THE IMMEDIATE AND LONG-TERM CHALLENGES FACING PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHERS - LOW PAY, TEACHER SHORTAGES, AND UNDERFUNDED PUBLIC SCHOOLS - Hearing

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Melati

U.S. Senate committee hearing transcript examining the immediate and long-term challenges confronting public school teachers, centered on low pay, teacher shortages, and underfunded public schools. Opening remarks highlight the need for quality education as the foundation for the nation’s future, while describing how overwork, low compensation, staffing gaps, and pandemic-driven stress contribute to anxiety, burnout, and attrition. The record sets up testimony from educators and education-related experts.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages65

Reading Time2 h 44 min

AccessFree to download

STATEMENTS

COMMITTEE MEMBERS

WITNESSES

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL

S. HRG. 118–468 THE IMMEDIATE AND LONG-TERM CHALLENGES FACING PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHERS: LOW PAY, TEACHER SHORTAGES, AND UNDERFUNDED PUBLIC SCHOOLS HEARING OF THE COMMITTEE ON HEALTH, EDUCATION, LABOR, AND PENSIONS UNITED STATES SENATE ONE HUNDRED EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS SECOND SESSION ON EXAMINING THE IMMEDIATE AND LONG-TERM CHALLENGES FACING PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHERS, FOCUSING ON LOW PAY, TEACHER SHORTAGES, AND UNDERFUNDED PUBLIC SCHOOLS JUNE 20, 2024 Printed for the use of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions ( Available via the World Wide Web: [http://www.govinfo.gov](http://www.govinfo.gov) U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE 57–244 PDF WASHINGTON : 2025 BERNIE SANDERS (I), Vermont, Chairman PATTY MURRAY, Washington ROBERT P. CASEY, JR., Pennsylvania TAMMY BALDWIN, Wisconsin CHRISTOPHER S. MURPHY, Connecticut TIM KAINE, Virginia MAGGIE HASSAN, New Hampshire TINA SMITH, Minnesota BEN RAY LUJ`AN, New Mexico JOHN HICKENLOOPER, Colorado ED MARKEY, Massachusetts BILL CASSIDY, M.D., Louisiana, Ranking Member RAND PAUL, Kentucky SUSAN M. COLLINS, Maine LISA MURKOWSKI, Alaska MIKE BRAUN, Indiana ROGER MARSHALL, M.D., Kansas MITT ROMNEY, Utah TOMMY TUBERVILLE, Alabama MARKWAYNE MULLIN, Oklahoma TED BUDD, North Carolina WARREN GUNNELS, Majority Staff Director BILL DAUSTER, Majority Deputy Staff Director AMANDA LINCOLN, Minority Staff Director DANIELLE JANOWSKI, Minority Deputy Staff Director (II) C O N T E N T S STATEMENTS THURSDAY, JUNE 20, 2024 Page COMMITTEE MEMBERS Sanders, Hon. Bernie, Chairman, Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, Opening statement ...................................................................... 1 Cassidy, Hon. Bill, Ranking Member, U.S. Senator from the State of Louisiana, Opening statement .................................................................................. 3 WITNESSES Arthur, John, Teacher at Meadowlark Elementary, Holladay, UT ..................... 6 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 8 Summary statement ......................................................................................... 11 Keyes, Gemayel, Teacher at Gilbert Spruance Elementary School, Philadelphia, PA ................................................................................................................ 11 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 13 Summary statement ......................................................................................... 15 Kirwan, William E., Dr., Vice-Chair of Maryland’s Accountability and Implementation Board, Rockville, MD ......................................................................... 16 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 18 Summary statement ......................................................................................... 20 Pondiscio, Robert, Senior Fellow, American Enterprise Institute, Medusa, NY 21 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 23 Summary statement ......................................................................................... 26 Neily, Nicole, President and Founder, Parents Defending Education, Arlington, VA .................................................................................................................. 26 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 29 Summary statement ......................................................................................... 41 ADDITIONAL MATERIAL Statements, articles, publications, letters, etc. Cassidy, Hon. Bill: Illinois Policy, Chicago Teachers Union Fails to Turn $68K per Student Into Even

FAQs

What issues are the hearing focused on regarding public school teachers?

The hearing examines low pay, teacher shortages, and underfunded public schools, addressing both immediate and long-term challenges.

How do the opening remarks describe working conditions for public school teachers?

They emphasize that teachers are overworked, underpaid, understaffed, and underappreciated, with increased anxiety, stress, and burnout intensified by the pandemic.

What does the transcript indicate about teacher turnover?

It states that nearly 8 percent of teachers leave the profession each year, described as about double the rate in countries such as Canada.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Melati