AMENDMENT FOR PRINTED BILL
1124ca
___________________ moved that HB 1124 be amended as follows:
On the printed bill, delete everything after the enacting clause and insert:
"
Section 1. There is hereby established a three-level classification system for certified
teachers and school service specialists that provides for a minimum annual salary for each
certified teacher or school service specialist within each level and requires a teacher or school
service specialist to demonstrate increased competency and professional growth in order to
progress from one level to the next within the system. For the purposes of this Act, a school
service specialist is a school counselor, school library media education specialist, school
psychologist, speech/language pathologist, school social worker, special education director, or
curriculum director.
Section 2. For the purposes of this Act, on July 1, 2009, any certified teacher with less than
three years of teaching experience or any school service specialist with less than three years of
experience providing direct services to students is classified at Level I, and any certified teacher
with three or more years of teaching experience or any school service specialist with three or
more years of experience providing direct services to students is classified at Level II.
On July 1, 2010, any certified teacher or school service specialist classified at Level II shall
receive a salary increase of one thousand dollars above the salary the teacher or school service
specialist would have otherwise received for the current school fiscal year.
On July 1, 2011, any certified teacher with six or more years of teaching experience who
meets the qualifications in subdivisions (1) and (3) of section 6 of this Act is classified at Level
III, and shall receive a salary increase of four thousand dollars above the salary the teacher
would have otherwise received for the current school fiscal year. On July 1, 2011, any school
service specialist with six or more years of experience providing direct services to students who
meets the qualifications in subdivisions (1) and (3) of section 8 of this Act is classified at Level
III, and shall receive a salary increase of four thousand dollars above the salary the school
service specialist would have otherwise received for the current school fiscal year.
Section 3. The minimum annual salary for any teacher or school service specialist at Level
I is as follows:
(1) For school fiscal year 2011, the minimum annual salary is thirty thousand dollars;
and
(2) For school fiscal year 2012 and thereafter, the minimum annual salary is the previous
school fiscal year's minimum annual salary increased by the index factor as defined
in subdivision 13-13-10.1(3).
Any teacher or school service specialist who progresses from Level I to Level II shall receive
a salary increase of one thousand dollars above the salary the teacher or school service specialist
would have otherwise received for the current school fiscal year. Any teacher or school service
specialist who progresses from Level II to Level III shall receive a salary increase of four
thousand dollars above the salary the teacher or school service specialist would have otherwise
received for the current school fiscal year.
Section 4. In order to advance from Level I to Level II, a teacher shall:
(1) Complete a mentoring or induction program approved by the Department of
Education;
(2) Demonstrate competency, as determined by an administrator trained pursuant to
section 13 of this Act, in professional growth and classroom achievement through
the annual evaluation process required in section 10 of this Act. Classroom
achievement may be measured using standardized achievement tests, classroom
exams, observations of student/teacher interactions, and other assessments;
(3) Complete three years of teaching at Level I; and
(4) Demonstrate the increased competency required for Level II by passing an
assessment approved by the Department of Education that measures the skills of
beginning teachers in a classroom setting.
When a teacher has completed the requirements established in this section, the local school
board shall submit documentation of that completion to the Department of Education. The
Department of Education shall then review the documentation and issue a certificate to any
teacher that the secretary of education determines has successfully completed the requirements
necessary to advance from Level I to Level II.
Section 5. At Level II, a teacher shall:
(1) Submit a professional development plan and complete the hours of coursework
necessary to maintain teacher certification pursuant to
§
13-42-3; and
(2) Demonstrate competency, as determined by an administrator trained pursuant to
section 13 of this Act, in professional growth and classroom achievement through the
annual evaluation process required in section 10 of this Act. Classroom achievement
may be measured using standardized achievement tests, classroom exams,
observations of student/teacher interactions, and other assessments.
Section 6. Once a teacher progresses to Level II, the teacher may remain at that level or
progress to Level III. In order to progress to Level III, a teacher shall:
(1) Earn an advanced degree including a master's, specialist's, or doctorate or obtain a
national certification as approved by the Board of Education based on the criteria
established pursuant to section 15 of this Act;
(2) Complete at least three years of teaching at Level II; and
(3) Demonstrate competency, as determined by an administrator trained pursuant to
section 13 of this Act, in professional growth and classroom achievement through the
annual evaluation process required in section 10 of this Act. Classroom achievement
may be measured using standardized achievement tests, classroom exams,
observations of student/teacher interactions, and other assessments.
When a teacher has completed the requirements established in this section, the local school
board shall submit documentation of that completion to the Department of Education. The
Department of Education shall then review the documentation and issue a certificate to any
teacher that the secretary of education determines has successfully completed the requirements
necessary to advance from Level II to Level III.
Section 7. In order to advance from Level I to Level II, a school service specialist shall:
(1) Complete a mentoring or induction program approved by the Department of
Education; and
(2) Demonstrate competency, as determined by an administrator trained pursuant to
section 13 of this Act, through the annual evaluation process required in section 12
of this Act.
When a school service specialist has completed the requirements established in this section,
the local school board shall submit documentation of that completion to the Department of
Education. The Department of Education shall then review the documentation and issue a
certificate to any school service specialist that the secretary of education determines has
successfully completed the requirements necessary to advance from Level I to Level II.
Section 8. Once a school service specialist progresses to Level II, the school service
specialist may remain at that level or progress to Level III. In order to progress to Level III, a
school service specialist shall:
(1) Earn an advanced degree including a master's, specialist's, or doctorate or obtain a
national certification as approved by the Board of Education based on the criteria
established pursuant to section 15 of this Act;
(2) Complete at least three years of providing direct services to students at Level II; and
(3) Demonstrate competency, as determined by an administrator trained pursuant to
section 13 of this Act, through the annual evaluation process required in section 12
of this Act.
When a school service specialist has completed the requirements established in this section,
the local school board shall submit documentation of that completion to the Department of
Education. The Department of Education shall then review the documentation and issue a
certificate to any school service specialist that the secretary of education determines has
successfully completed the requirements necessary to advance from Level II to Level III.
Section 9. In addition to the minimum salaries established in this Act, any school district that
hires a teacher or school service specialist in an area of need shall pay that teacher or school
service specialist a signing bonus of two thousand five hundred dollars. The secretary of
education shall determine the areas of need for each school year based upon teacher or school
service specialist shortages, geography, and other factors and report those areas of need to each
school district.
Section 10. The school board of each local school district shall implement an evaluation
system for the school district's certified teachers that includes observation of each certified
teacher in the teacher's workplace.
Section 11. The certified teacher evaluation system shall:
(1) Include professional performance standards established pursuant to section 11 of this
Act;
(2) Require at least two observations during each school year for the evaluation of each
Level I teacher as defined in this Act;
(3) Require at least one observation during each school year for the evaluation of each
Level II or Level III teacher as defined in this Act who met the school district
performance standards during the previous school year; and
(4) Include an improvement plan for any certified teacher whose performance does not
meet the school district's performance standards, unless the teacher's performance is
just cause for termination pursuant to
§
13-43-6.1.
Section 12. The school board of each local school district shall also implement an evaluation
system for the school district's school service specialists that includes annual evaluations of all
school service specialists within the district based upon the criteria established by the Board of
Education pursuant to section 15 of this Act.
Section 13. Each school district shall, at least once a year, provide training to the certified
teachers and school service specialists who are subject to the evaluation systems. The training
shall address the procedures of the evaluation systems, the standards that the school district uses
to evaluate the performance of its certified teachers and school service specialists, and any other
appropriate topics as determined by the school district. Each school district shall also provide
annual training to administrators on how to conduct the evaluations required in section 10 and
12 of this Act.
Section 14. The Department of Education shall promulgate rules pursuant to chapter 1-26
establishing the criteria the department will use to approve school district mentoring and
induction programs, establishing the assessment required of teachers progressing to Level II, and
providing for the performance standards that school districts will use to evaluate certified
teachers.
Section 15. The Board of Education shall promulgate rules pursuant to chapter 1-26
establishing the criteria the school districts will use to evaluate school service specialists and
to establish the criteria and the annual review process that the board will use to determine the
national certifications that will be recognized to allow a teacher or school service specialist to
progress to Level III.
Section 16. Beginning on July 1, 2010, any funds that a school district receives through the
teacher compensation assistance program established in
§
13-3-73 shall be used to fund teachers
salaries according to the provisions of this Act.
Section 17. That
§
13-43-6.1
be amended to read as follows:
13-43-6.1.
A teacher may be terminated, by the school board, at any time for just cause,
including breach of contract, poor performance, incompetency, gross immorality, unprofessional
conduct, insubordination, neglect of duty, or the violation of any policy or regulation of the
school district. A school district may nonrenew a teacher who is
in or beyond the fourth
consecutive term of employment as a teacher with the school district
classified at Level II or
Level III in the classification system established in section 1 of this Act
pursuant to § 13-43-6.3
for just cause, including breach of contract, poor performance, incompetency, gross immorality,
unprofessional conduct, insubordination, neglect of duty, or the violation of any policy or
regulation of the school district.
Section 18. That
§
13-43-6.3
be amended to read as follows:
13-43-6.3.
Until a teacher is
in or beyond the fourth consecutive term of employment as a
teacher with the school district
classified at Level II or Level III in the classification system
established in section 1 of this Act
, a school board may or may not renew the teacher's contract.
The superintendent or chief executive officer shall give written notice of nonrenewal by April
fifteenth but is not required to give further process or a reason for nonrenewal.
After a teacher is
in or beyond the fourth consecutive term of employment as a teacher with
the school district
classified at Level II or Level III in the classification system established in
section 1 of this Act
, §§ 13-43-6.1 and 13-43-6.2 apply to any nonrenewal of the teacher's
contract. On or before April fifteenth, the superintendent or chief executive officer shall notify
the teacher and the school board in writing of the recommendation to not renew the teacher's
contract.
Acceptance by the teacher of an offer from the district to enter into a new contract with the
teacher shall be in the manner specified in the offer. Failure of the teacher to accept the offer in
the manner specified constitutes the termination of the existing contract between the teacher and
the district at the end of its term.
Section 19. This Act is effective on July 1, 2009."