districts harmless for average daily attendance for school funding purposes
Pre-K
SB 2664: passed Senate Education Committee – amends curriculum and reporting criteria
SB 2665: passed Senate Education Committee – increases per-student funding for Early Learning Collaboratives to minimum of $2,500 for full day and $1,250 for half day
HB 1123: passed House Education Committee – amends curriculum and reporting criteria; increases per-student funding for Early Learning Collaboratives to minimum of $2,500 for full day and $1,250 for half day
Both House Education Chairman Richard Bennett and Senate Education Chairman Dennis DeBar emphasized the importance of the teacher pay raise bills. A big thank-you to them and to the members of the education committees for their work!
We will keep you posted as these bills work their way through the process. In the meantime, you can find details about the bills and see their progress on the Bill Tracker page of our web site. Together, we’ve got this!
