SF 1498

as introduced - 89th Legislature (2015 - 2016) Posted on 03/17/2015 09:33am

A bill for an act
relating to education; allowing districts to compensate effective and highly
effective teachers teaching in hard-to-staff settings; amending Minnesota Statutes
2014, section 122A.414, subdivision 2.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 122A.414, subdivision 2, is amended to
read:

Subd. 2.

Alternative teacher professional pay system.

(a) To participate in this
program, a school district, intermediate school district, school site, or charter school must
have an educational improvement plan under section 122A.413 and an alternative teacher
professional pay system agreement under paragraph (b). A charter school participant also
must comply with subdivision 2a.

(b) The alternative teacher professional pay system agreement must:

(1) describe how teachers can achieve career advancement and additional
compensation;

(2) describe how the school district, intermediate school district, school site, or
charter school will provide teachers with career advancement options that allow teachers
to retain primary roles in student instruction and facilitate site-focused professional
development that helps other teachers improve their skills;

(3) reform the "steps and lanes" salary schedule, new text begin which may include a hiring bonus
or other added compensation for teachers identified as effective or highly effective
under the local teacher professional review cycle who work in a hard-to-fill position or
hard-to-staff school setting such as a school with a majority of students whose families
meet federal poverty guidelines, a geographically isolated school, or a school identified by
the state as eligible for targeted programs or services for its students. The salary schedule
must new text end prevent any teacher's compensation paid before implementing the pay system from
being reduced as a result of participating in this system, base at least 60 percent of any
compensation increase on teacher performance using:

(i) schoolwide student achievement gains under section 120B.35 or locally selected
standardized assessment outcomes, or both;

(ii) measures of student growth and literacy that may include value-added models
or student learning goals, consistent with section 122A.40, subdivision 8, clause (9), or
122A.41, subdivision 5, clause (9), and other measures that include the academic literacy,
oral academic language, and achievement of English learners under section 122A.40,
subdivision 8, clause (10), or 122A.41, subdivision 5, clause (10); and

(iii) an objective evaluation program under section 122A.40, subdivision 8,
paragraph (b), clause (2), or 122A.41, subdivision 5, paragraph (b), clause (2);

(4) provide for participation in job-embedded learning opportunities such as
professional learning communities to improve instructional skills and learning that are
aligned with student needs under section 122A.413, consistent with the staff development
plan under section 122A.60 and led during the school day by trained teacher leaders
such as master or mentor teachers;

(5) allow any teacher in a participating school district, intermediate school district,
school site, or charter school that implements an alternative pay system to participate in
that system without any quota or other limit; and

(6) encourage collaboration rather than competition among teachers.

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective for the 2015-2016 school year and
applies to an alternative teacher professional pay agreement entered into or modified
after that date.
new text end