Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker was scheduled to sign legislation Thursday that will raise the minimum salary for teachers across the state.

Pritzker planned to sign House Bill 2078 in his office at the state Capitol, a spokesman for the first-term Democratic governor said on Twitter.

The legislation will gradually increase the minimum salary for teachers over the next four years, reaching $40,000 by the 2023-2024 school year.

Beginning next school year, the minimum salary will be $32,076, then $34,576 the year after that, according to the bill. The 2022-2023 school year will have a minimum teacher salary of $37,076, reaching its peak the following year.

For each year after that, the legislation states that the minimum salary will rise in accordance with the increase in the Consumer Price Index. Prior to HB 2078, the minimum salary for teachers across the state (and through the current school year) has been $10,000 for an educator with a bachelor’s degree and $11,000 for one with a master’s degree.

The bill is one way in which Pritzker said he plans to address a statewide teacher shortage. The Illinois State Board of Education said there were more than 1,400 unfilled classroom positions at the start of last school year.

Earlier this month, Pritzker signed a bill eliminating a requirement that teacher candidates pass a basic skills test to get an education license – a test that cost $60 and that supporters of the legislation said was unnecessary and duplicative.

Pritzker will sign HB 2078 in a ceremony beginning around 9:30 a.m.