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PAG LIN
1 1 Section 1. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION. There is appropriated
1 2 from the general fund of the state to the department of
1 3 education for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 1998, and
1 4 ending June 30, 1999, the following amount, or so much thereof
1 5 as is necessary, to be used for the purpose designated:
1 6 For beginning teacher induction program grants as provided
1 7 in chapter 256D:
1 8 .................................................. $ 180,000
1 9 It is the intent of the general assembly that grants
1 10 awarded using moneys appropriated under this section shall
1 11 provide support to a minimum of 100 teams of mentors and
1 12 beginning teachers.
1 13 Sec. 2. NEW SECTION. 256D.1 BEGINNING TEACHER INDUCTION
1 14 PROGRAM ESTABLISHED – GRANTS.
1 15 If the general assembly appropriates moneys for purposes of
1 16 teacher induction, the department of education shall
1 17 coordinate a beginning teacher induction program to promote
1 18 excellence in teaching, build a supportive environment within
1 19 school districts, to increase the retention of promising
1 20 beginning teachers, and promote the personal and professional
1 21 well-being of teachers. The department of education shall
1 22 develop a process for awarding beginning teacher induction
1 23 grants to school districts, and shall adopt rules relating to
1 24 the equitable distribution of grants to school districts to
1 25 reflect diversity geographically and by population.
1 26 Sec. 3. NEW SECTION. 256D.2 DEFINITIONS.
1 27 As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise
1 28 requires:
1 29 1. "Beginning teacher" means an individual serving under
1 30 an initial provisional or conditional license, issued by the
1 31 board under chapter 272, who is assuming a position as a
1 32 classroom teacher.
1 33 2. "Board of directors" means the board of directors of a
1 34 school district or a collaboration of boards of directors of
1 35 school districts.
2 1 3. "Classroom teacher" means an individual who holds a
2 2 valid practitioner's license and who is employed by a school
2 3 district under sections 279.13 through 279.19 in a school
2 4 district in this state or area education agency to provide
2 5 instruction to students.
2 6 4. "Department" means the department of education.
2 7 5. "Director" means the director of the department of
2 8 education.
2 9 6. "District facilitator" means a licensed professional
2 10 pursuant to chapter 272 who is appointed by the board of
2 11 directors, or a collaboration of districts, to serve as the
2 12 liaison between the board of directors and the department for
2 13 the beginning teacher induction program.
2 14 7. "Mentor" means an individual employed by a school
2 15 district or area education agency as a classroom teacher and
2 16 who holds a valid license to teach issued under chapter 272.
2 17 Sec. 4. NEW SECTION. 256D.3 DISTRICT PLAN.
2 18 1. A board of directors of a school district or the boards
2 19 of directors of a collaboration of school districts
2 20 participating in the beginning teacher induction program shall
2 21 appoint a district facilitator, whose duties shall include,
2 22 but are not limited to, overseeing the development of a plan
2 23 for meeting the goals of the program as set forth in section
2 24 256D.1, and composing a district committee pursuant to
2 25 subsection 2.
2 26 2. The membership of the district committee composed by
2 27 the district facilitator shall include, but is not limited to,
2 28 licensed practitioners and an area education agency staff
2 29 development professional.
2 30 3. The district committee shall adopt a plan and written
2 31 procedures for a mentor program consistent with this chapter.
2 32 The plan and the written procedures shall, at a minimum,
2 33 provide the process for the selection of and the number of
2 34 mentors; the mentor training process; the timetable by which
2 35 the plan shall be implemented; placement of mentors and
3 1 beginning teachers; the minimum amount of contact time between
3 2 mentors and beginning teachers; the minimum amount of release
3 3 time for mentors and beginning teachers for meetings for
3 4 planning, demonstration, observation, feedback, and workshops;
3 5 the process for dissolving mentoring partnerships; and the
3 6 process for measuring the results of the program. The
3 7 district committee shall recommend to the board of directors
3 8 or boards of directors of a collaboration the names of
3 9 classroom teachers eligible to be mentors.
3 10 4. The district facilitator shall submit the plan, and the
3 11 proposed costs of implementing the plan, to the board of
3 12 directors or boards of directors of a collaboration, which
3 13 shall consider the plan and, once approved, submit the plan
3 14 and a reasonable cost proposal to the department of education,
3 15 which shall award grants as equitably as possible based on the
3 16 geographic and population diversity of the school districts
3 17 submitting plans. Grants may be awarded in subsequent years
3 18 based upon the most recent plan on file with the department.
3 19 5. The district committee is encouraged to work with area
3 20 education agencies and postsecondary institutions in the
3 21 preparation and implementation of a plan.
3 22 Sec. 5. NEW SECTION. 256D.4 BEGINNING TEACHER AND MENTOR
3 23 SELECTION AND PLACEMENT.
3 24 1. To be eligible to be a mentor, a licensed practitioner
3 25 shall, at a minimum, be employed by a school district as a
3 26 classroom teacher, have a record of at least five years of
3 27 effective practice, have been employed for one full year in
3 28 the district on a nonprobationary basis, and demonstrate
3 29 professional commitment to the improvement of teaching and
3 30 learning, and the development of beginning teachers.
3 31 2. The district facilitator shall position beginning
3 32 teachers in a manner that provides the greatest opportunity to
3 33 participate with the largest number of mentors.
3 34 Sec. 6. NEW SECTION. 256D.5 BEGINNING TEACHER INDUCTION
3 35 STATE SUBSIDY – FUND.
4 1 1. A teacher who is enrolled as a mentor in an approved
4 2 beginning teacher induction program shall be eligible for an
4 3 award of five hundred dollars per semester of participation in
4 4 the program, which shall be paid from moneys received pursuant
4 5 to this section by the school district employing the mentor.
4 6 2. Moneys received by a school district pursuant to this
4 7 chapter shall be expended to provide mentors with awards in
4 8 accordance with subsection 1, to implement the plan, to pay
4 9 the costs of the employer's share of contributions to federal
4 10 social security and the Iowa public employees' retirement
4 11 system or a pension and annuity retirement system established
4 12 under chapter 294, for such amounts paid by the district.
4 13 3. Moneys received by a school district under this chapter
4 14 are miscellaneous income for purposes of chapter 257 or are
4 15 considered encumbered. Each local school district shall
4 16 maintain a separate listing within their budget for payments
4 17 received and expenditures made pursuant to this section.
4 18 4. Moneys received for purposes of this chapter shall not
4 19 be used for payment of any collective bargaining agreement or
4 20 arbitrator's decision negotiated or awarded under chapter 20.
4 21 5. A beginning teacher induction fund is established in
4 22 the office of the treasurer of state to be administered by the
4 23 department. Moneys appropriated by the general assembly for
4 24 deposit in the fund shall be used to provide funding to school
4 25 districts pursuant to the requirements of this section.
4 26 6. Notwithstanding section 8.33, unencumbered or
4 27 unobligated funds remaining on June 30 of the fiscal year for
4 28 which the funds were appropriated shall not revert but shall
4 29 be available for expenditure in the following fiscal year for
4 30 the purposes of this section.
4 31 Sec. 7. NEW SECTION. 256D.6 REPORTS.
4 32 The board of directors of a school district or a
4 33 collaboration of school districts implementing an approved
4 34 beginning teacher induction program as provided in this
4 35 chapter shall submit an assessment of the program's results by
5 1 July 1 of the fiscal year succeeding the year in which the
5 2 board or the collaboration of districts received moneys under
5 3 this chapter. The department shall annually report the
5 4 statewide results of the program to the chairpersons and the
5 5 ranking members of the house and senate education committees
5 6 by January 1.
5 7 Sec. 8. INITIAL YEAR.
5 8 1. The board of directors of a school district, or the
5 9 boards of directors of a collaboration, determined to
5 10 participate in the beginning teacher induction program in
5 11 fiscal year 1998-1999, shall submit the plan required under
5 12 section 256D.3 to the department of education by October 15,
5 13 1998.
5 14 2. By January 15, 1999, the department of education shall
5 15 award grants as provided in accordance with section 256D.3.
5 16 EXPLANATION
5 17 This bill creates, and appropriates moneys for, a beginning
5 18 teacher induction program to promote excellence in teaching,
5 19 build a supportive environment in school districts to increase
5 20 the retention of promising beginning teachers, and promote the
5 21 personal and professional well-being of teachers.
5 22 The bill directs the department of education to develop a
5 23 process to be used in awarding beginning teacher grants.
5 24 A teacher serving as a mentor under the program is eligible
5 25 for an award of $500 per semester of participation. Moneys
5 26 received by a district shall be expended for awards to
5 27 mentors, for the costs of the employer's share of
5 28 contributions to federal social security and the Iowa public
5 29 employees' retirement system or a pension and annuity
5 30 retirement system established under chapter 294, for such
5 31 amounts paid by the districts.
5 32 The bill establishes a beginning teacher induction fund in
5 33 the office of the treasurer of state to be administered by the
5 34 department of education.
5 35 A school district shall appoint a district facilitator who
6 1 acts as a liaison between the board and the department of
6 2 education who shall appoint a district committee. The
6 3 district committee membership shall include, but is not
6 4 limited to, licensed teachers and an area education agency
6 5 staff development professional. The district committee must
6 6 adopt a plan and written procedures for a mentor program which
6 7 shall, at a minimum, address the application, mentor
6 8 selection, and mentor training processes; the timetable for
6 9 plan implementation; placement; minimum release time;
6 10 measurement of results; and dissolving mentoring partnerships.
6 11 District committees are encouraged to collaborate with area
6 12 education agencies and postsecondary institutions in the
6 13 preparation of plans. The district committee shall recommend
6 14 to the board of directors the names of classroom teachers
6 15 eligible to be mentors.
6 16 The board of directors shall submit the plan and a
6 17 reasonable cost proposal to the department, which shall award
6 18 grants to school districts, selecting from the school
6 19 districts submitting plans based solely upon equitability and
6 20 geographic and population diversity.
6 21 The bill also requires that a licensed teacher, to be
6 22 eligible to be a mentor, be employed by a school district as a
6 23 classroom teacher, have a record of at least five years of
6 24 effective practice, have been employed for one full year in
6 25 the district on a nonprobationary basis, and demonstrate
6 26 professional commitment to the improvement of teaching and
6 27 learning, and the development of beginning teachers.
6 28 LSB 4226SV 77
6 29 kh/sc/14
Text: SF02214 Text: SF02216 Text: SF02200 - SF02299 Text: SF Index Bills and Amendments: General Index Bill History: General Index
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