McKee signs legislation to let retirees work as substitute teachers the whole year without pension limits

PROVIDENCE — Gov. Dan McKee has signed legislation to temporarily repeal a reform of an earlier age by allowing retirees to substitute teach for a full school year this year and next - and make up to $300 a day - without giving up their taxpayer-subsidized pensions.

“I was proud to sign this bill as soon as it reached my desk to help our state address the educator shortage, an issue that we must address on multiple fronts," Democrat McKee said Wednesday, on the day after state lawmakers cast final votes on the bill.

"I am confident this bill, along with our proposal to expand the Wavemaker Fellowship student debt relief program to educators, will play a key role in this continued effort by [my][ administration and the General Assembly," he said, of his proposal to add teachers to the list of professionals who can get tax credits "worth the value of their annual student loan burden for up to four years," if they agree to stay and work in Rhode Island that long.

He included the proposal in the $13.8 billion budget he proposed to state lawmakers in January. State lawmakers have proposed alternatives for addressing the teacher shortage that has bedeviled some school districts, especially Providence.

The unanimous votes by the House on Tuesday on the pensions and paychecks bill for substitute teachers capped weeks of behind the scenes talks between the House and Senate.

With a final vote by the House on Tuesday, the legislation — sponsored in the House by Reps. William O'Brien, a Providence public school teacher, and Nathan Biah, a Providence school principal, among others — headed straight to McKee's desk where it iwas quickly signed into law.

The new law lifts 90-day post retirement employment limit for substitute teachers for three years in a row

Lobbyists for the teacher unions, the Rhode Island Department of Education and the Rhode Island School Superintendents Association persuaded lawmakers to eliminate, through June 20, 2024, the 90-day post-retirement employment limit adopted years ago to curb abuses.

The stated goal: to avert a teacher crisis in Providence and a handful of other communities this year and next, while lawmakers chew on various proposals to address the shortage itself.

More:Providence could start losing retiree substitute teachers in the coming days. Here's why.

Are there limitations to the bill?

The only caveats to the legislation to lift:

• The local school district must notify the state retirement board that it has "determined that exceeding the ninety (90) day cap on post-retirement employment is necessary to help address teacher and administrative staffing shortages."

• The local school district may not bring back a retiree unless the employer has made "a good-faith effort each school year to fill the position with a nonretired employee without success, and certifies, in writing, that it has done so" to the state retirement system and the union with which the district has labor agreements.

Background on the substitute teacher crisis

As of the first week of February, when the issue reached the State House, Providence had 366 substitutes in its schools, including: 100 retired teachers and 23 retired administrators. Of those 123, 11 were within days or fewer from reaching their 90-day limit.

The 90-day limit was lifted last year in response to the "public health emergency." The House approved a bill earlier this year to allow retired teachers to work up to 120 days this year, instead of 90. But the Senate went further, voting to eliminate the daily limit entirely through next year.

Treasurer warns of impact on state pension fund

New state Treasurer James Diossa's office did not dissuade the lawmakers - and said there was no immediate impact on the pension fund - but he warned them that doing this repeatedly could have an impact.

"Some members could choose to proactively retire earlier than they otherwise may have, with the intent to return to employment and receive both a salary and retirement benefits; and [the state pension system] is likely to lose revenue since contributions will decrease if recent retirees are rehired in the place of full-time employees whose payroll would have been eligible for retirement contributions."

But what about addressing the teacher shortage?

There are a number of proposals for addressing the teacher shortage itself.

Democrat McKee has proposed adding prospective teachers to the list of graduates in other fields — science, technology, engineering, math, design and health care — who are eligible for "Wavemaker fellowships." Those who begin their careers in Rhode Island can get tax credits "worth the value of their annual student loan burden for up to four years."

Sen. Jonathon Acosta and Rep. Joshua J. Giraldo have introduced legislation in the Senate and House to address teacher shortages in a different way.

They want to create a "Shortage Teaching Fields Tuition Assistance Fund" to pay a portion of the tuition, board and mandatory fees for a student at a Rhode Island college, public or private, who is "in a program to become a teacher in a shortage field."

To qualify, a student would have to commit to completing at least three years of full-time teaching "in a shortage teaching field in Rhode Island."

The reimbursable expenses could include "transportation, child care, and course related books and materials."

It is not yet clear how the proposal would mesh with the state's existing tuition-waiver program — known as Rhode Island Promise — for students at the Community College of Rhode Island.

The bills have been referred to the House and Senate finance committees.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: McKee signs bill to let retired teachers work as substitutes with no limits