Teacher Bills Co-Sponsored by State Rep. Katie Stuart Become Law

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Two bills sponsored by State Rep. Katie Stuart, D-Edwardsville, to address Illinois’ ongoing teacher shortage have now become law. HB 5472 removes barriers that prevented retired teachers from serving as substitute teachers without jeopardizing their retirement benefits; and SB 3907 extends the number of consecutive days that a substitute teacher can work from five to fifteen. The two bills were signed into law by Governor J.B. Pritzker on April 22 and April 27, respectively.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has further disrupted our education system, and retired teachers are an obvious choice to fill the ranks of substitutes during a shortage, but under existing law these experienced professionals could not act as substitutes without endangering their retirement benefits,” said Rep. Stuart. “With the signing of this bill into law, we’ve removed bureaucratic red tape which needlessly kept many qualified people from being available to support our schools at this critical time.”

“Supporting our schools as they continue to deal with the ongoing reverberations of the COVID-19 pandemic is paramount,” said Stuart. “I remain committed to ensuring that Illinois families have robust and well-run K-12 school systems in their corner.”

For more information, call Rep. Stuart’s office at 618-365-6650 or email kara.repstuart@gmail.com.