§ 16-16-24.3. Substitute teaching and post-retirement teachers. [Expires June 26, 2026]
(a) Notwithstanding any public or general law, or rule or regulation to the contrary,
and except as provided in subsection (c) of this section, any teacher member who has
retired under the provisions of this title ("education�) may exceed the ninety-day
(90) cap on post-retirement employment and work up to one hundred eighty (180) days
during a school year upon:
(1) A determination by the local education authority ("LEA�) that there exists a specialized
need, within the authority, to fill positions on a temporary basis, that may require
the LEA to employ retired teachers and exceed the ninety-day (90) cap on post-retirement
employment;
(2) Retired teacher members being asked to exceed the ninety-day (90) cap on post-retirement
employment possess the skills, training, and knowledge necessary to help address teacher
staffing shortages; and
(3) The local education authority has notified the state retirement board that it has
determined that exceeding the ninety-day (90) cap on post-retirement employment is
necessary to help address teacher staffing shortages. Provided, however:
(i) No employment may be offered to a retiree subject to this section unless the employer
has made a good-faith effort each school year to fill the position with a nonretired
employee without success, and certifies, in writing, that it has done so to the employees'
retirement system and to the bargaining agents of all education unions with whom the
employer has collective bargaining agreements;
(ii) The LEA provides in its notice to the state retirement board and the bargaining agents
the total number of certified teacher positions within the LEA, including the number
of teacher positions filled and the number of teacher positions the LEA is seeking
to fill; and
(iii) The total number of retired teachers an LEA may hire under the provisions of this
section may not exceed five percent (5%) of the total number of certified teacher
positions reported to the state retirement board by the LEA pursuant to subsection
(a)(3)(ii) of this section.
(b) Any teacher member who has retired under the provisions of this title, and has been
employed or re-employed under the provisions of this section, shall not be entitled
to additional service credits for such employment, and the teacher member shall not
be responsible for any contribution to the pension system as a result of the employment;
provided, however, the local educational authority shall make the employer contribution
for the teacher member as if the district had hired a new teacher member.
(c) A teacher retired under the provisions of this title shall be subject to a ninety-day
(90) cap on post-retirement employment during the period of one year after the date
of that teacher's retirement. Thereafter, that teacher shall be eligible to exceed
the ninety-day (90) cap on post-retirement employment as provided in subsection (a)
of this section.
(d) The provisions of this section shall apply retroactively to June 20, 2025, and shall
sunset one year from enactment or on August 1, 2026, whichever shall occur first.