Democrats in Washington and education advocates launched a new push to boost the pay of teachers, echoing a call made by President Joe Biden in his State of the Union address Tuesday night.

"Let's give public school teachers a raise," the president said in his State of the Union address Tuesday night.

What You Need To Know

  • Florida Rep. Frederica Wilson is sponsoring legislation that would increase the minimum teacher salary to $60,000 a year by providing grants to states

  • The push echoes a call made by President Joe Biden in his State of the Union address Tuesday night to "give public school teachers a raise"

  • The measure would also allow for annual​ cost-of-living adjustments beyond the $60,000 minimum salary requirement

Florida Rep. Frederica Wilson is sponsoring legislation that would increase the minimum teacher salary to $60,000 a year. 

"Teachers are heroes, and they deserve compensation that reflect their contributions to society," Wilson said. 

Wilson, a former teacher and school principal who represents South Florida, is leading the charge in the House to sponsor a bill to raise the minimum annual teacher salary to $60,000 per year by providing grants to states. The bill would also allow for annual​ cost-of-living adjustments beyond the $60,000 minimum salary requirement. 

Advocates say many teachers are forced to take on a second job just to make ends meet. ​

"The average beginning salary in the United States of America is $41,000," Randi Weingarten, the President of the American Federation of Teachers, told Spectrum News. "The average beginning salary in Florida despite all the work that Congresspeople like Rep. Wilson have done, is $44,000."

Wilson introduced the American Teacher Act​, a measure to increase teacher salaries, toward the end of the last Congress, when Democrats controlled both the House and Senate. The bill, which had a handful of Democratic co-sponsors, was referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor, but did not make it to the floor for a vote.

The measure was reintroduced in the current Congress, but its odds of passage are even steeper now that Republicans control the House majority. No Republicans sponsored the bill when it was previously introduced.

When asked by Spectrum News if there will be any Republican co-sponsors this time around, Rep. Wilson replied: "Last night, from the excitement of the crowd, this will be my first day approaching the Republicans." ​