Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Education Retirement topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
School nurses seek ability to buy up to three years of creditable service to address staffing and pay equity
Summary
School nurses and the Massachusetts School Nurse Organization urged the committee to advance bills (House Bill 2887 / Senate Bill 1787) allowing nurses to purchase up to three years of prior nursing service for retirement credit, arguing current rules disadvantage nurses who must complete clinical years before school licensure.
School nurses, represented by the Massachusetts School Nurse Organization (MSNO), urged the Joint Committee on Public Service to report favorably on legislation that would allow school nurses to purchase up to three years of prior nursing service as creditable service for retirement purposes (House Bill 2887 / Senate Bill 1787).
Kathleen Maher, a master's-prepared school nurse at Barnum Brook Elementary School in Pepperell and an MSNO board member, said nurses are required by DESE to complete at least two years of maternal/child or community health before they are eligible for initial school licensure. She told the committee those required clinical years currently do not count for creditable service under the Massachusetts Teachers’ Retirement System rules for nurses.
“Without school nurses, neither IDEA, section 504, nor FAPE can be legally adhered to in schools,” Maher testified, summarizing the operational importance of school nursing. She said MSNO surveyed members about potential buyback participation: of 133 responses, 77% indicated they would buy back three years if able; most respondents said it could take five to 10 years to break even financially on the purchase.
Proponents emphasized the bills would help recruitment and retention amid a nursing shortage and would correct an inequity that forces many nurses to work multiple jobs and still fall behind their teacher colleagues in retirement credit. They said the purchase would be member-funded and that similar legislation has moved through prior sessions.
No committee vote occurred during the hearing; witnesses asked the committee to move the bills forward to address staffing shortages and retirement parity.
Ending: Advocates urged the committee for a favorable report so districts could more easily hire and retain school nurses by removing a retirement credit gap; no fiscal estimate was presented on the record.
