Senator Hassan Questions Education Secretary on School Staffing Shortages at Senate Hearing

WASHINGTON – At a Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee hearing, U.S. Senator Maggie Hassan questioned Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona on the challenge that schools are facing with staffing shortages.

To see the Senator’s questioning, click here.

“Schools in New Hampshire and across the country are struggling to fill… openings, ranging from paraprofessionals and social workers to bus drivers and custodians - roles that are essential to keeping our schools open for in-person learning,” said Senator Hassan. “Some school districts are addressing these workforce gaps in various ways including with hiring bonuses and paying parent drivers to help get kids to school.”

Secretary Cardona shared that schools can use COVID-19 relief funding that Congress provided to help ensure competitive pay in order to address some of these staffing challenges.

Senator Hassan also asked Secretary Cardona about how schools can most effectively identify the loss in student learning from the past year and address this using COVID-19 relief funding.

The hearing is part of Senator Hassan’s ongoing efforts to ensure that schools can use COVID-19 relief funding to support in-person learning. Earlier this year, Secretary Hassan successfully called on the U.S. Department of Education to clarify guidance so that New Hampshire schools could move forward with air quality improvement projects. Senator Hassan previously visited Somersworth Middle School to see the progress on the construction of the school’s new HVAC system.

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