Senate Bill 2156
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Florida Senate - 1998 SB 2156
By Senator Horne
6-1528-98
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to education; creating s.
3 236.08106, F.S., relating to the Excellent
4 Teaching Program; providing legislative
5 findings and intent; authorizing monetary
6 incentives and rewards for teaching excellence;
7 providing for annual allocations to districts;
8 providing fee subsidies for participating in
9 the certification program of the National Board
10 of Professional Teaching Standards; requiring
11 the distribution of certain monetary rewards to
12 teachers; providing eligibility criteria;
13 requiring release time for certain activities;
14 providing for certain stipends; requiring
15 certain district expenditures for professional
16 development of teachers; amending s. 236.081,
17 F.S.; authorizing categorical funding for the
18 Excellent Teaching Program; amending s.
19 231.173, F.S., relating to certification of
20 experienced out-of-state teachers and
21 administrators; deleting a requirement for
22 superintendents to request certification;
23 providing for issuance of a professional
24 certificate to individuals certified by the
25 National Board of Professional Teaching
26 Standards; conforming provisions; providing an
27 effective date.
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29 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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Florida Senate - 1998 SB 2156
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1 Section 1. Section 236.08106, Florida Statutes, is
2 created to read:
3 236.08106 Excellent Teaching Program.--
4 (1) The Legislature recognizes that teachers play a
5 critical role in preparing students to achieve the high levels
6 of academic performance expected by the Sunshine State
7 Standards. The Legislature further recognizes the importance
8 of identifying and rewarding teaching excellence and of
9 encouraging good teachers to become excellent teachers. The
10 Legislature finds that the National Board of Professional
11 Teaching Standards (NBPTS) has established high and rigorous
12 standards for accomplished teaching and has developed a
13 national voluntary system for assessing and certifying
14 teachers who demonstrate teaching excellence by meeting those
15 standards. It is therefore the Legislature's intent to provide
16 incentives for teachers to seek NBPTS certification and to
17 reward teachers who demonstrate teaching excellence by
18 attaining NBPTS certification and sharing their expertise with
19 other teachers.
20 (2) The Excellent Teaching Program is created to
21 provide categorical funding for monetary incentives and
22 rewards for teaching excellence. The Department of Education
23 shall allocate and distribute to each school district an
24 amount as prescribed annually by the Legislature for the
25 Excellent Teaching Program. Unless otherwise provided in the
26 General Appropriations Act, each school district's annual
27 allocation shall be the sum of the amounts earned for the
28 following incentives and rewards:
29 (a) A fee subsidy to be paid by the school district to
30 the NBPTS on behalf of each individual who is an employee of
31 the district school board or a public school within that
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Florida Senate - 1998 SB 2156
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1 school district, who satisfies the prerequisites for
2 participating in the NBPTS certification program, and who
3 agrees, in writing, to pay 10 percent of the NBPTS
4 participation fee and to participate in the NBPTS
5 certification program during the school year for which the fee
6 subsidy is provided. The fee subsidy for each eligible
7 participant shall be an amount equal to 90 percent of the fee
8 charged for participating in the NBPTS certification program,
9 but not more than $1,800 per eligible participant. The fee
10 subsidy is a one-time award and may not be duplicated for any
11 individual.
12 (b) Funding for substitute teachers' salaries to
13 provide 3 days of release time to each teacher participating
14 in the NBPTS certification program and 2 days of release time
15 to each teacher who holds NBPTS certification. The employing
16 school district or public school shall provide at least 3 days
17 of release time during the school year to allow each
18 participating teacher to prepare a portfolio and engage in
19 other activities for the NBPTS certification program and at
20 least 2 days of release time to allow each teacher with NBPTS
21 certification to mentor other teachers.
22 (c) An annual reward equal to 10 percent of the prior
23 fiscal year's statewide average salary for classroom teachers
24 to be paid to each individual who holds NBPTS certification
25 and is employed by the district school board or by a public
26 school within that school district to teach within the area of
27 his or her NBPTS certification. The district school board
28 shall distribute the annual reward to each individual who
29 meets the requirements of this paragraph as a single payment
30 or divided into not more than three payments.
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1 (d) An annual reward equal to 10 percent of the prior
2 fiscal year's statewide average salary for classroom teachers
3 to be paid to each individual who meets the requirements of
4 paragraph (c) and agrees, in writing, to provide the
5 equivalent of 12 workdays of mentoring and related services to
6 public school teachers within the district who do not hold
7 NBPTS certification. The district school board shall
8 distribute the annual reward in a single payment or in not
9 more than three payments to each individual who meets the
10 requirements of this paragraph. It is not the intent of the
11 Legislature to remove excellent teachers from their assigned
12 classrooms, therefore, credit may not be granted by a school
13 district or public school for mentoring or related services
14 provided during the regular school day or during the 196 days
15 of required service for the school year.
16 (e) An amount equal to 12 days' pay at the prior
17 year's statewide average salary for classroom teachers shall
18 be provided to the district school board or public school for
19 each NBPTS-certified teacher who provides mentoring or related
20 services to the other teachers at times other than the regular
21 school day or the 196 days of required service for the school
22 year as provided in paragraph (d). The district school board
23 or public school must use funds received under this paragraph
24 to pay stipends to the teachers who receive such mentoring or
25 related services.
26 (f) An amount equal to 50 percent of the teacher
27 rewards provided under paragraph (c) and (d), which shall be
28 used by the district for professional development of teachers.
29 The district must use all funds received pursuant to this
30 paragraph for professional development of teachers employed at
31 schools identified as performing at critically low levels.
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1 Section 2. Paragraph (a) of subsection (5) of section
2 236.081, Florida Statutes, as amended by chapter 97-380, Laws
3 of Florida, is amended to read:
4 236.081 Funds for operation of schools.--If the annual
5 allocation from the Florida Education Finance Program to each
6 district for operation of schools is not determined in the
7 annual appropriations act or the substantive bill implementing
8 the annual appropriations act, it shall be determined as
9 follows:
10 (5) CATEGORICAL PROGRAMS.--The Legislature hereby
11 provides for the establishment of selected categorical
12 programs to assist in the development and maintenance of
13 activities giving indirect support to the programs previously
14 funded. These categorical appropriations may be funded as
15 general and transitional categorical programs. It is the
16 intent of the Legislature that no transitional categorical
17 program be funded for more than 4 fiscal years from the date
18 of original authorization. Such programs are as follows:
19 (a) General.--
20 1. Comprehensive school construction and debt service
21 as provided by law.
22 2. Community schools as provided by law.
23 3. School lunch programs as provided by law.
24 4. Instructional material funds as provided by law.
25 5. Student transportation as provided by law.
26 6. Student development services as provided by law.
27 7. Diagnostic and learning resource centers as
28 provided by law.
29 8. Comprehensive health education as provided by law.
30 9. Excellent Teaching Program as provided by law.
31 (b) Transitional.--
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1 1. Bilingual program as provided by law.
2 Section 3. Section 231.173, Florida Statutes, is
3 amended to read:
4 231.173 Successful experienced out-of-state teachers
5 and administrators.--
6 (1) Notwithstanding the provisions of ss. 231.02,
7 231.15, and 231.17, and 231.172 or any other provision of law
8 or rule to the contrary, a successful, experienced, and
9 certified out-of-state teacher or administrator qualifies
10 employed in a public school or nonpublic school in this state
11 may qualify for a professional certificate if the applicant:
12 (a)(1) Completes the application process, including
13 the filing of a complete set of fingerprints as required by s.
14 231.02.
15 (b)(2) Holds a valid standard certificate issued by
16 the state where the applicant most recently taught, which
17 standard certificate is equivalent to the professional
18 certificate issued by this state and for which specialization
19 coverage is based on a level of training comparable to that
20 required in this state for the specialization coverage sought
21 by the applicant applicant's area of assignment.
22 (c)(3) Documents 5 years of appropriate successful
23 full-time teaching or administrative experience in another
24 state, including 2 continuous years during the 5-year period
25 immediately preceding the date of application for
26 certification.
27 (2) An out-of-state applicant qualifies for a
28 professional certificate if the applicant meets the
29 requirements of paragraphs (1)(a) and (b) and holds a valid
30 certificate issued by the National Board of Professional
31 Teaching Standards.
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1 (4) Submits a request for issuance of the professional
2 certificate from the superintendent of the employing school
3 district or governing authority of the employing developmental
4 research school, state-supported school, or nonpublic school
5 within the first 120 days of assignment with validation of
6 awareness of the standards of professional practice.
7 (3)(5) The professional certificate issued in
8 accordance with subsection (1) these provisions shall reflect
9 specialization coverages as follows:
10 (a) Teachers.--An applicant A teacher appointed to an
11 academic assignment shall be eligible for the academic
12 coverage in an area in which the teacher is assigned to teach
13 in a public school or nonpublic school in this state or in the
14 area of the applicant's certification by the National Board of
15 Professional Teaching Standards.
16 (b) Principals.--An individual appointed as an intern
17 or interim principal of a public or nonpublic K-12 school in
18 this state shall be eligible for the educational leadership
19 coverage.
20 (c) Administrators of adult education.--An individual
21 appointed as an administrator of an adult education program at
22 a public or nonpublic school in this state shall be eligible
23 for the administration of adult education coverage.
24 (d) Directors of career education.--An individual
25 appointed as a director of career education at a public or
26 nonpublic school in this state shall be eligible for the
27 director of career education coverage.
28 Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 1998.
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Florida Senate - 1998 SB 2156
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2 SENATE SUMMARY
3 Creates the Excellent Teaching Program. Provides monetary
incentives and release time for educators who participate
4 in the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards
certification program and provides eligibility criteria.
5 Provides for payment of fees and authorizes categorical
funding for the program. Provides for certification of
6 certain out-of-state teachers and administrators. (See
bill for details.)
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