A bill introduced in the Texas legislature aims to raise the minimum salary for all Texas teachers.
The bill, if made into law, would set the minimum salary at $70,000.
That would be an increase of almost $13,000 from the average base salary reported by the Texas Education Agency for the 2019-2020 school year, and a little over $8,000 above the national average,according to the National Center for Education Statisticsduring the 2018-2019 school year.
Round Rock representative James Talarico announced HB 3580 Thursday.
When I was a public school teacher, I struggled to make ends meet.
My coworkers drove Ubers at night and sold their blood plasma for extra money.
Today I filed a bill mandating a minimum salary of $70,000 for every teacher in Texas. #txlege pic.twitter.com/Kk8NuxxVNI
— James Talarico (@jamestalarico) March 11, 2021
"Why focus on teachers?" said Talarico. "Teachers are THE most important profession. Without them, there would be no other profession. Instead of just calling teachers 'heroes,' let’s pay them like heroes."
Talarico is a member of the Calendars Committee, the Public Education Committee, and the Juvenile Justice and Family Issues Committee.
