Does that mean the public school retirees will now be able to draw their pension AND collect full social security spousal benefits?

Yes, that is the intent - also to grant spousal benefits that were otherwise restricted. I believe eligibility for benefits requires 10 years of paying into SS. Many (most/all?) school district employees do not pay into SS so full benefits will likely require working 10 years outside of that employment for pension benefits.

I am actually trying to track down how many years my wife may have from work done before her career in public education. I am pretty certain it can be looked up online, but I haven't gotten that far yet.

I would love someone to confirm this as I am definitely not an expert.

Husky Boy Jr. said:

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Yes, that is the intent - also to grant spousal benefits that were otherwise restricted. I believe eligibility for benefits requires 10 years of paying into SS. Many (most/all?) school district employees do not pay into SS so full benefits will likely require working 10 years outside of that employment for pension benefits.

I am actually trying to track down how many years my wife may have from work done before her career in public education. I am pretty certain it can be looked up online, but I haven't gotten that far yet.

I would love someone to confirm this as I am definitely not an expert.

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The online tool is surprisingly good. You can see it year by year

I copy pasted my data into excel just a few days ago