Join the Growing Coalition and Add Your Name to the Petition Today!

Supporters include Sponsors Senator Henry Stern (D-Agoura Hills), Senator Cathleen Galgiani (D-Stockton), co-authors Senator Ben Allen (D-Santa Monica), chair of the Senate Education Committee, Assemblymember Monique Limón (D-Santa Barbara), and Assemblymember Miguel Santiago (D-Los Angeles), and the 12 student and school advocacy organizations who have come out in support of SB 807, including The Arc and United Cerebral Palsy California Collaboration, APLUS+, the California Alliance of African American Educators, the California Association of African American Superintendents and Administrators, Education Trust-West, Educators 4 Excellence-Los Angeles, EdVoice, Genders & Sexualities Alliance Network, GO Public Schools, Green Dot Public Schools California, the Partnership for Los Angeles Schools and The Teacher Salary Project.

Petition Text:

To: Your State Senator

California faces an unprecedented shortage of teachers. That’s why I support SB 807, the Teacher Recruitment and Retention Act, which:

1. Reduces state income tax for public school teachers who serve low-income communities in years 6-10 of teaching, and
2. Provides a tax credit to help new teachers pay for training required to remain in the classroom.

The “Invest in Teachers” Act elevates teaching to its rightful status, benefits children by retaining great teachers, and creates long-term savings by reducing the cost of recruiting new teachers. I urge you to support and pass SB 807 today.

Our Message to California Legislators

Across California, school districts face an unprecedented teacher shortage; three-quarters of all California school districts report difficulties in recruiting teachers. If we do not act now, the consequences could be disastrous for our children. That’s why we’re teaming up to support SB 807, the Teacher Recruitment and Retention Act of 2017, also known as the “Invest in Teachers” Act.

The “Invest in Teachers” Act elevates the teaching profession to reflect its importance in our society. Without great teachers, we wouldn’t have great doctors, engineers or musicians.

As teachers, we see every day how difficult it can be for school districts to recruit good educators, especially in the schools and communities that need them most. Over 30 percent of our colleagues in California leave the profession in the first five years, and data show that teachers are leaving the profession at a rate six times greater than other public employees.

If that doesn’t alarm you, then consider the impending retirement of the Baby Boomer generation—about one-third of all current teachers—which will make the challenge even worse.

We have an important responsibility to our students and our communities to ensure that every child is ready for the future. This can’t happen without great teachers in every classroom. Currently, there are many financial roadblocks that discourage the next generation from becoming and remaining teachers. California is a notoriously expensive place to live, and teacher training can cost thousands of dollars.

These challenges can have a dramatic impact on our students, especially students in high-poverty communities. Research shows that pupils with effective teachers are more likely to attend college, earn higher salaries and positively contribute to the California economy. But California school districts are struggling to hire and retain the great teachers our kids need.

That’s why we support SB 807, The Teacher Recruitment and Retention Act of 2017 also known as the “Invest in Teachers” Act, which reduces state income tax for public school teachers, who teach in low-income communities, during their sixth through tenth years in teaching, and provides a tax credit during their first five years of teaching to help teachers afford training required to become fully credentialed.

SB 807 is a structural approach to addressing our teacher shortage by making it more affordable to become a teacher and incentivizing teachers to remain in the classroom where they are needed most past the fifth year of teaching. California will need tens of thousands of new teachers in the next 10 years, and the “Invest in Teachers” Act can help us get there.

It’s critically important that young people across California be inspired to be the educators of tomorrow. As teachers, it’s our responsibility to ensure that we cultivate that sense of inspiration.

Please join us in support of the “Invest in Teachers” Act by signing the petition above and spreading the word. Help us demonstrate that teachers, together, shape our future.