Vella Bill to Ease Teacher Shortage Advances Out of Committee

SPRINGFIELD, Ill.– State Rep. Dave Vella, D-Rockford, is advancing a new bill to the House floor to help local school districts respond to ongoing teacher shortages.

“This is an important step toward giving schools more flexibility to deal with staffing shortages,” said Vella. “Right now, districts are asking teachers to take on extra classes or responsibilities just to keep classrooms covered. They should be able to do that without worrying about red tape and bureaucratic obstacles.”

Vella’s House Bill 2564 would help school districts keep classrooms staffed by removing financial penalties that can discourage schools from paying teachers who take on extra classes or responsibilities.

House Bill 2564 would:

• Allow districts to exclude certain pay increases tied to additional work, such as extra classes or summer school, from pension penalties
• Ensures districts aren’t hit with extra pension costs when a teacher earns more than a 6% raise for doing additional classes or responsibilities
• Apply to salary increases on or after July 1, 2025

The legislation was introduced at the request of Rockford Public School District 205 and seeks to make it easier for school districts to compensate teachers who step in to fill gaps caused by staffing shortages.

“When schools can’t find enough teachers, it directly impacts students and families.This bill helps districts make sure classrooms stay staffed by removing barriers to fairly paying teachers who are helping fill those gaps,” said Vella. “This is a straightforward fix, if a teacher is doing more work to help keep a school running, districts should be able to compensate them without added penalties. At the end of the day, this is about making sure students have a teacher in the classroom and aren’t missing out on learning.”