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What the bill does
- SB 298 (full text)/HB 587 (full text) returns local control to decisions about salary schedules which will allow your union to negotiate for fair salaries for all employees and to fix the issues of salary compression that have been resulted from state mandates regarding salaries and raises.
- Includes all instructional personnel, not just classroom teachers, in the teacher salary allocation funds.
- Removes current requirement for a “grandfathered” and a “performance” salary schedule in favor of a single salary schedule for all instructional personnel.
- By eliminating the performance salary schedule, the bill removes current requirement stipulating highly effective teachers raises must be greater than effective teachers.
- Repeals the current restrictions on salary restrictions for advanced degrees put in place in 2011.
- Districts would have the ability to negotiate salary enhancements for advanced degrees whether or not the advance degree is in a teacher’s area of certification.
What’s Next
- SB 298’s first committee stop will be in the Senate Education Committee.
- HB 587’s first committee stop will be in the House PreK-12 Appropriations Subcommittee.
Talking Points
- We all want Florida’s schools to be the strongest in the nation, but currently Florida’s teachers are ranked in the bottom five in the nation in average teacher pay. In order to strengthen our school system to ensure every student receives the education they deserve educators in Florida must have a nationally-competitive salary.
- All of Florida’s students deserve small class sizes where they can receive individual attention which will help them reach full potential. In order for that to happen, Florida must retain teachers who are experienced, highly-qualified and certified. As it stands, Florida’s teachers can move to any other state in the nation and receive better pay. Investing in teacher salaries is absolutely necessary to ensuring Florida’s schools are the strongest in the nation.
