School districts in New Jersey may soon be able to hire recently retired teachers to fill gaps in staffing thanks to legislation sponsored by Senator Kristin Corrado and approved yesterday by the New Jersey Senate.

School districts in New Jersey may soon be able to hire recently retired teachers to fill gaps in staffing thanks to legislation sponsored by Sen. Kristin Corrado and approved by the New Jersey Senate. (Pixabay)

“This sensible legislation will allow increased flexibility for school districts to hire recently retired, qualified individuals to return to the classroom to help address the statewide teacher shortage,” said Corrado (R-40). “Closing down schools during the pandemic and switching to online learning was a devastating policy that caused tremendous learning loss. This bill will help alleviate the consequences that were a result of that policy and get our students and our schools back on track.”

Corrado’s legislation, S-3798, permits a teacher or staff member that provides special services, such as a speech language specialist, who retired from the Teachers’ Pension and Annuity Fund (TPAF) to return to work full time in a position of critical need without being reenrolled in the TPAF if reemployment begins during the 2023-2024 school year.

The bill permits the return to work under a contract for one year, which may be renewed only for one additional year. The total period of reemployment with any individual board of education must not exceed a two-year period, unless approved by the Commissioner of Education.