House Bill 1691
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Florida House of Representatives - 1999 HB 1691
By Representative Reddick
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to the Excellent Teaching
3 Program; amending s. 236.08106, F.S.; revising
4 the Excellent Teaching Program to include
5 guidance counselors who participate in the
6 National Board of Certified Counselors
7 certification program; providing an effective
8 date.
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10 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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12 Section 1. Section 236.08106, Florida Statutes, 1998
13 Supplement, is amended to read:
14 236.08106 Excellent Teaching Program.--
15 (1) The Legislature recognizes that teachers and
16 guidance counselors play a critical role in preparing students
17 to achieve the high levels of academic performance expected by
18 the Sunshine State Standards. The Legislature further
19 recognizes the importance of identifying and rewarding
20 teaching excellence and of encouraging good teachers and
21 guidance counselors to become excellent teachers and guidance
22 counselors. The Legislature finds that the National Board of
23 Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) has established high
24 and rigorous standards for accomplished teaching and has
25 developed a national voluntary system for assessing and
26 certifying teachers who demonstrate teaching excellence by
27 meeting those standards. The Legislature further finds that
28 the standards for guidance counselors established by the
29 National Board of Certified Counselors (NBCC) are comparable
30 to those established by the NBPTS for teachers. It is
31 therefore the Legislature's intent to provide incentives for
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1 teachers and guidance counselors to seek NBPTS or NBCC
2 certification and to reward teachers and guidance counselors
3 who demonstrate teaching excellence in their respective field
4 by attaining NBPTS or NBCC certification and sharing their
5 expertise with their peers other teachers.
6 (2) The Excellent Teaching Program is created to
7 provide categorical funding for monetary incentives and
8 bonuses for teaching excellence. The Department of Education
9 shall allocate and distribute to each school district an
10 amount as prescribed annually by the Legislature for the
11 Excellent Teaching Program. Unless otherwise provided in the
12 General Appropriations Act, each school district's annual
13 allocation shall be the sum of the amounts earned for the
14 following incentives and bonuses:
15 (a) A fee subsidy to be paid by the school district to
16 the NBPTS or NBCC on behalf of each individual who is an
17 employee of the district school board or a public school
18 within that school district, who is certified by the district
19 to have demonstrated satisfactory teaching performance
20 pursuant to s. 231.29 and who satisfies the prerequisites for
21 participating in the NBPTS or NBCC certification program, and
22 who agrees, in writing, to pay 10 percent of the NBPTS or NBCC
23 participation fee and to participate in the NBPTS or NBCC
24 certification program during the school year for which the fee
25 subsidy is provided. The fee subsidy for each eligible
26 participant shall be an amount equal to 90 percent of the fee
27 charged for participating in the NBPTS or NBCC certification
28 program, but not more than $1,800 per eligible participant.
29 The fee subsidy is a one-time award and may not be duplicated
30 for any individual.
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1 (b) A portfolio-preparation incentive of $150 for each
2 teacher or guidance counselor employed by the district school
3 board or a public school within the district who is
4 participating in the NBPTS or NBCC certification program. The
5 portfolio-preparation incentive is a one-time award paid
6 during the school year for which the NBPTS or NBCC fee subsidy
7 is provided.
8 (c) An annual bonus equal to 10 percent of the prior
9 fiscal year's statewide average salary for classroom teachers
10 or, for guidance counselors, 10 percent of the prior fiscal
11 year's statewide average salary for guidance counselors to be
12 paid to each individual who holds NBPTS or NBCC certification
13 and is employed by the district school board or by a public
14 school within that school district. The district school board
15 shall distribute the annual bonus to each individual who meets
16 the requirements of this paragraph and who is certified
17 annually by the district to have demonstrated satisfactory
18 teaching performance pursuant to s. 231.29. The annual bonus
19 may be paid as a single payment or divided into not more than
20 three payments.
21 (d) An annual bonus equal to 10 percent of the prior
22 fiscal year's statewide average salary for classroom teachers
23 or, for guidance counselors, 10 percent of the prior fiscal
24 year's statewide average salary for guidance counselors to be
25 paid to each individual who meets the requirements of
26 paragraph (c) and agrees, in writing, to provide the
27 equivalent of 12 workdays of mentoring and related services to
28 public school teachers or guidance counselors within the
29 district who do not hold NBPTS or NBCC certification. The
30 district school board shall distribute the annual bonus in a
31 single payment following the completion of all required
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1 mentoring and related services for the year. It is not the
2 intent of the Legislature to remove excellent teachers from
3 their assigned classrooms or guidance counselors from their
4 assigned duties; therefore, credit may not be granted by a
5 school district or public school for mentoring or related
6 services provided during the regular school day or during the
7 196 days of required service for the school year.
8 (e) The district shall receive an amount equal to 50
9 percent of the teacher bonuses provided under paragraphs (c)
10 and (d), which shall be used by the district for professional
11 development of teachers and guidance counselors. The district
12 must give priority to using all funds received pursuant to
13 this paragraph for professional development of teachers and
14 guidance counselors employed at schools identified as
15 performing at critically low levels.
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17 A teacher or guidance counselor for whom the state pays the
18 certification fee and who does not complete the certification
19 program or does not teach in a public school of this state for
20 a least 1 year after completing the certification program must
21 repay the amount of the certification fee to the state.
22 However, a teacher or guidance counselor who completes the
23 certification program but fails to be awarded NBPTS or NBCC
24 certification is not required to repay the amount of the
25 certification fee if the teacher or guidance counselor meets
26 the 1-year teaching requirement. Repayment is not required of
27 a teacher or guidance counselor who does not complete the
28 certification program or fails to fulfill the teaching
29 requirement because of his or her the teacher's death or
30 disability or because of other extenuating circumstances as
31 determined by the State Board of Education.
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1 (3) For purposes of this section, the provision of
2 guidance counseling is to be considered teaching.
3 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 1999.
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6 HOUSE SUMMARY
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Revises the Excellent Teaching Program to include
8 guidance counselors who participate in the National Board
of Certified Counselors certification program.
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