Senate Bill No. 480
(By Senators Edgell, Wells, Green, Hall, Plymale, Foster, Hunter,
McKenzie, Jenkins, Kessler and Deem)
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[Introduced January 29, 2008; referred to the Committee on
Education; and then to the Committee on Finance.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact §18A-4-2a of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to payment of National Board for
Professional Teaching Standards salary bonus to holders
subsequently employed in certain administrative and
instructional leadership positions.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §18A-4-2a of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 4. SALARIES, WAGES AND OTHER BENEFITS.
§18A-4-2a. State minimum salary bonus for classroom teachers with
national board certification.
(a) The Legislature hereby finds and declares that the
rigorous standards and processes for certification by the National
Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) helps to promote the quality of teaching and learning. Therefore, classroom
teachers in the public schools of West Virginia should be
encouraged to achieve national board certification through a
reimbursement of expenses and an additional salary bonus which
reflects their additional certification, to be paid in accordance
with the provisions of this section.
(b) Three thousand five hundred dollars shall be paid annually
to each classroom teacher who holds a valid certificate issued by
the National Board
of for Professional Teaching Standards for the
life of the certification, but in no event more than ten years for
any one certification
unless renewed.
(c) The payments:
(1) Shall be in addition to any amounts prescribed in the
applicable state minimum salary schedule;
(2) Shall be paid in equal monthly installments; and
(3) Shall be considered a part of the state minimum salaries
for teachers.
(d) One-half the certification fee shall be paid for
reimbursement once to each teacher who enrolls in the program for
the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards
certification and one-half the certification fee shall be paid for
reimbursement once to each teacher who completes the National Board
for Professional Teaching Standards certification. Completion
shall be defined as the completion of ten scorable entries, as verified by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.
Teachers who achieve National Board for Professional Teaching
Standards certification may be reimbursed a maximum of six hundred
dollars for expenses actually incurred while obtaining the National
Board for Professional Teaching Standards certification.
(e) The state board shall limit the number of teachers who
receive the initial reimbursements of the certification fees set
forth in subsection (d) to two hundred teachers annually. The
state board shall establish selection criteria for the teachers by
the legislative rule required pursuant to subsection
(g) (h) of
this section.
(f) Subject to the provisions of subsection (e) of this
section, funding for reimbursement of the certification fee and
expenses actually incurred while obtaining the National Board for
Professional Teaching Standards certifications shall be
administered by the state Department of Education from an
appropriation established for that purpose by the Legislature. If
funds appropriated by the Legislature to accomplish the purposes of
this subsection are insufficient, the state department shall
prorate the reimbursements for expenses and shall request of the
Legislature, at its next regular session, funds sufficient to
accomplish the purposes of this subsection, including needed
retroactive payments.
(g) The holder of a valid National Board for Professional Teaching Standards certificate awarded to him or her during his or
her employment as a classroom teacher who is subsequently employed
as a school principal, or assistant school principal, or in another
position in an instructional leadership capacity, shall be paid the
additional salary bonus as provided in this section.
(g) (h) The state board shall promulgate legislative rules
pursuant to article three-b, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code to
implement the provisions of this section.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to pay the National Board
for Professional Teaching Standards salary bonus to the holders of
certificates awarded to them during employment as a classroom
teacher if they are subsequently employed as a school principal, or
assistant school principal, or in another position in an
instructional leadership capacity.
Strike-throughs indicate existing language that would be
removed, and underscoring indicates new language that would be
added.
This bill was recommended for passage by the Education
Subcommittee A.