HF 8 (LSB 1486YH (4) 87)

HOUSE FILE 8

BY  WILLS

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to the establishment of teacher quality demonstration pilot projects by school districts and including applicability provisions.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  NEW SECTION.  284.18  Teacher quality demonstration pilot projects.
   1.  Definitions.  As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires:
   a.  “Applicant” means the school superintendent of the school district in which a cluster is located.
   b.  “Cluster” means a set of attendance centers consisting of not less than one high school, not more than four middle schools, and not more than seven elementary schools in a given school district.
   c.  “Teacher” means a member of the instructional staff who may or may not be licensed under chapter 272 and who is employed by the school district to provide instruction in the cluster on a part-time or full-time basis.
   2.  Department responsibilities.  The department shall do all of the following:
   a.  Make information available on its internet site regarding teacher quality demonstration pilot project requirements and the pilot project application and review process.
   b.  Approve applications for the creation of not less than five, nor more than twelve, pilot projects submitted by clusters that develop systems for attracting, retaining, rewarding, and motivating teachers in accordance with this section.
   c.  Review each pilot project annually based on the data submitted in the school district’s comprehensive school improvement plan. The department may withdraw approval of a teacher quality demonstration pilot project for failure of a cluster to meet the pilot project requirements of subsection 3. If the department withdraws its approval, waivers and exceptions granted to a school district or cluster for purposes of this section under subsection 5; section 256.9, subsection 39; or section 256.11, subsection 8, are revoked.
   3.  Pilot project requirements.  Each cluster as part of a teacher quality demonstration project shall meet the following requirements:
   a.  Establish multiple career paths for teachers.
   b.  Place all teachers in expanded roles, which may include but are not limited to leadership, program director, master teacher, and mentor, and any other position approved by the director. In expanding the roles, the director shall take into consideration the interests, abilities, and accomplishments of teachers within the cluster.
   c.  Provide for market-based compensation of teachers under which teacher compensation levels are based on the accomplishments and performance of teachers, student academic achievement, and evaluation from peers, senior teachers, and attendance center principals.
   d.  Offer performance-based accountability as follows:
   (1)  Eliminate teacher tenure and establish three-year teaching contracts.
   (2)  Establish a system for teacher hiring and advancement that is based on evaluation of a teacher’s performance by peers who are employed by the school district and by peers who are not employed by the school district.
   e.  Include ongoing professional development activities that meet all of the following requirements:
   (1)  Are directly related to the curriculum and content areas in which the teacher provides instruction.
   (2)  Are tied to challenging state or local content and student performance standards.
   (3)  Are related to the instruction in methods of disciplining children at the grade level taught by the teacher.
   (4)  Are proven effective instructional strategies and methods for improving student achievement.
   f.  Establish a formal teacher mentoring system in which beginning teachers and teachers in need of intensive assistance are mentored by master teachers.
   g.  Establish, notwithstanding section 256.7, subsection 3, and chapter 272, an alternative preparation program to train and hire an individual who possesses, at a minimum, a baccalaureate degree in the field in which the individual will be employed to provide instruction as a teacher at an attendance center in the cluster. The individual must demonstrate expertise in the field in which they will provide instruction.
   h.  Make available to an individual who is employed under paragraph “g” opportunities to meet the requirements for a teaching license under chapter 272 or to become certified by the national board for professional teaching standards.
   4.  Pilot project application requirements.  An application to implement a teacher quality demonstration pilot project under this section may only be submitted by the superintendent of the school district in the time and manner determined by the department. Each application shall include all of the following information:
   a.  A description of how the pilot project will assist the school district in achieving the student achievement goals in the school district’s comprehensive school improvement plan.
   b.  Identification and description of the attendance centers that will comprise the cluster.
   c.  A description of the pilot project and how the cluster will comply with the requirements of subsection 3.
   d.  An assurance that the school district will increase the salaries of teachers who are employed at the attendance centers that comprise the cluster, with descriptions of when and how teachers will be compensated at the various role levels and the impact a teacher’s performance evaluation may reasonably be expected to have on the teacher’s salary.
   e.  A detailed description of the cost of the pilot project, including but not limited to how the school district will reallocate or raise funds to cover the costs associated with implementation of the pilot project.
   f.  A description of the statutes and rules requirements and provisions that the department is requested to waive under subsection 5; section 256.9, subsection 39; and section 256.11, subsection 8.
   5.  Inapplicability of statutes —— agreement provisions void.
   a.  The probation, evaluation, employment, and due process requirements and provisions of sections 279.12, 279.13, 279.14, 279.15, 279.16, 279.17, 279.18, 279.19, 279.19A, 279.19B, 279.21, 279.27, and 279.43 shall not apply to teachers and administrators employed by a school district to practice in a cluster as part of a teacher quality demonstration project.
   b.  The provisions of a collective bargaining agreement entered into by a school district and the licensed employees of the school district that is approved to establish a teacher quality demonstration pilot project under this section, which are inconsistent with the compensation, evaluation, and performance-based accountability requirements of a teacher quality demonstration pilot project approved by the department pursuant to this section, are deemed void and unenforceable for the duration of the pilot project.
   6.  Evaluation requirements —— report.  The department and each school district operating a teacher quality demonstration pilot project approved under this section shall regularly evaluate and document the activities and approaches utilized and outcomes achieved under a pilot project. The department shall compile and summarize the results of the school districts’ evaluations in an annual report which shall include the department’s findings and recommendations and shall be submitted to the state board and to the general assembly.
    Sec. 2.  APPLICABILITY.  This Act applies to collective bargaining agreements entered into or renewed by a school district and the licensed employees of the school district on or after the effective date of this Act.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   This bill relates to the establishment of teacher quality demonstration pilot projects for a three-year renewable period by clusters of attendance centers within a school district if approved by the department of education.
   GENERAL PROVISIONS. Only the school district’s superintendent may apply to the department for approval to operate a teacher quality demonstration pilot project. Each pilot project is comprised of a cluster within the school district. Each cluster must include not less than one high school, not more than four middle schools, and not more than seven elementary schools in a given school district.
   The bill defines “teacher” to mean a member of the instructional staff who may or may not be licensed under Code chapter 272 and who is employed by the school district to provide instruction in the cluster on a part-time or full-time basis.
   The department must make information regarding teacher quality demonstration pilot project requirements and the pilot project application and review process available on its internet site; must approve applications for the creation of between 5 and 12 pilot projects; and must review each pilot project annually based on the data submitted in the school district’s comprehensive school improvement plan. The department may withdraw approval of a pilot project for failure to meet pilot project requirements. If the department withdraws its approval, waivers and exceptions granted for purposes of the pilot project are revoked.
   PILOT PROJECT REQUIREMENTS. The bill lists the requirements each pilot project must meet, including but not limited to multiple career paths for teachers; expanded roles for teachers; market-based compensation for teachers; performance-based accountability of teachers that includes elimination of teacher tenure and establishment of three-year teaching contracts; a system for teacher hiring and advancement based on peer evaluation; ongoing professional development activities; and a formal teacher mentoring system.
   The pilot project must also establish an alternative preparation program to train and hire an individual who possesses, at a minimum, a baccalaureate degree in the field in which the individual will be employed to provide instruction as a teacher at an attendance center in the cluster. The bill nullifies the practitioner preparation program provisions of Code section 256.7, subsection 3, and the provisions of Code chapter 272, for purposes of this pilot project requirement. Such individuals must also be provided with opportunities to meet the requirements for a teaching license under Code chapter 272 or to become certified by the national board for professional teaching standards.
   PILOT PROJECT APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS. The bill requires that a pilot project application include a description of how the pilot project will assist the school district in achieving the district’s student achievement goals; identification and description of the attendance centers that will comprise the cluster; a description of the pilot project and how the cluster will comply with the pilot project requirements; an assurance that the school district will increase teacher salaries; a detailed description of pilot project costs and how the district will reallocate or raise funds to cover the costs; and a description of the statutes and rules requirements and provisions that the department is requested to waive.
   INAPPLICABILITY OF STATUTES —— AGREEMENT PROVISIONS VOID.  The bill provides that the probation, evaluation, employment, and due process requirements and provisions of Code chapter 279 do not apply to teachers and administrators in a pilot project, and any collective bargaining provision that is inconsistent with any compensation, evaluation, and performance-based accountability requirement of a teacher quality demonstration pilot project is deemed void and unenforceable.
   EVALUATION REQUIREMENTS —— REPORT. The department and each school district operating an approved pilot project must regularly evaluate and document the activities and approaches utilized and outcomes achieved under a pilot project. The department shall compile and summarize the results of the evaluations in an annual report which shall include the department’s findings and recommendations and shall be submitted to the state board of education and to the general assembly.
   The bill applies to collective bargaining agreements entered into or renewed by a school district and the licensed employees of the school district on or after the effective date of the bill.