# 119-s-2481: Pay Teachers Act

119-s-2481, Pay Teachers Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Sanders, Bernard [I-VT] (I-VT); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2025-12-21).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2481
- As of: 2025-12-21
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-s-2481
- Congress: 119
- Title: Pay Teachers Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2025-07-28
- Sponsor: Sen. Sanders, Bernard [I-VT] (I-VT)
- Cosponsors: 10
- Policy area: Education
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2025-12-21

## Summary

**This bill would set national, inflation-indexed minimum pay floors for public school teachers, paraprofessionals, and education support staff.** It pairs those pay floors with federal funding, competitive grants, career-ladder programs, and state reporting to raise educator pay and target resource equity. - Teachers: Requires States to ensure full-time teachers have a State-determined minimum base salary, with a national first-year floor of $60,000 for 2026–2030 and five-year indexed increases thereafter. - Paraprofessionals and support staff: Establishes a $45,000 annual floor for full-time roles and a $30 hourly floor for part-time staff for 2026–2030, backed by a $25.0 billion FY2026 appropriation to States. - States and schools: Requires State teacher pay plans, per-pupil spending and five‑year disparity reviews, and grants for career ladders and classroom awards (minimum $1,200 per teacher in high‑need schools), with monitoring and reporting duties for compliance. *This bill would create new mandatory federal spending — including about $36.8 billion for Title I and $25.0 billion for paraprofessionals in FY2026 plus other program appropriations — and would increase federal outlays.*

## Cosponsors (10)

- Sen. Markey, Edward J. [D-MA] (D-MA), 2025-07-28T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Hirono, Mazie K. [D-HI] (D-HI), 2025-07-28T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Luján, Ben Ray [D-NM] (D-NM), 2025-07-28T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Welch, Peter [D-VT] (D-VT), 2025-07-28T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Fetterman, John [D-PA] (D-PA), 2025-07-28T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Merkley, Jeff [D-OR] (D-OR), 2025-07-28T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Warren, Elizabeth [D-MA] (D-MA), 2025-07-28T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Padilla, Alex [D-CA] (D-CA), 2025-07-28T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Blumenthal, Richard [D-CT] (D-CT), 2025-10-22T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Alsobrooks, Angela D. [D-MD] (D-MD), 2025-10-22T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Higher pay for paraprofessionals: benefit, high. If enacted, the bill would provide $25 billion in FY2026 (and index amounts thereafter) to help States raise pay for paraprofessionals and education support staff. For FY2026–2030 full-time staff would have a national floor of at least $45,000 and part-time staff at least $30.00 per hour. States mu…
- Higher teacher pay and career ladders: benefit, high. If enacted, the bill would require States to set a minimum first-year teacher salary of $60,000 for FY2026–2030 and raise that floor every five years by inflation or 2 percent. States would create career ladders that give teachers higher pay as they take on more responsibilities and gain experience…
- Big new federal school funding: benefit, high. If enacted, the bill would add large, mandatory FY2026 appropriations and index them to inflation. Examples include about $36.8 billion for Title I Part A, $1.47 billion for Impact Aid, $1.13 billion for the Bureau of Indian Education, $440 million for Rural Education, $300 million for IDEA Part D…
- Grants to grow the teacher pipeline: benefit, medium. If enacted, the bill would fund Grow Your Own partnership grants to create paid, year-long school-based teacher and leader training with advising, tutoring, and scholarships. The bill would also fund teacher-preparation grants, including prioritizing residencies and Grow Your Own programs (about $5…
- School funding equity and transparency: benefit, medium. If enacted, the bill would require States to review school funding at least every five years and act to raise spending at schools serving the most low-income students to match higher-spending districts. States must report per-pupil spending by school and LEA and tell parents if their school's spend…
- State commissions to modernize teaching: benefit, medium. If enacted, the bill would fund competitive State Commissions with $50 million per year from FY2026–2030 to study and recommend ways to modernize the teaching profession. The Secretary would reserve small shares for outreach and technical help. Commissions must include teachers and other stakeholde…

## Related bills

- 119-s-5066: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026
- 119-s-3990: PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2026
- 119-s-2823: FAMILY Act
- 119-s-51: Washington, D.C. Admission Act
- 119-s-5108: Right to IVF Act of 2026
- 119-s-1503: Equality Act

## Sources
- [119-s-2481 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/2481)

## Related
- [119-s-5066: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5066)
- [119-s-3990: PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-3990)
- [119-s-2823: FAMILY Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2823)
- [119-s-51: Washington, D.C. Admission Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-51)
- [119-s-5108: Right to IVF Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5108)
- [119-s-1503: Equality Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1503)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2481 (as of 2025-12-21).