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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2023 - 2024
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | April 19, 2023 05:09 PM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Patty Kim |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Elevate Educators |
| After researching the barriers for entering the teaching profession, I quickly learned that it “didn’t make financial sense” for many prospects. After someone graduates college and incurs debt, they often find it difficult to live on a teacher salary while paying off their loans. This is a hard reality that ultimately results with less and less people going into the teaching profession. To help us address this teacher shortage, I will soon be introducing legislation which will increase the minimum teacher salary in Pennsylvania from $18,500 to $60,000 through a phased-in approach over five years. For those keeping count, the last time the minimum salary for educators was increased was in 1989. To further assist in this effort, my legislation will reimburse public schools for certain supplemental payments along with pension and social security costs. It will also ensure that educator-type employees (like social workers, psychologists, and therapists) who are employed in professional positions are legally recognized as “professional employees” and therefore are included in minimum salary requirements. Since 2010, the number of teachers certified annually in the commonwealth has fallen from over 20,000 per year to fewer than 7,000 per year. In that same period, teacher prep program enrollment has declined nationally by one-third. As a result, our young students and their families have witnessed their local schools struggling with a 200 percent increase in emergency permits coupled with a lack of qualified, caring adults to keep our schools functioning. I think we can all agree that it is well past time we elevate this critical profession to the level of respect it so rightfully deserves. Please join me cosponsoring this very important legislation. |