MONTGOMERY- The Senate passed major legislation showing their continued support of education in Alabama, and more specifically, state educators.

The bill, SB 143, allows for a supplemental appropriation from the education trust fund to the State Department of Education to pay the $5000 salary supplement to teachers that are certified by the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards. The legislation will pay teachers retroactively that were not paid the full amount. This legislation shows the caucus’s committment to education, according to Senator Jabo Waggoner, the bill’s sponsor.

“We want to honor our committement to educators, and reward those teachers that have worked to better themselves professionally.” Waggoner said.

Budgetary restraints have made it impossible for the state to fully honor this obligation the past two fiscal years, but legislators have a renewed focus on making Alabama a leader an education, and rewarding its teachers is a key part of that equation. The appropriation, $2,313,850, will go directly to the 1,848 National Board Certified teachers in Alabama.

“The Caucus has made education a top priority this legislative session. This bill is a big part of that. We want to encourage teachers in Alabama to seek to better themselves,” Waggoner said. “An investment in our teachers is an investment in each and every Alabama student.”