Sen. Patrick Joyce proposes increased hours for retired teachers to help with teaching shortages. | Photo Courtesy of Patrick Joyce Facebook
Sen. Patrick Joyce proposes increased hours for retired teachers to help with teaching shortages. | Photo Courtesy of Patrick Joyce Facebook
Sen. Patrick Joyce (D-Essex) presented a proposal to increase the number of working hours for retired educators to aid the shortage of teachers across the state.
The initiative known as Senate Bill 1989 has been approved by the Senate and awaits the House’s consideration.
"To eliminate the teacher shortage in Illinois, I advanced a plan out of the Senate today to increase the number of hours a retired teacher may work without impairing their retirement status," Joyce said in an April Facebook post.
Joyce’s plan would create annual retiree employment policies as opposed to lifetime-based. Through the initiative, retired teachers can serve as substitute teachers for 500 hours or 100 days out of the school year, beginning on July 1, 2023. The state currently only allows teaching retirees to return to the field for up to 120 days or 600 hours without affecting their retirement status.
“The time is now to address the teacher shortage in Illinois,” Joyce said. “This legislation will allow school districts to increase the pool of qualified substitute teachers while allowing former teachers to maintain their retirement status.”
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