House Resolution Demands Livable Wages, FMLA, and Job Security for School Support Staff

This resolution is essentially the House of Representatives sending a very loud, official memo saying that the millions of school support staff—the folks who drive the buses, serve the lunch, and help in the classroom—deserve a much better deal. It’s not a law, but it’s a detailed statement of intent, outlining what Congress believes are the minimum standards for respecting these workers.

The 'Sense of the House' on School Staff Paychecks

What’s the core ask? Money and stability. The resolution highlights that many of the 3 million-plus paraprofessionals and education support staff are not making a livable wage. It calls for competitive and livable wages and access to affordable healthcare and retirement benefits without high personal costs. This is a direct shot at the widespread practice of limiting hours for workers like food service staff and bus drivers to intentionally keep them below the threshold for full-time benefits, a provision the resolution specifically calls out.

For a single parent working as a teaching assistant, this means the difference between scrambling for second jobs and actually making ends meet. The resolution demands that these workers should be treated as eligible for the full 12 weeks of job-protected leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), plus 16 weeks of paid family and medical leave. Additionally, they should get paid leave whenever the school closes unexpectedly, like for snow days or professional development, so their paycheck doesn't get dinged when they're still technically employed.

Moving Beyond 'At-Will' Employment

One of the biggest shifts proposed here addresses job security. Currently, many support staff face annual re-hiring or summer layoffs, creating massive instability. This resolution pushes for contracts that automatically renew unless there is a specific, stated reason not to. Even more critically, it advocates for a shift from 'at-will' employment—where you can be fired for almost any reason—to a 'just cause' standard, meaning termination must be for a legitimate reason and follow a fair process. This change would give workers real stability, allowing them to plan their lives without the constant threat of arbitrary job loss.

The Tech Factor and Having a Voice

In a modern workplace, technology often changes how people do their jobs, and this resolution addresses that head-on. It states that when schools plan to implement new tech like electronic monitoring, data collection, or AI that affects staff work, those employees must be notified and given a meaningful chance to provide input on how it’s rolled out. This is crucial for bus drivers, for example, who might be subject to new tracking or surveillance systems, or for clerical staff dealing with automated scheduling software. It’s about ensuring the people doing the work have a say in the tools they use, rather than having new systems dropped on them without warning or training.

What This Means for Districts and Taxpayers

Since this is a non-binding resolution, it doesn’t force local school districts to do anything. However, it sets a clear political expectation. If districts were to implement these goals—competitive wages, better benefits, and multi-year contracts—it would significantly increase operational costs. While it would stabilize the workforce and address the current staffing crisis (schools are still missing hundreds of thousands of staff compared to pre-COVID levels), the money would have to come from somewhere, likely requiring increased state or local education funding. For taxpayers, this is the trade-off: higher costs for better schools, driven by a stable, fairly compensated support staff.