Bill > S850

This bill, titled the "Pay Teachers What They're Worth Act," aims to address teacher shortages in North Carolina by increasing educator salaries and providing additional support. Starting in the 2026-2027 fiscal year, it establishes a new monthly teacher salary schedule based on years of experience, with specific salary increases for teachers with National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) certification, those with higher academic degrees (six-year or doctoral level), school nurses, school counselors, school psychologists, school speech pathologists, and school audiologists, reinstating education-based salary supplements that were previously in place. The bill also creates the Paid Student Teaching Grant Program, which will provide grants of up to $5,000 annually to eligible student teachers who demonstrate financial need and are pursuing a teaching career in a public school, with an additional $2,500 recruitment bonus for those who accept employment in a public school unit after graduation. Finally, the North Carolina Collaboratory is tasked with studying and reporting on strategies to improve educator compensation over the next decade, examining competitiveness, long-term growth, career advancement recognition, incentives for high-need areas, retention strategies, sustainable funding, and best practices from other states.