The Florida Senate

236.08106  Excellent Teaching Program.--

(1)  The Legislature recognizes that teachers play a critical role in preparing students to achieve the high levels of academic performance expected by the Sunshine State Standards. The Legislature further recognizes the importance of identifying and rewarding teaching excellence and of encouraging good teachers to become excellent teachers. The Legislature finds that the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) has established high and rigorous standards for accomplished teaching and has developed a national voluntary system for assessing and certifying teachers who demonstrate teaching excellence by meeting those standards. It is therefore the Legislature's intent to provide incentives for teachers to seek NBPTS certification and to reward teachers who demonstrate teaching excellence by attaining NBPTS certification and sharing their expertise with other teachers.

(2)  The Excellent Teaching Program is created to provide categorical funding for monetary incentives and bonuses for teaching excellence. The Department of Education shall allocate and distribute to each school district an amount as prescribed annually by the Legislature for the Excellent Teaching Program. Unless otherwise provided in the General Appropriations Act, each school district's annual allocation shall be the sum of the amounts earned for the following incentives and bonuses:

(a)  A fee subsidy to be paid by the school district to the NBPTS on behalf of each individual who is an employee of the district school board or a public school within that school district, who is certified by the district to have demonstrated satisfactory teaching performance pursuant to s. 231.29 and who satisfies the prerequisites for participating in the NBPTS certification program, and who agrees, in writing, to pay 10 percent of the NBPTS participation fee and to participate in the NBPTS certification program during the school year for which the fee subsidy is provided. The fee subsidy for each eligible participant shall be an amount equal to 90 percent of the fee charged for participating in the NBPTS certification program, but not more than $1,800 per eligible participant. The fee subsidy is a one-time award and may not be duplicated for any individual.

(b)  A portfolio-preparation incentive of $150 for each teacher employed by the district school board or a public school within the district who is participating in the NBPTS certification program. The portfolio-preparation incentive is a one-time award paid during the school year for which the NBPTS fee subsidy is provided.

(c)  An annual bonus equal to 10 percent of the prior fiscal year's statewide average salary for classroom teachers to be paid to each individual who holds NBPTS certification and is employed by the district school board or by a public school within that school district. The district school board shall distribute the annual bonus to each individual who meets the requirements of this paragraph and who is certified annually by the district to have demonstrated satisfactory teaching performance pursuant to s. 231.29. The annual bonus may be paid as a single payment or divided into not more than three payments.

(d)  An annual bonus equal to 10 percent of the prior fiscal year's statewide average salary for classroom teachers to be paid to each individual who meets the requirements of paragraph (c) and agrees, in writing, to provide the equivalent of 12 workdays of mentoring and related services to public school teachers within the district who do not hold NBPTS certification. The district school board shall distribute the annual bonus in a single payment following the completion of all required mentoring and related services for the year. It is not the intent of the Legislature to remove excellent teachers from their assigned classrooms; therefore, credit may not be granted by a school district or public school for mentoring or related services provided during the regular school day or during the 196 days of required service for the school year.

(e)  The district shall receive an amount equal to 50 percent of the teacher bonuses provided under paragraphs (c) and (d), which shall be used by the district for professional development of teachers. The district must give priority to using all funds received pursuant to this paragraph for professional development of teachers employed at schools identified as performing at critically low levels.

A teacher for whom the state pays the certification fee and who does not complete the certification program or does not teach in a public school of this state for a least 1 year after completing the certification program must repay the amount of the certification fee to the state. However, a teacher who completes the certification program but fails to be awarded NBPTS certification is not required to repay the amount of the certification fee if the teacher meets the 1-year teaching requirement. Repayment is not required of a teacher who does not complete the certification program or fails to fulfill the teaching requirement because of the teacher's death or disability or because of other extenuating circumstances as determined by the State Board of Education.

History.--s. 1, ch. 98-309.