SB 150: Retirement; permit public school systems to employ certain beneficiaries of the Teachers Retirement System of Georgia as classroom teachers; extend the program

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Discussed in meetings (13)

The House and Senate meetings that took this bill up, from their machine transcripts. Each account was written by Georgia Commons with AI and is not part of the record; the video is what was said.

1. Senate Retirement Committee, February 3, 2026

   From 0:32:36 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel

   Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor presented a substitute expanding retired teachers' return-to-work eligibility statewide, rather than limiting it to the bottom quarter of school districts. The sponsor said retirees with 25 years of service could return full-time after one year and receive both salary and pension benefits, with part-time work allowed during the waiting year. Covered subjects would include English language arts, science, social studies, special education, mathematics, and career, technical and agricultural education. The sponsor described an eight-year sunset and literacy training requirements for returning English language arts teachers. Citing Professional Standards Commission figures, the sponsor reported 5,358 teacher vacancies in 2026. The sponsor said an earlier proposal cost too much, but the revised version would impose no cost on the Teachers Retirement System. Asked about literacy training access, a supporting retirement-system representative said regional education agencies and school partnerships offered training statewide, including rural areas. Asked why teachers would retire before earning larger pensions, the representative said the average retiree had 25.5 years of service and an audit found returning teachers generally waited four to four-and-a-half years. Another member requested vacancy counts by subject; no breakdown was provided. Members expressed support, and the committee approved the substitute unanimously.

2. Senate Rules Committee, February 6, 2026

   From 0:04:45 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel

   Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor described the bill as a teacher return-to-work measure and said teachers had expressed excitement about it. The sponsor reported more than 5,000 teacher vacancies in Georgia as of December 2025 and said the program included a sunset provision, but the stated expiration date was unclear. No substantive questions followed. Later, a committee member selected the bill, and the committee unanimously approved a motion covering it, SB 146 and SB 411.

3. Senate floor session, February 9, 2026 (legislative day 15)

   From 1:03:11 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel · Confirmed by the bill's status history (Senate Third Read)

   Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor said SB 150 would extend the retired-teacher return-to-work program through June 30, 2034, lower qualifying service to 25 years, and allow full-time classroom work while receiving retirement benefits after a one-year waiting period. The sponsor described eligible subjects, including career, technical and agricultural education, and reading-training requirements for certain teachers. Citing the Professional Standards Commission, the sponsor reported 5,358 classrooms without fully prepared, certified educators in December 2025. Asked about existing options, the sponsor contrasted the proposal with work limited to 49% of full time. The sponsor said the fiscal note projected no cost to the Teachers Retirement System. The Appropriations chair supported proceeding but warned that the change could encourage earlier retirement and worsen shortages. The chair also raised differences between teacher and other state-employee retirement benefits. Other senators asked about retirement-system finances and suggested reporting requirements. The Appropriations chair cited an auditor’s certification of no effect on the system but urged future monitoring. No reporting amendment was offered. The Senate adopted the committee substitute and passed the bill 48-1.

4. Senate Retirement Committee, March 10, 2026

   From 0:42:28 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel

   Summary by Georgia Commons: A PAGE witness supported SB 150 alongside HB 372 as a way to continue using retired educators in hard-to-fill teaching positions. The witness said more than 500 educators currently participate and urged a compromise between the proposals before school contract season. Earlier in the discussion, members and the other bill's sponsor compared a proposal allowing return with 25 years of service against the 30-year requirement in HB 372. The sponsor stressed that eligibility to return would not remove early-retirement penalties and said the sponsors were working together. A Georgia School Boards Association witness also urged compromise, emphasizing district flexibility and the need to act before the existing program expires. The chair expressed hope that the proposals could be reconciled. No separate presentation or vote on SB 150 was shown.

5. House Retirement Committee, March 17, 2026

   From 0:25:48 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel

   Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor presented an extension and expansion of the retired-teacher return-to-work program, citing 5,358 vacancies for fully prepared, certified educators in 2025-26. The sponsor said retirees with 25 years of service could return full time after a one-year waiting period while receiving retirement benefits. Early-retirement reductions would remain. The proposal would add science, social studies and career, technical and agricultural education, remove regional highest-need restrictions, and sunset after eight years. The sponsor said reading-related qualifications would help ensure returning teachers had current training. Members asked about working 49% time during the waiting year, possible limits on the teacher pool, and retirement costs. The sponsor said part-time work could continue during that year and that restoring a one-year wait, rather than a shorter period, produced an actuarial finding of no cost to the Teachers Retirement System. The chair questioned how earlier retirement and lost contributions could have no financial effect; the sponsor deferred to the study. Witnesses for the Professional Association of Georgia Educators and Georgia School Boards Association supported continuation to fill difficult vacancies. The committee held a hearing only and took no vote.

6. House Retirement Committee, March 24, 2026

   From 0:18:53 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel

   Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor presented a substitute extending the retired-teacher return-to-work program through June 30, 2030, rather than the original eight-year extension. The sponsor said eligibility would require 30 years of service and a year after retirement before returning full time. Covered subjects would include mathematics, science, special education, career and technical education, and reading, writing or English language arts, with a reading or dyslexia endorsement required for the latter subjects. The chair said the financial review rated the proposal as having no cost. A House presenter said school systems would identify their highest-need subjects locally and could keep participating teachers even if their subjects later left that list. The presenter estimated that about 452 teachers participated the previous year. One member described rural teacher shortages and support from nine superintendents. Another asked why regional education agencies would no longer identify needs; the presenter said local decisions would better reflect differences among districts. A witness speaking for an educators’ association urged approval. At a member’s request, the committee adopted an amendment moving the required program review deadline to July 1, 2029. Members noted that another financial certification would be needed. The committee approved the substitute as amended by voice vote, with no opposition heard.

7. House Rules Committee, March 27, 2026

   From 0:28:37 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel

   Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor described SB 150 as a return-to-work bill for teachers intended to address teacher shortages and said the proposal had been developed with House members. There were no questions. Later, the committee placed the bill on the legislative day 38 floor calendar without stated opposition.

8. House floor session, March 27, 2026 (legislative day 38, part 2)

   From 0:22:16 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel · Confirmed by the 2026 House Journal, p. 3319

   Summary by Georgia Commons: The presenter said SB 150 would extend a program allowing retired teachers with 30 years of creditable service to return to classrooms in high-need areas identified by their school systems. The presenter said the language matched a measure the House had unanimously supported earlier in the year. One member expressed appreciation on behalf of Clayton County. A second member said Georgia had more than 5,000 vacant teaching positions, and the presenter agreed, saying the bill would help address the shortage. The House adopted the committee substitute and passed the bill 159 to 0.

9. Senate floor session, March 31, 2026 (legislative day 39, part 2)

   From 3:49:57 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel · Confirmed by the bill's status history (Senate Agreed House Amend or Sub)

   Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor said the House changed the retired-teacher return-to-work program's expiration from 2034 to 2030 and restored a 30-year service requirement instead of the Senate's proposed 25 years. The sponsor emphasized that eligible teaching fields remained mathematics, special education, science, career and technical education, reading, writing and English language arts, along with a dyslexia endorsement. The clerk also described determining high-need areas by school system rather than regional education agency and protecting teachers from termination when those designations change. The Senate agreed to the House substitute, 49 to 0.

• Read aloud: Senate floor session, February 4, 2026 (legislative day 12), 0:26:21
• Read aloud: Senate floor session, February 5, 2026 (legislative day 13), 0:26:55
• Read aloud: House floor session, February 10, 2026 (legislative day 16), 0:41:35
• Read aloud: House floor session, February 11, 2026 (legislative day 17), 0:40:42

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