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Gov. Kay Ivey on Tuesday signed Senate Bill 188, sponsored by Sen. Arthur Orr and Rep. Bill Poole, into law, making teacher pay raises official.

She also put her signature on House Bill 320 for state employee pay increases.

During her state of the state address, Ivey proposed a 2 percent pay increase for the state’s K-12 and higher education officials, as well as state employees, citing the fact that Alabama’s teachers rose to the challenges of this past year, and state employees maintained functions of government amidst the pandemic. Upon the successful passage by the Alabama Legislature and her signature making it official, Ivey made the following statement:

“If this pandemic has taught us anything, it reinforced what we already knew – teachers are vital to our student’s learning, and our state employees keep government services operational for the people of Alabama. I am proud to sign this well-deserved pay increase to our educators and state workers. I commend Education Trust Fund chairmen Sen. Arthur Orr and Rep. Bill Poole, General Fund chairmen Sen. Greg Albritton and Rep. Steve Clouse, along with the entire Alabama Legislature for their hard work and for approving this raise. It is both fiscally wise and simply the right thing to do after a hard year.

“As we head into the summer months, and the pandemic continues to ease, we need to do everything we can to support our teachers and educational support staff to ensure that we can fully return to classrooms in the fall. Alabama schools have shown the rest of the nation that it is possible to be safely back in the classroom, while carrying on the important work of providing Alabama’s children a chance for a promising future. I look forward to continually offering my support to ensure that Alabama students remain on track and moving ahead.”