Veteran Teacher Pay Bill Was Years in the Making

Melanie Hammond-Rexburg EA testifies before the Senate Education Committee

With the stroke of a pen, Idaho Gov. Brad Little signed the Advanced Professional Educator Pay legislation into law on March 31, giving local school districts around the state a much-needed increase in their allocations in order to raise compensation for veteran educators. However, the process to achieve this investment in our most experienced educators was complex and challenging and required collaboration from education stakeholders and considerable input from IEA members. The COVID-19 health crisis has created some uncertainty in all public education funding, including the Career Ladder, so we will have to monitor the situation as Idaho works through an unprecedented and unexpected predicament.

Let’s look back at the timeline that led to this important legislation.

2012

Following the overturning of the ill-conceived Luna Laws by educators, parents, and concerned citizens, then-Governor Butch Otter convened a task force to take a broad-based look at how Idaho could improve K-12 education. IEA President Penni Cyr, along with three IEA members from different parts of the state, were included on the task force.

2013

After meeting several times during the year, the task force came back with 20 recommendations. Among them was a Career Ladder salary allocation plan that included three rungs for allocations of $40,000, $50,000, and $60,000 based on the experience, credential, and evaluation of educators.

2014

The State Board of Education proposed a plan that would increase allocations but would have set up a controversial “tiered licensure” plan. IEA members showed up in droves at public hearings to protest the onerous restrictions being placed on the new funding. The Board backtracked on the plan.

Peggy Hoy testifying at the Tiered Certification public hearing, 2014.

KTVB News coverage on Tiered Certification, 2014.

2015

Following eleventh hour outreach to IEA members for input, the legislature approved a Career Ladder bill that increased allocations to districts for beginning and mid-career educators, which helped address Idaho’s teacher recruitment issues. They opted not to fund the recommended third tier for veteran educators, meaning the allocation for veteran educators topped out at $50,000 at full implementation in 2020-2021.

IEA President Penni Cyr at the bill signing press conference. 2015.

Speaker of the House Scott Bedke and House Education Chairman Reed DeMourdant came to the IEA office to hear from members. 2015.

2017

Under direction from the State Board of Education, a Teacher Pipeline Workgroup analyzed data and discussed the state’s shortcomings in recruiting and retaining educators. The IEA was represented on the workgroup, which issued multiple reports on their findings. Those reports were never formally presented to the legislature.

2018

With support from the IEA, Brad Little was elected governor of Idaho. He pledged to support public schools and promised to raise salaries for veteran educators.

2019

Gov. Little convenes a follow-up K-12 task force, Our Kids, Idaho’s Future. IEA President Kari Overall and IEA member Marc Beitia are named to the main task force, with other IEA members serving on subcommittees. The task force issued five primary recommendations, including “building out and updating the Career Ladder to elevate the profession and retain effective educators”. A part of this recommendation was to set base appropriations at $40,000, $50,000, and $60,000 upon full implementation.

IEA members shared their insight with the Our Kids, Idaho’s Future task force. Ty Walling, Erin Murillo, Brian Coffey (L-R) 2019.

New Legislation Will Help Idaho Retain Veteran Educators

Which brings us to 2020 and the passage of HB 523, the Advanced Professional Educator Pay bill. Introduced by the governor’s Senior Policy Advisor for Education, Greg Wilson, the bill could invest an additional $223 million into allocations to local districts over the next five years, although the COVID-19 crisis might curtail immediate implementation. The legislation passed the sometimes quarrelsome House Education Committee on a unanimous vote and was overwhelmingly supported on both the House and Senate floors.

“Idaho has a teacher retention problem and this bill can be a step toward making our teacher salaries more competitive with surrounding states as well as helping our rural districts retain their experienced educators,” says IEA President Layne McInelly. “We have heard far too often in recent years about educators who are capped at the top of the state’s pay scale and have not seen a raise in several years.”

The new law would increase the top allocation to $63,000 when it has been completely rolled out. It also builds in two additional minimum salaries for the professional and advanced professional rungs. Individual educator salaries will still be negotiated between the school district and the local education association.

Educators must have held a professional endorsement for at least five years to be eligible for the new top rung, along with other stipulations that include student growth metrics, leadership roles, and evaluations by administrators. Trailer legislation also passed that will phase out the Master Educator Premium program. The state will honor three-year MEP commitments from cohorts in 2018-2019 and 2019-2020 but will no longer accept new applications. The program will sunset completely on July 1, 2024.

Shared accountability will be a key to the success of the new Career Ladder law, according to McInelly. “It is incumbent upon all education stakeholders to collaborate on efforts to ensure that the thresholds are achievable for as many of our veteran educators as possible,” he says. “Robust professional development, administrator aptitude and accountability, and flexibility on measuring growth and leadership are essential. In short, we must all work together with fidelity in the process, as well as with the intent of the legislation, which is to increase veteran teacher pay and improve educator retention rates.”