Tennessee legislature passes teacher pay bump

Tennessee educators could get a small pay increase for the rest of the school year, even as state lawmakers who voted Friday, Jan. 22, for the boost acknowledged that many teachers won’t notice a difference in their paychecks.

Concurring with a Senate vote on Thursday, the House unanimously approved $42 million more toward instructional salaries from Jan. 1 through June 30, including $12 million to cover what local governments would normally have to match.

The pay hike equates to a 2% funding increase toward the salaries of teachers and other certified educators like school administrators, counselors, librarians and social workers.

The move wrapped up the legislature’s four-day special session on education, called by Gov. Bill Lee to address learning disruptions for students during the coronavirus pandemic, plus perennial challenges with teacher pay and literacy. On Thursday, lawmakers voted to strengthen Tennessee’s third-grade retention requirements; create new summer and after-school learning programs; require schools to provide phonics-based reading instruction; and hold teachers, schools, and districts harmless from the results of state tests scheduled for this spring.

Read more: https://dailymemphian.com/section/metro/article/19504/tennessee-legislature-passes-teacher-pay-bump