HB 0795 2004
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; requiring the Department of Education to
6	distribute funds to each school district; providing
7	eligibility for salary increases; providing rulemaking
8	authority; providing an appropriation; providing an
9	effective date.
10
11	WHEREAS, the Legislature recognizes that caring and
12	qualified public school teachers play a critical role in
13	preparing children and young adults for success in higher
14	education and in the workplace, and
15	WHEREAS, the Legislature further recognizes that Florida’s
16	average teacher salary is significantly below the national
17	average and that the State of Florida will need an estimated
18	162,296 teachers over the next ten years to address the high
19	turnover of new and retiring teachers plus additional teachers
20	to comply with the amendment to s. 1, Art. IX of the State
21	Constitution, relating to class size reduction, and
22	WHEREAS, it is therefore the intent of the Legislature to
23	provide funding for competitive salaries to help school
24	districts retain and recruit caring and qualified teachers in
25	the public schools, NOW, THEREFORE,
26
27	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
28
29	Section 1. Section 1012.715, Florida Statutes, is created
30	to read:
31	1012.715 Teacher Salary Improvement Program.--
32	(1) The Teacher Salary Improvement Program is created to
33	provide funding for improved salaries for instructional
34	personnel, as defined in s. 1012.01, in the K-12 public school
35	system. For purposes of this section, the Florida School for the
36	Deaf and the Blind shall be considered a school district.
37	(2) The Department of Education shall distribute to each
38	school district an amount as prescribed annually by the
39	Legislature for the Teacher Salary Improvement Program, unless
40	otherwise provided in the General Appropriations Act.
41	(a) Each member of instructional personnel who received a
42	satisfactory performance review pursuant to s. 1012.34 during
43	the previous school year, and with whom the school district has
44	entered into a professional services contract during the current
45	school year, shall be eligible to receive a salary increase
46	pursuant to this section.
47	(b) A school district may establish additional criteria in
48	order to award funds allocated to the school district for
49	purposes of this section.
50	(3) The Department of Education shall provide technical
51	assistance to any school district that requests guidance
52	regarding the implementation of this section.
53	(4) The State Board of Education may adopt rules pursuant
54	to ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54 to implement the provisions of this
55	section.
56	Section 2. There is hereby appropriated for fiscal year
57	2004-2005 from the General Revenue Fund to the Department of
58	Education the sum of $192,152,200 for the purpose of carrying
59	out the provisions of this act.
60	Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2004.