Illinois State Sen. Patrick Joyce (D-Essex) | Facebook
Illinois State Sen. Patrick Joyce (D-Essex) | Facebook
An Essex lawmaker's plan to tackle the teacher shortage would remove lifetime caps on the hours retired teachers can work.
Sen. Patrick Joyce's (D-Essex) proposal would allow retired teachers to work as substitutes for 100 days or 500 hours per year instead of the lifetime cap of 120 days or 600 hours.
"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 23 Facebook post.
The state continues to deal with a growing teacher shortage worsened by concerns over safety at brick-and-mortar schools during the COVID-19 pandemic. Removing the lifetime cap would help plug some gaps that districts have when educating students.
“The teacher shortage in Illinois predated COVID-19, and as we see more school districts return to in-person learning, some will be faced with challenges in hiring substitute teachers,” Joyce said in a statement. “This legislation will ensure schools have the most qualified professionals to teach our children.”
If approved and signed by the governor, Joyce's regulation would start July 1, 2023. The bill has advanced out of the Senate and now goes to the House for consideration.
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