Reps. Horsford & Norcross Introduce Bill Providing Healthcare to School Support Staff

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Representatives Steven Horsford (NV-04) and Donald Norcross (NJ-01) today reintroduced the Securing Continued Healthcare for Our Operations and Logistics (SCHOOL) Professionals Act. 

The SCHOOL Professionals Act would fix a long-standing loophole that prevents contracted school custodians, bus drivers, security guards, nurses, cafeteria workers, and other essential support staff from accessing affordable healthcare coverage. 

The legislation comes on Clark County’s last day of school for the year.

“School support staff are a vital part of our education system – they deserve access to affordable healthcare for their hard work,” Congressman Horsford, Co-Chair of the Congressional Labor Caucus, said. “It’s time to end outdated regulatory loopholes that allow for winners and losers among the professionals who help our children learn. The fact is they are all winners, and the SCHOOL Professionals Act will be ensure they have access to the same benefits.”

“Our schools wouldn't run without essential support staff, and these workers deserve access to affordable healthcare,” Congressman Norcross (NJ-01), Co-Chair of the Congressional Labor Caucus, said. “Today, I joined Congressman Horsford in introducing the SCHOOL Professionals Act to ensure that all school employees who work full-time schedules receive this essential benefit. Whether they are employed by the school district or an outside contractor, these workers are doing the same job and deserve the same rights.”

“The Nevada State Education Association supports the Securing Continued Healthcare for Our Operations and Logistics Professionals (SCHOOL Professionals) Act because it closes a harmful loophole that denies school-based contract workers, such as bus drivers and cafeteria staff, access to the employer-sponsored health coverage they would otherwise earn through full-time service,” Nevada State Education AssociationPresident Dawn Etcheverry said. “These professionals are essential to the functioning of our schools and deserve the same health protections as their directly employed peers. This legislation restores fairness and dignity to the jobs of thousands of workers who support students every day. We urge swift passage of this important bill.”

“For years, a bureaucratic error in the Affordable Care Act has prevented thousands of custodians, bus drivers, cafeteria workers, and nurses from accessing the same health care that their colleagues in the classroom receive,” Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien said. “Every worker involved in the education of our children should have reliable access to health care. The Teamsters are proud to support the SCHOOL Professionals Act, which would right this egregious wrong and ensure that all school workers get the care and benefits they need and deserve.”

Currently, employees of private companies contracted by school districts are subject to a 12-month calendar for determining full-time status, unlike their counterparts directly employed by educational institutions who are evaluated on a nine-month school year basis. This discrepancy has left many contracted workers without employer-sponsored health benefits despite their full-time work schedules during the school year. 

This legislation would align the healthcare benefit requirements for contracted employees with those of direct school employees, ensuring that all workers who support educational institutions have access to the same affordable healthcare coverage. 

The SCHOOL Professionals Act is cosponsored by Labor Caucus Co-Chairs Congressman Mark Pocan (WI-02) and Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (MI-06). It is endorsed by the Nevada State Education Association, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, the National Education Association, and the American Federation of Teachers. 

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