BILL WOULD GIVE FIRST-YEAR NEBRASKA TEACHERS UP TO $5,000 TO MAKE UP FOR LOW PAY

LINCOLN- Nebraska lawmakers are looking to up the ante on a package of incentives meant to attract more teachers to Nebraska.

Legislative Bill 1218 would create the Teach in Nebraska Today Program, which would provide first-year educators up to $5,000 a year for up to five years. The bill is one of the Education Committee’s priorities this year, as lawmakers look to address the teacher shortage impacting Nebraska schools.

The program was added as an amendment to a bill that, as introduced, would strike the requirement for a basic skills test and provide other avenues for candidates to enter the teaching profession.

State Sen. Lou Ann Linehan of Elkhorn, a member of the Education Committee, said the teaching crisis is “a long time coming.” Teaching vacancies have been increasing for years across the U.S., but the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the issue. Some educators left the profession due to burnout.

Linehan said one of the reasons for the shortage is the low pay most teachers earn early in their careers, which discourages many students from pursuing teaching jobs. She said many teachers don’t earn high pay until later in their careers.

“It’s not a 21st-century pay scale,” Linehan said.

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