Teacher testimony highlights sick-leave donation bill’s personal stakes; committee advances measure
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Summary
Witnesses, including a teacher who detailed cancer treatment and financial strain, urged passage of HB 5606 to allow retiring teachers to donate otherwise-forfeited sick leave to campus pools; committee later reported the bill favorably.
A Senate bill that would let retiring teachers donate unused sick leave to campus leave pools drew emotional testimony Friday from a teacher who said expanded leave could have altered her medical options.
House Bill 5606, described to the Senate Committee on Education by Sen. Creighton, allows retiring teachers to donate unused sick days that otherwise would be forfeited into a campus sick-leave pool — but only if the district does not already have a local policy allowing such donations. The sponsor said the change carries no fiscal impact because districts already track the leave.
Rachel Preston, a public school teacher who testified in favor of the bill, described multiple health-related absences and said she was diagnosed with cancer at 36. "If I had access to more sick leave, I could have easily made the choice to save my own life and parts of my future without worrying about my financial security," Preston said. She told senators she worried about losing her house and financial insolvency while undergoing treatment.
Preston urged lawmakers to consider further measures beyond this bill as a "first step" toward broader leave-transfer options for medical and compassionate reasons.
The committee received Preston’s written letter and two minutes of oral testimony. After public testimony closed, the committee voted to report HB 5606 favorably to the full Senate and recommended it for the local, noncontested calendar. The clerk recorded 11 ayes and 0 nays on the final action.
The measure was described as applying only to leave that "would otherwise be lost" and intended to avoid new mandates or costs for districts.
The committee left the bill pending at one point during the hearing before the final vote; sponsors and members discussed making sure local district policies would remain voluntary.
The committee’s next steps include scheduling the bill for the full Senate calendar under the committee’s recommendation.
