Text: HF00612 Text: HF00614 Text: HF00600 - HF00699 Text: HF Index Bills and Amendments: General Index Bill History: General Index
PAG LIN 1 1 Section 1. NEW SECTION. 256.44A PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENT 1 2 RECOGNITION AWARDS PROGRAM. 1 3 1. A professional recognition awards program is 1 4 established within the department of education. The program's 1 5 goals are to encourage professional development and 1 6 achievement among Iowa's teachers, increase participation in 1 7 organizations that establish high standards for teachers, and 1 8 increase school improvement efforts to enhance student 1 9 achievement. 1 10 2. There is appropriated annually from the general fund of 1 11 the state to the department of education the sum of five 1 12 hundred thousand dollars for professional achievement 1 13 recognition awards in accordance with this section. Moneys 1 14 appropriated shall be allocated as follows: 1 15 a. The department shall provide a teacher, who registers 1 16 for a national board for professional teaching standards 1 17 certificate and who is employed by a school district in Iowa, 1 18 with a one-time reimbursement payment in the amount of one 1 19 thousand dollars for the registration fee charged by the 1 20 national board for professional teaching standards. The 1 21 teacher shall apply to the department of education within one 1 22 year of registration, submitting to the department any 1 23 documentation the department requires. 1 24 b. From the moneys appropriated in this subsection, after 1 25 the allocation of moneys under paragraph "a", for each fiscal 1 26 year in which moneys are appropriated, moneys shall be 1 27 allocated to a school district based upon the proportion that 1 28 the enrollment of the district bears to the sum of the 1 29 enrollments of all school districts in the state as reported 1 30 for the budget year. 1 31 3. Moneys received by school districts under subsection 2, 1 32 paragraph "b", shall be used for awards to recognize the 1 33 professional achievements of teachers employed by the 1 34 districts. The board of directors of each school district 1 35 shall adopt a policy negotiated by the board of directors and 2 1 the collective bargaining units representing teachers employed 2 2 by the school district. The policy shall establish the number 2 3 of awards to be issued annually and the process by which 2 4 teachers will be recognized for professional achievements. 2 5 The policy shall take into consideration the following: 2 6 a. Nationally recognized certifications and other forms of 2 7 recognition of professional achievement of teachers. 2 8 b. Participation in organizations that establish high 2 9 standards for teacher member qualification in specific fields 2 10 or specialties. 2 11 c. Participation in school improvement efforts to enhance 2 12 student achievement. 2 13 d. Attainment of postgraduate degrees. 2 14 e. Recognition by the department of education. 2 15 4. The policy adopted by the board of directors of a 2 16 school district pursuant to subsection 3 shall be submitted to 2 17 the department of education annually. 2 18 5. A professional recognition awards fund is established 2 19 in the office of treasurer of state to be administered by the 2 20 department. Moneys appropriated by the general assembly for 2 21 deposit in the fund shall be paid upon receipt of 2 22 reimbursement documentation as provided in subsection 2, 2 23 paragraph "a". The treasurer of state shall act as custodian 2 24 of the fund and may invest the moneys deposited in the fund. 2 25 The director of revenue and finance shall issue warrants upon 2 26 the fund pursuant to the order of the department and the 2 27 warrants shall be paid from the fund by the treasurer of 2 28 state. 2 29 6. The department of education shall notify the department 2 30 of revenue and finance of the amount of the allocation to be 2 31 paid to each school district as provided in subsection 2, 2 32 paragraph "b". The allocation to each school district shall 2 33 be made in one payment on or about October 15 of the fiscal 2 34 year for which the appropriation is made, taking into 2 35 consideration the relative budget and cash position of the 3 1 state resources. Moneys received under this section shall not 3 2 be commingled with state aid payments made under section 3 3 257.16 to a school district and shall be accounted for by the 3 4 local school district separately from state aid payments. 3 5 Payments made to school districts under this section are 3 6 miscellaneous income for purposes of chapter 257. 3 7 7. For purposes of this section, unless the context 3 8 otherwise requires, "teacher" means the same as defined in 3 9 section 272.2. 3 10 EXPLANATION 3 11 This bill establishes a professional achievement 3 12 recognition awards program within of the department of 3 13 education and makes an appropriation of $500,000 annually from 3 14 the general fund of the state for that purpose. The program's 3 15 goals are to encourage professional development and 3 16 achievement among Iowa's teachers, increase participation in 3 17 organizations that establish high standards for teachers, and 3 18 increase school improvement efforts to enhance student 3 19 achievement. 3 20 The moneys appropriated are allocated to the department of 3 21 education to provide a teacher who registers for a national 3 22 board for professional teaching standards certificate and who 3 23 is employed by a school district in Iowa with a one-time 3 24 reimbursement payment in the amount of $1,000 for the 3 25 registration fee charged by the national board for 3 26 professional teaching standards. The teacher must apply to 3 27 the department of education within one year of registration, 3 28 submitting to the department any documentation the department 3 29 requires. 3 30 The moneys remaining after the department reimburses 3 31 teachers for national board registration fees, are to be 3 32 distributed to school districts on a per pupil basis. Moneys 3 33 received by school districts under the program are to be used 3 34 to make awards to recognize teachers employed by the districts 3 35 for their professional achievements. The board of directors 4 1 of a school district is directed to adopt a policy negotiated 4 2 by the board and the collective bargaining units representing 4 3 teachers employed by the school district. The policy shall 4 4 establish the number of awards to be issued annually and the 4 5 process by which teachers will be recognized for their 4 6 professional achievements. The policy shall take into 4 7 consideration the following: 4 8 1. Nationally recognized certifications and professional 4 9 achievements of teachers. 4 10 2. Participation in organizations that establish high 4 11 standards for teacher training in specific fields or 4 12 specialties. 4 13 3. Participation in school improvement efforts to enhance 4 14 student achievement. 4 15 4. Attainment of postgraduate degrees. 4 16 5. Recognition by the department of education. 4 17 The policy adopted by the board of directors of a school 4 18 district is to be submitted to the department of education 4 19 annually. 4 20 The bill establishes a professional recognition awards fund 4 21 in the office of treasurer of state to be administered by the 4 22 department. Moneys appropriated by the general assembly for 4 23 deposit in the fund are paid out of the fund to a given 4 24 teacher upon receipt of reimbursement documentation. 4 25 LSB 2711YH 78 4 26 kh/jw/5
Text: HF00612 Text: HF00614 Text: HF00600 - HF00699 Text: HF Index Bills and Amendments: General Index Bill History: General Index
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