Teachers’ Aid
Educators need health care plans

Currently, Texas public school employees don’t receive any type of health care benefits from the state. This makes them the only group of state employees who don’t receive this benefit.

Multiple bills have been filed with the state to provide a health care plan for school employees. Since the state legislature just went back in session Monday, a decision can be expected before May 29.

Let us hope that it doesn’t take that long.

Twenty states offer a state health care plan to their public school employees. That number is far too low.

Why have the other thirty states not climbed on board to show the educators the support they deserve?

Teachers are the most important people when it comes to educating the future generations. Government officials in Austin are showing the rest of the nation that Texas does not value its teachers enough to provide them with the basics in health care.

Texas should be ashamed of itself.

The majority of independent school districts in Texas offer a health care plan to their employees. Good for them, but what happens when the school district doesn’t have a lot of money and cannot afford health care plans for everyone? In that case, the only people who suffer are the children, when their teachers are too sick to go to work.

So what happens if the state decides to pass a health care plan? What type of plan will it be and how much is it going to end up costing?

Teachers and other educational groups have already said they want the state to provide a health care plan but one that is not inferior to those provided by their districts.

And why shouldn’t they get what they want? These are the people who often substitute as parents and role models for children.

Denying affordable health care plans to our educational employees is wrong.

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