1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to education; allowing districts to compensate effective and highly 
1.3 	effective teachers teaching in hard-to-staff settings;amending Minnesota Statutes 
1.4 	2014, section 122A.414, subdivision 2.
1.5 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.6 	Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 122A.414, subdivision 2, is amended to 
1.7 	read:
1.8 		Subd. 2.Alternative teacher professional pay system. (a) To participate in this 
1.9 	program, a school district, intermediate school district, school site, or charter school must 
1.10 	have an educational improvement plan under section 122A.413 and an alternative teacher 
1.11 	professional pay system agreement under paragraph (b). A charter school participant also 
1.12 	must comply with subdivision 2a.
1.13 	(b) The alternative teacher professional pay system agreement must:
1.14 	(1) describe how teachers can achieve career advancement and additional 
1.15 	compensation;
1.16 	(2) describe how the school district, intermediate school district, school site, or 
1.17 	charter school will provide teachers with career advancement options that allow teachers 
1.18 	to retain primary roles in student instruction and facilitate site-focused professional 
1.19 	development that helps other teachers improve their skills;
1.20 	(3) reform the "steps and lanes" salary schedule, which may include a hiring bonus 
1.21 	or other added compensation for teachers identified as effective or highly effective 
1.22 	under the local teacher professional review cycle who work in a hard-to-fill position or 
1.23 	hard-to-staff school setting such as a school with a majority of students whose families 
1.24 	meet federal poverty guidelines, a geographically isolated school, or a school identified by 
2.1 	the state as eligible for targeted programs or services for its students. The salary schedule 
2.2 	must prevent any teacher's compensation paid before implementing the pay system from 
2.3 	being reduced as a result of participating in this system, base at least 60 percent of any 
2.4 	compensation increase on teacher performance using:
2.5 	(i) schoolwide student achievement gains under section 120B.35 or locally selected 
2.6 	standardized assessment outcomes, or both;
2.7 	(ii) measures of student growth and literacy that may include value-added models 
2.8 	or student learning goals, consistent with section 122A.40, subdivision 8, clause (9), or 
2.9 	122A.41, subdivision 5, clause (9), and other measures that include the academic literacy, 
2.10 	oral academic language, and achievement of English learners under section 122A.40, 
2.11 	subdivision 8, clause (10), or 122A.41, subdivision 5, clause (10); and
2.12 	(iii) an objective evaluation program under section 122A.40, subdivision 8, 
2.13 	paragraph (b), clause (2), or 122A.41, subdivision 5, paragraph (b), clause (2);
2.14 	(4) provide for participation in job-embedded learning opportunities such as 
2.15 	professional learning communities to improve instructional skills and learning that are 
2.16 	aligned with student needs under section 122A.413, consistent with the staff development 
2.17 	plan under section 122A.60 and led during the school day by trained teacher leaders 
2.18 	such as master or mentor teachers;
2.19 	(5) allow any teacher in a participating school district, intermediate school district, 
2.20 	school site, or charter school that implements an alternative pay system to participate in 
2.21 	that system without any quota or other limit; and
2.22 	(6) encourage collaboration rather than competition among teachers.

2.23 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective for the 2015-2016 school year and 
2.24 	applies to an alternative teacher professional pay agreement entered into or modified 
2.25 	after that date.