Retired teachers returning to work have become extra valuable in recent years as schools have struggled to hire experienced teachers and turnover has risen, but many only work for a few months before quitting because of laws to prevent double-dipping.
Updated 4/2/2025, 12:32:11 AM
A North Carolina legislative committee advanced bills Tuesday for separate programs designed to make it easier for public schools to hire and retain teachers.
House Bill 106 would allow retired teachers to work full-time without fear of being unable to collect their pension at schools with performance grades of "D" or "F." It's a revival of a 2019 program that lawmakers sunsetted in 2021.
The bill would allow the teachers to work full-time while still receiving their pension payments, and neither they nor their employer would be able to contribute toward retirement. Those who return to teach science, technology, engineering, math or special education would earn a salary equivalent to a sixth-year teacher, and others would earn a salary equivalent to a first-year teacher.
Currently, retired teachers can work part-time or full-time six months after retiring, but are limited in the number of hours they work. The limitations are designed to keep teachers from "double-dipping" — in other words, collecting a pension while also collecting benefits as an employee. Retired teachers returning to work have become extra valuable in recent years as schools have struggled to hire experienced teachers and turnover has risen, but many only work for a few months before quitting because of laws to prevent double-dipping.
Rep. Todd Carver, R-Iredell, introduced the bill after his local superintendent said it would help them hire amid the teacher shortage.
Rep. Julie von Haefen, D-Wake, urged lawmakers to address the teacher shortage from the other end of the spectrum, too — getting more young people into teachers' colleges and teaching careers.
"I don't consider this bill to be a long-term solution to the problem," Carver said. But it's something the state can do now, he said.
HB106 would also allow retired teachers to return to work two months after retiring, rather than six months. If the bill passes, it would last only through the 2028-29 school year.
Another proposal, House Bill 149, would start a pilot program for just two of the state's public school systems, allowing them to have charter school-like flexibility in hiring unqualified teachers and spending state dollars without the limitations that traditional public schools are subject to.
Carver, who also sponsors House Bill 149, said just two school systems would qualify under the terms in the bill. One would be Mooresville Graded School District, and he wasn't sure of the other one.
The program would be studied through 2031, and the schools must meet certain criteria to continue participating. Those include a teacher retention rate of 90% and above average test score growth, including for student subgroups that typically score worse than average on tests.
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