SB 9, including Senate salary proposal, heard in House Public Education Tuesday night

The House Public Education Committee met until around 3 a.m. Wednesday, with an agenda that included SB 9, the legislation that includes the Senate's salary plan for teachers.

TCTA has provided input to the committee noting that while the Senate proposes an across-the-board increase of sorts, it is only a one-time bonus, not an increase. TCTA cannot support such a proposal, and we have additional concerns that the amounts are insufficient and only benefit classroom teachers. Other problems with the bill as it passed the Senate include:

• an attempt to address teacher time/additional duties that is worded in a way that could actually make the problem worse;
• expansion of the Teacher Incentive Allotment program, which only benefits around 5% of teachers, rather than focusing on salaries for all; and
• elimination of the SBOE's authority to approve or reject SBEC rules.
  

Other bills heard in Tuesday's meeting included:

• SB 1720, ensuring that the identity of a public school employee who reports a potential threat to the threat assessment team remains confidential.
  
• SB 1630, strengthening the information provided to parents regarding truancy laws and the consequences of violating them.