HB 0595 2003
1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to teacher salaries; creating s. 1012.715,
3	F.S.; creating the Teacher Salary Improvement Program to
4	provide funding for improved salaries for instructional
5	personnel; providing eligibility for salary increases;
6	providing an appropriation; providing an effective date.
7
8	WHEREAS, the Legislature recognizes that caring and
9	qualified public school teachers play a critical role in
10	preparing children and young adults for success in higher
11	education and in the workplace, and
12	WHEREAS, the Legislature further recognizes that Florida’s
13	average teacher salary is significantly below the national
14	average and that the State of Florida will need an estimated
15	162,296 teachers over the next ten years to address the high
16	turnover of new and retiring teachers plus additional teachers
17	to comply with the amendment to s. 1, Art. IX of the State
18	Constitution, relating to class size reduction, and
19	WHEREAS, it is therefore the intent of the Legislature to
20	provide funding for competitive salaries to help school
21	districts retain and recruit caring and qualified teachers in
22	the public schools, NOW, THEREFORE,
23
24	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
25
26	Section 1. Section 1012.715, Florida Statutes, is created
27	to read:
28	1012.715 Teacher Salary Improvement Program.--
29	(1) The Teacher Salary Improvement Program is created to
30	provide funding for improved salaries for instructional
31	personnel, as defined in s. 1012.01, in the K-12 public school
32	system. For purposes of this section, the Florida School for the
33	Deaf and the Blind shall be considered a school district.
34	(2) The Department of Education shall distribute to each
35	school district an amount as prescribed annually by the
36	Legislature for the Teacher Salary Improvement Program, unless
37	otherwise provided in the General Appropriations Act.
38	(a) Each member of instructional personnel who received a
39	satisfactory performance review, pursuant to s. 1012.34, during
40	the previous school year, and with whom the school district has
41	entered into a professional services contract during the current
42	school year, shall be eligible to receive a salary increase
43	pursuant to this section.
44	(b) A school district may establish additional criteria in
45	order to award funds allocated to the school district for
46	purposes of this section.
47	(2) The Department of Education shall provide technical
48	assistance to any school district that requests guidance
49	regarding the implementation of this section.
50	(3) The Department of Education may adopt rules pursuant
51	to ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54 to implement the provisions of this
52	section.
53	Section 2. There is hereby appropriated for fiscal year
54	2003-2004 from the General Revenue Fund to the Department of
55	Education the sum of $192,152,200 for the purpose of carrying
56	out the provisions of this act.
57	Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2003.