A bill to give workers’ compensation to Alabama educators will now head to the governor’s desk.

SB1, authored by Sen. Sam Givhan, R-Huntsville, would provide compensation benefits for full-time education employees who are injured on the job. The House unanimously approved a final version of the bill last week and the Senate approved changes April 15.

“For us to have everyone else with worker’s comp available, and for these people not to have it, it’s just not right.” Rep. Arnold Mooney, R-Indian Springs, said on the House floor April 8.

“It’s just a human bill to take care of people who can’t take care of themselves as a result of having worked in our government system and trying to serve people.”

Most state employees are eligible to get covered medical compensation for workplace injuries through the department of labor.

But under current law, education employees, such as teachers, bus drivers and lunchroom workers, have to pay for injuries out of pocket and then request a reimbursement from the Board of Adjustment. The board determines how much an employee receives – a process that can be time consuming and still leave employees with unpaid bills.

The new program would let employees continue to draw their salary for up to 90 days after being injured on the job, with a possibility for extension. They wouldn’t have to use up sick leave, and could get medical bills paid through the Public Education Employees Health Insurance Program.

If signed into law, the changes will take effect immediately. A fiscal note says it could cost about $15.6 million to start up a trust fund in the program’s first year. Lawmakers are still working to approve a $9.9 billion education budget for the upcoming fiscal year.

The state education department currently handles Board of Adjustment cases. The new program would create a five-person board to handle cases, as well as a separate board to handle appeals and disputes.

State Superintendent Eric Mackey told reporters last week that he’s supportive of the changes and believes the bill is in an “excellent condition to pass.”

“We obviously had some concerns early on, because we want to make sure that all of our teachers and employees are treated fairly, and that there’s enough money in the budget to cover the cost,” he said. “But all those things were worked out.”

Mackey has the final say on claims filed by local teachers and school staff, but his own department employees must go through a different office to process reimbursements.

If a teacher is injured, Mackey said it can take days or weeks before they realize they need to file a reimbursement claim, and that paperwork can be up to 200 pages thick. Mackey added that the Board of Adjustment “isn’t a real agency”; it’s composed of a handful of officers who vote on claims that Mackey then has to approve individually.

“We’re managing all that, and we don’t even employ the person, so that’s why I think we would like to get out of that business,” he told reporters earlier this spring.

If signed into law, the bill would be known as the “Mary Anne Leonard Educators’ On-The-Job Injury Act,” in honor of a former Alabama teacher who had to stop working due to an on-the-job injury.

Leonard hit her head on a playground pole during a game of chase with her students, according to reporting from the Alabama Reflector. After about a year, continuous migraines and vision problems left her disabled. And the medical bills piled up.

“Basically, she didn’t get much more than a handful of gratitude from the state of Alabama,” Givhan said in a committee meeting this spring. “And this is something that we need to rectify.”

On the House floor, several lawmakers recounted their own run-ins with educators who experienced life-altering injuries at school.

Rep. Curtis Travis, D-Tuscaloosa, whose daughter is a teacher, said he met a bus mechanic whose life was “barely spared” after he was hit by an 18-wheeler. He had to pay out-of-pocket for many of his medical costs, Travis said.

“The process is really devastating to an employee who is a great worker and is doing a great job,” he said.

A similar bill filed last year never made it to the finish line. As this year’s version worked its way through both chambers, several Democrats said the legislation was “long overdue.”

“This has been a long time coming,” Rep. Barbara Drummond, D-Mobile, told co-sponsor Rep. Cynthia Almond, R-Tuscaloosa, on the floor Tuesday. “These are the people who are touching our children’s lives, and they’re like anybody else. I apologize that we have not done this sooner but I want to thank you for doing it now.”