Horsford Introduces Legislation to Secure Healthcare for School Support Staff
WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman Steven Horsford (NV-04) and Congressman Donald Norcross (NJ-01) introduced the Securing Continued Healthcare for Our Operations and Logistics (SCHOOL) Professionals Act. This legislation would fix a long-standing loophole that has prevented contracted school custodians, bus drivers, security guards, nurses, cafeteria workers, and other essential support staff from accessing affordable healthcare coverage.
“Every worker who dedicates their time and energy to our schools deserves access to affordable healthcare,” said Congressman Horsford, Co-Chair of the Congressional Labor Caucus. “The SCHOOL Professionals Act will ensure that our school support staff are not left behind due to an outdated regulatory loophole. This is about fairness and ensuring that everyone who serves our students and schools receive the same benefits.”
"Our education support staff and bus drivers are critical to our education system and need access to affordable healthcare," said Congressman Norcross (NJ-01), Co-Chair of the Congressional Labor Caucus. "Whether they are employed by the school district or an outside contractor they are doing the same job and deserve the same rights. I'm proud to introduce the SCHOOL Professionals Act with Congressman Horsford to ensure that all school employees who work full-time schedules receive this essential benefit. It's just common sense."
“The Teamsters are proud to support the SCHOOL Professionals Act because all workers deserve access to quality and reliable health care. Unfortunately, the Affordable Care Act created a glitch preventing thousands of contracted custodians, bus drivers, cafeteria workers, and nurses from accessing the same health care that their colleagues in the classroom receive. It was never intended for these workers to be locked out from quality health care and this legislation will fix that unfair oversight. Congress must take immediate action and pass this critical legislation before the end of this term so that workers do not have to go one day longer without health care coverage,” said Mr. Sean O’Brien, General President of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.
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 introduction of the SCHOOL Professionals Act follows a letter sent by Congressman Horsford and Norcross to the Secretary of the Department of the Treasury, Janet Yellen, urging the Biden-Harris Administration to address this loophole. The Obama-Biden Administration acknowledged the issue in 2015, but formal action has yet to be taken.
The bill is also cosponsored by Labor Caucus Co-Chairs Congressman Mark Pocan (WI-02) and Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (MI-06). It is endorsed by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, the National Education Association, and the American Federation of Teachers.