LINCOLN - The state senator from Bellevue hopes her proposed bill can withstand three rounds of debate to give teachers and other education staff retention payments.

Sen. Carol Blood drafted Legislative Bill 696 to appropriate funds from the American Rescue Plan Act since education professionals are leaving schools.

"They are tired and they are worn out and they feel underappreciated," Sen. Blood said. "Many are suffering from PTSD and severe depression. If we can't do something to address those issues, we're going to have a much bigger problem than what we have now. And I fear it's going to be our children and their families that suffer."

According to Jenni Benson, president of the Nebraska State Education Association (NSEA), a small fraction of the more than $1 billion in ARPA funds could greatly contribute to keeping 50,000 state education employees on the job.

More than a thousand school teachers plan to exit the profession at the end of the coming school year according to an NSEA survey done December 2021 due to stress, increased mental health issues, and being overworked.

Even $1,000 to employees shows gratitude and demonstrates the state's appreciation of its education employees, said Benson.

As more school teachers leave the profession, the increased workload falls on the teachers that stay.

"Ultimately, it is your child who suffers when there are more kids in a classroom than need be," Sen. Blood said.

Blood also drafted LB690 which would allow teachers alternatives to taking an expensive and difficult certification called the "Praxis" exam.

"There are a lot of qualified teachers that can't work in Nebraska because they can't pass that exam," Senator Blood said.

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