Proposal targets school staff shortages

Dr. Diane Gullett, the Superintendent of Marion County Public Schools, left, talks with Nancy Thrower, the board chair, right, during a meeting at the Marion County Public School Board in Ocala, Fla. on Tuesday, Sept. 7, 2021. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2021.

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Posted December 31, 2021 | By Florida News Service

Amid an ongoing scarcity of school employees such as bus drivers and food service workers, a House democrat has filed a proposal that seeks to require school districts to identify “critical employment shortages” of educational support staff.

Rep. Andrew Learned, D-Brandon, filed the bill (HB 1017) for consideration during the 2022 legislative session that begins Jan. 11. Under the measure, school superintendents would be tasked with identifying positions within the district that have at least 20 percent of jobs vacant.

The proposal would require districts, once shortages are identified, to “fund incentives to help recruit and retain educational support employees” in those positions, subject to funding from the Legislature.

School superintendents would be given until April of 2023 to compile an initial list of employee shortage areas, and would be required to renew the list each year. The information also would have to be provided to the Senate president and House speaker.