Bill to boost teach training, base salary clears committee

AUGUSTA — The Education Committee on Tuesday endorsed a bill to improve in-classroom teacher training and increase the base salary for Maine’s teachers.

“Our teachers have the power to shape future generations and set our children on a path to success for the rest of their lives,” said Democratic Sen. Rebecca Millett, the bill’s sponsor. “It’s crucial that we give them the tools, and the incentives, they need to do their jobs.”

The bill, LD 1370, “An Act to Improve the Quality of Teachers,” would improve Maine’s teacher quality by establishing:

• a new minimum salary of $40,000 for Maine teachers;
• a requirement that all Maine teachers have a GPA of at least 3.0 in teacher prep courses upon graduation; and
• expanded student teaching opportunities and additional supports for first-year teachers.

Sen. Millett, the lead Senate Democrat on the Education Committee and a former member of her local school board, said the provisions of her bill would make teacher salaries more competitive and give new teachers a greater tool set at the start of their careers.

Maine’s aging teacher population is staring down a retirement boom in the coming years. Without competitive salaries, young people who could very well be the best teachers of their generation may choose a more lucrative career outside education.

Similarly, the bill bolster’s the student-teaching phase of teacher training, providing more pre-certification in-classroom experience and additional peer support during a provisional first-year on the job.

“A teacher’s first year is critical to their self-confidence, continued enthusiasm for the profession and the longevity of their career,” Sen. Millett said. “This bill will improve new teachers’ ability to hit the ground running the moment they step into the classroom.”

The bill now heads to the Senate.