119-hres297

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 297 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
H. RES. 297

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

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 April 7, 2025

 Mrs. Hayes (for herself, Ms. Bonamici, Ms. Brownley, Ms. Pingree, Ms. 
 Schakowsky, Ms. Tlaib, Ms. Tokuda, Ms. McClellan, Mr. Johnson of 
 Georgia, Ms. McCollum, Ms. Craig, and Mr. Gottheimer) submitted the 
following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Education 
 and Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

 RESOLUTION

 Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives 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 House of Representatives 
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 
 health care and health care 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 House of 
 Representatives 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.
 <all>