Senate Bill No. 143
(By Senators Boley, Plymale and Foster)
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[Introduced January 13, 2010; referred to the Committee
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 the salary bonus for National
Board for Professional Teaching Standards certification;
providing an exception if the certification is renewed to the
ten-year limit for receiving the bonus; and providing that a
classroom teacher holding the certification who subsequently
becomes employed as a school principal, assistant school
principal or in another position in an instructional
leadership capacity receives the salary bonus.
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 $600 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) of this section to two hundred teachers
annually. The state board shall establish selection criteria for
the teachers by the legislative rule required pursuant to
subsection (g) 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) Effective July 1, 2010, 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, 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,
assistant school principal or in another position in an
instructional leadership capacity.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.