[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 450 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 450

Expressing the sense of the Senate that paraprofessionals and education 
  support staff should have fair compensation, benefits, and working 
                              conditions.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            November 6, 2023

  Mr. Markey (for himself, Mr. Sanders, and Ms. Warren) submitted the 
 following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Health, 
                     Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Expressing the sense of the Senate that paraprofessionals and education 
  support staff should have fair compensation, benefits, and working 
                              conditions.

Whereas paraprofessionals (also sometimes known as ``paraeducators'') include 
        education assistants and instructional assistants who work in elementary 
        schools, secondary schools, or public institutions of higher education;
Whereas education support staff (also sometimes known as ``classified school 
        employees'' or ``education support professionals'') include 
        professionals who work in elementary schools, secondary schools, or 
        public institutions of higher education in clerical and administrative 
        services, transportation services, food and nutrition services, 
        custodial and maintenance services, health and student services, 
        technical services, and skilled trades;
Whereas more than 3,000,000 paraprofessionals and education support staff are 
        the frontline workers who transform schools in the United States from 
        brick and mortar buildings to places of learning and support for more 
        than 49,000,000 students across the United States;
Whereas, since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, school staff employment has 
        fallen across positions and there are still 331,000 fewer school staff 
        than before the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving schools without the necessary 
        staff in almost every position;
Whereas, since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, a shortage of teachers has 
        resulted in some paraprofessionals and education support staff being 
        expected to assume the duties of teachers without commensurate 
        compensation or benefits;
Whereas many paraprofessionals and education support staff are undercompensated 
        for their work, and do not receive a living wage, much less a 
        competitive, family-sustaining living wage;
Whereas many paraprofessionals and education support staff are, as a matter of 
        practice, laid off at the end of each school year and rehired annually, 
        and lack job security;
Whereas, unlike most school employees, many paraprofessionals and education 
        support staff are not full-time employees because their services, 
        including those of bus drivers and food service workers, are time 
        delimited;
Whereas many paraprofessionals and education support staff lack access to high-
        quality, affordable health care because they are intentionally hired for 
        insufficient hours to receive health and retirement benefits, or 
        otherwise are charged exorbitant employee premiums for health insurance;
Whereas, while paraprofessionals and education support staff are often the most 
        diverse subset of school employees, are more likely to have grown up in 
        the communities they serve, and are the trusted school community members 
        for many students and parents, the voices of paraprofessionals and 
        education support staff are not always valued in forming school 
        policies;
Whereas paraprofessionals and education support staff often serve students 
        facing systemic barriers, but are often excluded from professional 
        growth and development opportunities;
Whereas, like many school employees, paraprofessionals and education support 
        staff are too often subject to workplace violence and other safety 
        hazards, including contaminants and extreme temperatures;
Whereas paraprofessionals and education support staff deserve real solutions 
        that would empower them to--

    (1) work in a stable, safe environment;

    (2) have multi-year job security;

    (3) receive livable and competitive wages, access to sufficient hours, 
and fair compensation for their work; and

    (4) have a voice on the job and meaningful input in school policy;

Whereas respecting paraprofessionals and education support staff is essential to 
        creating and maintaining safe and supportive school environments that 
        are conducive to students learning and thriving; and
Whereas Congress seeks to recognize the rights, respect, and dignity that 
        paraprofessionals and education support staff deserve as they continue 
        to care for and educate the next generation: Now, therefore, be it:
    Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that--
            (1) paraprofessionals and education support staff--
                    (A) should be compensated at a rate that is a 
                livable, competitive wage;
                    (B) should have access to high-quality, affordable 
                healthcare and healthcare benefits at a de minimus 
                personal cost;
                    (C) should be considered to be eligible employees 
                under the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (29 
                U.S.C. 2601 et seq.);
                    (D) should be entitled to 16 weeks of paid family 
                and medical leave;
                    (E) should have paid leave for all planned and 
                unforeseen school closures, including weather-related 
                closures, professional development days, and other 
                short-term closures;
                    (F) should have access to meaningful and free or 
                affordable professional growth and development 
                opportunities during regular paid working hours that 
                provide a path to career advancement;
                    (G) should have sufficient resources and supplies 
                to enable them to do their job effectively and 
                efficiently, including up-to-date technology;
                    (H) should have access to training and appropriate 
                personal protective equipment;
                    (I) should have representation in organizations 
                that determine policies that may affect the working 
                conditions of paraprofessionals and education support 
                staff;
                    (J) should receive notification and the opportunity 
                to provide significant input about the implementation 
                of electronic monitoring, data, algorithms, and 
                artificial intelligence technology in the applicable 
                school and should receive high-quality professional 
                development as new technologies are introduced;
                    (K) should have adequate notice and opportunity to 
                participate, when appropriate, in individualized 
                education program meetings, behavior intervention team 
                meetings, and other similar meetings relating to the 
                students the paraprofessionals and education support 
                staff support, to the extent permitted by law;
                    (L) should experience a safe and healthy working 
                environment free from recognized hazards that cause or 
                are likely to cause death or serious physical harm;
                    (M) should experience appropriate staffing levels 
                to ensure that students have adequate support and that 
                paraprofessionals and education support staff can 
                complete their jobs effectively, efficiently, and 
                safely;
                    (N) should receive adequate notification regarding 
                the duration of their employment;
                    (O) should have an employment contract that 
                includes a provision for the automatic renewal of the 
                contract at the expiration of the contract, rather than 
                the automatic termination of the contract at such 
                expiration, and a provision for termination of 
                employment for just cause, rather than termination of 
                employment at will; and
                    (P) should have a process for reporting workplace 
                issues and concerns to their employer in a manner that 
                protects paraprofessionals and education support staff 
                and other employees from retaliation;
            (2) in recognition of the importance of collective 
        bargaining in maintaining good working conditions, employers of 
        paraprofessionals and education support staff should--
                    (A) engage in good faith negotiations;
                    (B) strive to reach timely and just contracts that 
                fairly compensate and protect paraprofessionals and 
                education support staff;
                    (C) refrain from replacing paraprofessionals or 
                education support staff who engage in a strike; and
                    (D) refrain from locking out such workers; and
            (3) nothing in this resolving clause should be interpreted 
        to supersede, or as an expression of the Senate's support for 
        any law that would supersede, employment terms or conditions 
        agreed upon in collective bargaining agreements that are more 
        beneficial to paraprofessionals and education support staff 
        than those described in this resolving clause.
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