Despite the urging of Illinois educators and strong bipartisan support from lawmakers, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said he plans to veto a bill that would grant school employees administrative leave for COVID-19-related sick days for themselves and their children.
In a Tuesday letter to the leaders of the state’s two largest teachers unions, the Illinois Education Association and the Illinois Federation of Teachers, Pritzker said, “I have been very clear in stating that I will veto HB2778.”
The School Employee Benefit and Wage Protection bill, which passed with strong bipartisan support from lawmakers in October, was championed by the state’s teachers unions, who said school employees with young families were being forced to use all of their sick days if they or their children contracted the virus or were required to quarantine.
If the bill is signed into law, it would require that COVID-19 administrative days be provided to any public school or college employee to be used for all virus-related absences, including illness and quarantining. But IEA spokeswoman Bridget Shanahan said Friday “the benefit and wage protection provided by the bill only applies to education employees who are following the governor’s executive order, which means it would pertain to those who are vaccinated and those who are testing.”
The money “is intended to help school districts keep students and staff safe,” Shanahan said. “The bottom line is quarantining helps stop the spread of COVID.”
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