Teacher pay bills head to conference committees
House, Senate will work out differences in bills as session heads to a close
UPDATE: SB2819 emerges from Conference Committee, heads to floor vote
from HSTA, April 22, 2022
Legislative proposals that would pay teachers based on their years of service, secure funding for shortage differentials, and reinstate 21 hours of job-embedded professional development are being scheduled for joint Senate and House conference committees as this year’s legislative session enters its final weeks.
Conferees from the House and Senate will have to agree on the final language of the bills before they go to a full floor vote in both houses. Written and live testimony is not accepted during the conference process. This year’s legislative session is scheduled to conclude May 5.
“Thank you for your testimony throughout the session,” said HSTA President Osa Tui, Jr. “Lawmakers heard educators’ stories loud and clear and they are supporting this effort to attract and retain qualified teachers in classrooms by paying them what they deserve.”
On Friday afternoon, a conference committee began its work on Senate Bill 2819 SD2 HD2, which would end salary compression for veteran teachers whose pay stagnated during tough economic times. The committee will reconvene to discuss the bill again Tuesday at 3 p.m.
The proposal would guarantee that teachers in Hawaii, like their counterparts around the United States, have their salaries adjusted based on their years of experience. If the bill is signed into law, more than 8,000 HSTA members would see corrections of at least $7,000 in their annual salaries to help keep them in the profession longer. The bill would also remove the class VII salary cap, which would allow more classes to be negotiated during collective bargaining and incentivize veteran teachers to take professional development courses to reclassify.
View: Bill status | Recent written testimony
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