Text: SSB02084 Text: SSB02086 Text: SSB02000 - SSB02099 Text: SSB Index Bills and Amendments: General Index Bill History: General Index
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 on a full-time basis under sections 279.13 through
2 4 279.19 in a school district in this state or area education
2 5 agency to provide 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 committee" means the committee formed by the
2 10 board of directors of a school district, or a collaboration of
2 11 districts, to implement the support component of the beginning
2 12 teacher induction program.
2 13 7. "District facilitator" means a licensed professional
2 14 pursuant to chapter 272 who is appointed by the board of
2 15 directors, or a collaboration of districts, to serve as the
2 16 liaison between the board of directors and the department for
2 17 the beginning teacher induction program.
2 18 8. "Mentor" means an individual employed on a full-time
2 19 basis by a school district or area education agency as a
2 20 classroom teacher and who holds a valid license to teach
2 21 issued under chapter 272.
2 22 Sec. 4. NEW SECTION. 256D.3 DISTRICT PLAN.
2 23 1. A board of directors of a school district or a
2 24 collaboration of school districts determined to participate in
2 25 the beginning teacher induction program shall appoint a
2 26 district facilitator, whose duties shall include, but are not
2 27 limited to, overseeing the development of a plan for meeting
2 28 the goals of the program as set forth in section 256D.1, and
2 29 to compose a district committee pursuant to subsection 2.
2 30 2. The membership of the district committee composed by
2 31 the district facilitator shall include, but is not limited to,
2 32 licensed practitioners and an area education agency staff
2 33 development professional.
2 34 3. The district committee shall adopt a plan and written
2 35 procedures for a mentor program consistent with this chapter.
3 1 The plan and the written procedures shall, at a minimum,
3 2 provide the process for the selection of and the number of
3 3 mentors; the mentor training process; the timetable by which
3 4 the plan shall be implemented; placement of mentors and
3 5 beginning teachers; the minimum amount of contact time between
3 6 mentors and beginning teachers; the minimum amount of release
3 7 time for mentors and beginning teachers for meetings for
3 8 planning, demonstration, observation, feedback, and workshops;
3 9 for dissolving mentoring partnerships; and for measuring the
3 10 results of the program. The district committee shall
3 11 recommend to the board of directors the names of classroom
3 12 teachers eligible to be mentors.
3 13 4. The district facilitator shall submit the plan, and the
3 14 proposed costs of implementing the plan, to the board or
3 15 boards of directors of the consortium, which shall consider
3 16 the plan and once approved submit the plan and cost proposal
3 17 to the department of education, which shall award grants as
3 18 equitably as possible based on the geographic and population
3 19 diversity of the school districts submitting plans. Grants
3 20 may be awarded in subsequent years based upon the the most
3 21 recent plan on file with the department.
3 22 5. The district committee is encouraged to work with area
3 23 education agencies and postsecondary institutions in the
3 24 preparation and implementation of a plan.
3 25 Sec. 5. NEW SECTION. 256D.4 BEGINNING TEACHER AND MENTOR
3 26 SELECTION AND PLACEMENT.
3 27 1. To be eligible to be a mentor, a licensed practitioner
3 28 shall, at a minimum, be employed by a school district as a
3 29 classroom teacher, have a record of at least five years of
3 30 effective practice, have been employed for one full year in
3 31 the district on a nonprobationary basis, and demonstrate
3 32 professional commitment to the improvement of teaching and
3 33 learning, and the development of beginning teachers.
3 34 2. The district facilitator shall position beginning
3 35 teachers in a manner that provides the greatest opportunity to
4 1 participate with the largest number of mentors.
4 2 Sec. 6. NEW SECTION. 256D.5 BEGINNING TEACHER INDUCTION
4 3 STATE SUBSIDY – FUND.
4 4 1. A teacher who is enrolled as a mentor in an approved
4 5 beginning teacher induction program shall be eligible for an
4 6 annual award of one thousand dollars, which shall be paid from
4 7 moneys received pursuant to this section by the school
4 8 district employing the mentor.
4 9 2. Moneys received by a school district pursuant to this
4 10 section shall be expended to provide mentors with awards in
4 11 accordance with subsection 1, to implement the plan, to pay
4 12 the costs of the employer's share of contributions to federal
4 13 social security and the Iowa public employees' retirement
4 14 system or a pension and annuity retirement system established
4 15 under chapter 294, for such amounts paid by the district.
4 16 3. Moneys received for purposes of this chapter shall not
4 17 be used for payment of any collective bargaining agreement or
4 18 arbitrator's decision negotiated or awarded under chapter 20.
4 19 4. A beginning teacher induction fund is established in
4 20 the office of the treasurer of state to be administered by the
4 21 department. Moneys appropriated by the general assembly for
4 22 deposit in the fund shall be used to provide funding to school
4 23 districts pursuant to the requirements of this section.
4 24 Sec. 7. NEW SECTION. 256D.6 REPORTS.
4 25 The board of directors of a school district or a
4 26 collaboration of school districts implementing an approved
4 27 beginning teacher induction program as provided in this
4 28 chapter shall submit an assessment of the program's results by
4 29 July 1 of the fiscal year succeeding the year in which the
4 30 board or the collaboration of districts received moneys under
4 31 this chapter. The department shall annually report the
4 32 statewide results of the program to the chairpersons of the
4 33 house and senate education committees by January 1.
4 34 EXPLANATION
4 35 This bill creates, and appropriates moneys for, a beginning
5 1 teacher induction program to promote excellence in teaching,
5 2 build a supportive environment in school districts to increase
5 3 the retention of promising beginning teachers, and promote the
5 4 personal and professional well-being of teachers.
5 5 The bill directs the department of education to develop a
5 6 process to be used in awarding beginning teacher grants.
5 7 A teacher serving as a mentor under the program is eligible
5 8 for an annual award of $1,000. Moneys received by a district
5 9 shall be expended for awards to mentors, for the costs of the
5 10 employer's share of contributions to federal social security
5 11 and the Iowa public employees' retirement system or a pension
5 12 and annuity retirement system established under chapter 294,
5 13 for such amounts paid by the districts, and other
5 14 implementation costs directly related to the program.
5 15 The bill establishes a beginning teacher induction fund in
5 16 the office of the treasurer of state to be administered by the
5 17 department of education.
5 18 A school district shall appoint a district facilitator who
5 19 acts as a liaison between the board and the department of
5 20 education who shall appoint a district committee. The
5 21 district committee membership shall include, but is not
5 22 limited to, licensed teachers and an area education agency
5 23 staff development professional. The district committee must
5 24 adopt a plan and written procedures for a mentor program which
5 25 shall, at a minimum, address the application, mentor
5 26 selection, and mentor training processes; the timetable for
5 27 plan implementation; placement; minimum release time;
5 28 measurement of results; and dissolving mentoring partnerships.
5 29 District committees are encouraged to collaborate with area
5 30 education agencies and postsecondary institutions in the
5 31 preparation of plans. The district committee shall recommend
5 32 to the board of directors the names of classroom teachers
5 33 eligible to be mentors.
5 34 The board of directors shall submit the plan to the
5 35 department, which shall award grants to school districts,
6 1 selecting from the school districts submitting plans based
6 2 solely upon equitability and geographic and population
6 3 diversity.
6 4 The bill also requires that a licensed teacher, to be
6 5 eligible to be a mentor, be employed by a school district as a
6 6 classroom teacher, have a record of at least five years of
6 7 effective practice, have been employed for one full year in
6 8 the district on a nonprobationary basis, and demonstrate
6 9 professional commitment to the improvement of teaching and
6 10 learning, and the development of beginning teachers.
6 11 LSB 3321XC 77
6 12 kh/sc/14.2
Text: SSB02084 Text: SSB02086 Text: SSB02000 - SSB02099 Text: SSB Index Bills and Amendments: General Index Bill History: General Index
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