| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to employee incentive programs for public |
| 3 | school personnel; amending s. 1012.225, F.S., relating to |
| 4 | the Merit Award Program for Instructional Personnel and |
| 5 | School-Based Administrators; providing requirements for |
| 6 | the appropriation, release, and distribution of funds; |
| 7 | revising dates relating to administration of the program; |
| 8 | amending s. 1012.72, F.S., relating to the Dale Hickam |
| 9 | Excellent Teaching Program; providing for the proration of |
| 10 | monetary incentives and bonuses for teaching excellence in |
| 11 | certain circumstances; providing an effective date. |
| 12 |
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| 13 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 14 |
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| 15 | Section 1. Subsection (2) of section 1012.225, Florida |
| 16 | Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 17 | 1012.225 Merit Award Program for Instructional Personnel |
| 18 | and School-Based Administrators.-- |
| 19 | (2) PAY SUPPLEMENTS STRUCTURE.--Merit Award Program plans |
| 20 | shall provide for the annual disbursement of merit-based pay |
| 21 | supplements to high-performing employees in the manner described |
| 22 | in this subsection. Merit Award Program funds shall be |
| 23 | appropriated in the General Appropriations Act that is effective |
| 24 | on July 1 of the fiscal year in which the merit-based pay |
| 25 | supplements are distributed pursuant to paragraph (a). These |
| 26 | funds shall be released and distributed to eligible school |
| 27 | districts on or before July 31 for distribution to eligible |
| 28 | recipients by October 1 of that fiscal year. |
| 29 | (a) Each Merit Award Program plan must designate the top |
| 30 | instructional personnel and school-based administrators to be |
| 31 | outstanding performers and pay to each such employee who remains |
| 32 | employed by a Florida public school or who retired after |
| 33 | qualifying for the award, by October September 1 of the |
| 34 | following school year, a merit-based pay supplement of at least |
| 35 | 5 percent of the average teacher's salary for that school |
| 36 | district not to exceed 10 percent of the average teacher's |
| 37 | salary for that school district. The amount of a merit award may |
| 38 | not be based on length of service or base salary. Pay |
| 39 | supplements shall be funded from moneys appropriated by the |
| 40 | Legislature under this section and from any additional funds |
| 41 | that are designated by the district for the Merit Award Program. |
| 42 | School districts are not required to implement this section |
| 43 | unless the program is specifically funded by the Legislature. By |
| 44 | November October 1 of each year, each school district shall |
| 45 | provide documentation to the Department of Education concerning |
| 46 | the expenditure of legislative appropriations for merit-based |
| 47 | pay, and shall refund undisbursed appropriations to the |
| 48 | department. If such undisbursed funds are not remitted to the |
| 49 | department by November 1, the department shall withhold an |
| 50 | equivalent amount from the district's allocation of |
| 51 | appropriations made under s. 1011.62. |
| 52 | (b) A Merit Award Program plan may include additional pay |
| 53 | supplements under this section for employees who manifest |
| 54 | exemplary work attendance. |
| 55 | (c) Merit-based pay supplements shall be awarded in |
| 56 | addition to any general increase or other adjustments to |
| 57 | salaries which are made by a school district. An employee's |
| 58 | eligibility for or receipt of merit-based pay supplements shall |
| 59 | not adversely affect that employee's opportunity to qualify for |
| 60 | or to receive any other compensation that is made generally |
| 61 | available to other similarly situated district school board |
| 62 | employees. |
| 63 | Section 2. Subsection (2) of section 1012.72, Florida |
| 64 | Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 65 | 1012.72 Dale Hickam Excellent Teaching Program.-- |
| 66 | (2) The Dale Hickam Excellent Teaching Program is created |
| 67 | to provide categorical funding for monetary incentives and |
| 68 | bonuses for teaching excellence. The Department of Education |
| 69 | shall distribute to each school district or to the NBPTS an |
| 70 | amount as prescribed annually by the Legislature for the Dale |
| 71 | Hickam Excellent Teaching Program. If the appropriation is |
| 72 | insufficient to fund the monetary incentives and bonuses as |
| 73 | described in this subsection, such incentives and bonuses shall |
| 74 | be prorated so that total program expenditures equal the |
| 75 | appropriation. For purposes of this section, the Florida School |
| 76 | for the Deaf and the Blind shall be considered a school |
| 77 | district. Unless otherwise provided in the General |
| 78 | Appropriations Act, each distribution shall be the sum of the |
| 79 | amounts earned for the following incentives and bonuses: |
| 80 | (a) A fee subsidy to be paid by the Department of |
| 81 | Education to the NBPTS on behalf of each individual who is an |
| 82 | employee of a district school board or a public school within |
| 83 | the school district, who is certified by the district to have |
| 84 | demonstrated satisfactory teaching performance pursuant to s. |
| 85 | 1012.34 and who satisfies the prerequisites for participating in |
| 86 | the NBPTS certification program, and who agrees, in writing, to |
| 87 | pay 10 percent of the NBPTS participation fee and to participate |
| 88 | in the NBPTS certification program during the school year for |
| 89 | which the fee subsidy is provided. The fee subsidy for each |
| 90 | eligible participant shall be an amount equal to 90 percent of |
| 91 | the fee charged for participating in the NBPTS certification |
| 92 | program. The fee subsidy is a one-time award and may not be |
| 93 | duplicated for any individual. |
| 94 | (b) A portfolio-preparation incentive of $150 paid by the |
| 95 | Department of Education to each teacher employed by a district |
| 96 | school board or a public school within a school district who is |
| 97 | participating in the NBPTS certification program. The portfolio- |
| 98 | preparation incentive is a one-time award paid during the school |
| 99 | year for which the NBPTS fee subsidy is provided. |
| 100 | (c) An annual bonus equal to 10 percent of the prior |
| 101 | fiscal year's statewide average salary for classroom teachers to |
| 102 | be distributed to the school district to be paid to each |
| 103 | individual who holds NBPTS certification and is employed by the |
| 104 | district school board or by a public school within the school |
| 105 | district. The district school board shall distribute the annual |
| 106 | bonus to each individual who meets the requirements of this |
| 107 | paragraph and who is certified annually by the district to have |
| 108 | demonstrated satisfactory teaching performance pursuant to s. |
| 109 | 1012.34. The annual bonus may be paid as a single payment or |
| 110 | divided into not more than three payments. |
| 111 | (d) An annual bonus equal to 10 percent of the prior |
| 112 | fiscal year's statewide average salary for classroom teachers to |
| 113 | be distributed to the school district to be paid to each |
| 114 | individual who meets the requirements of paragraph (c) and |
| 115 | agrees, in writing, to provide the equivalent of 12 workdays of |
| 116 | mentoring and related services to public school teachers within |
| 117 | the state who do not hold NBPTS certification. Related services |
| 118 | must include instruction in helping teachers work more |
| 119 | effectively with the families of their students. The district |
| 120 | school board shall distribute the annual bonus in a single |
| 121 | payment following the completion of all required mentoring and |
| 122 | related services for the year. It is not the intent of the |
| 123 | Legislature to remove excellent teachers from their assigned |
| 124 | classrooms; therefore, credit may not be granted by a school |
| 125 | district or public school for mentoring or related services |
| 126 | provided during student contact time during the 196 days of |
| 127 | required service for the school year. |
| 128 | (e) The employer's share of social security and Medicare |
| 129 | taxes and Florida Retirement System contributions for those |
| 130 | teachers who qualify for NBPTS certification and receive bonus |
| 131 | amounts. |
| 132 |
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| 133 | A teacher for whom the state pays the certification fee and who |
| 134 | does not complete the certification program or does not teach in |
| 135 | a public school of this state for at least 1 year after |
| 136 | completing the certification program must repay the amount of |
| 137 | the certification fee to the state. However, a teacher who |
| 138 | completes the certification program but fails to be awarded |
| 139 | NBPTS certification is not required to repay the amount of the |
| 140 | certification fee if the teacher meets the 1-year teaching |
| 141 | requirement. Repayment is not required of a teacher who does not |
| 142 | complete the certification program or fails to fulfill the |
| 143 | teaching requirement because of the teacher's death or |
| 144 | disability or because of other extenuating circumstances as |
| 145 | determined by the State Board of Education. |
| 146 | Section 3. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law. |