Text: SF00039 Text: SF00041 Text: SF00000 - SF00099 Text: SF Index Bills and Amendments: General Index Bill History: General Index
PAG LIN
1 1 Section 1. NEW SECTION. 256E.1 BEGINNING TEACHER
1 2 INDUCTION PROGRAM ESTABLISHED – GRANTS.
1 3 If the general assembly appropriates moneys for purposes of
1 4 teacher induction, the department of education shall
1 5 coordinate a beginning teacher induction program to promote
1 6 excellence in teaching, build a supportive environment within
1 7 school districts, increase the retention of promising
1 8 beginning teachers, and promote the personal and professional
1 9 well-being of teachers. The department of education shall
1 10 develop a process for awarding beginning teacher induction
1 11 grants to school districts, and shall adopt rules pursuant to
1 12 chapter 17A relating to the equitable distribution of grants
1 13 to school districts to reflect diversity geographically and by
1 14 population.
1 15 Sec. 2. NEW SECTION. 256E.2 DEFINITIONS.
1 16 As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise
1 17 requires:
1 18 1. "Beginning teacher" means an individual serving under
1 19 an initial provisional or conditional license, issued by the
1 20 board of educational examiners under chapter 272, who is
1 21 assuming a position as a classroom teacher.
1 22 2. "Board of directors" means the board of directors of a
1 23 school district or a collaboration of boards of directors of
1 24 school districts.
1 25 3. "Classroom teacher" means an individual who holds a
1 26 valid practitioner's license and who is employed by a school
1 27 district under sections 279.13 through 279.19 in a school
1 28 district or area education agency in this state to provide
1 29 instruction to students.
1 30 4. "Department" means the department of education.
1 31 5. "Director" means the director of the department of
1 32 education.
1 33 6. "District facilitator" means a licensed professional
1 34 pursuant to chapter 272 who is appointed by the board of
1 35 directors, to serve as the liaison between the board of
2 1 directors and the department for the beginning teacher
2 2 induction program.
2 3 7. "Mentor" means an individual employed by a school
2 4 district or area education agency as a classroom teacher and
2 5 who holds a valid license to teach issued under chapter 272.
2 6 The individual shall, at a minimum, have a record of four
2 7 years of effective teaching practice, have been employed as a
2 8 classroom teacher for one full year on a nonprobationary
2 9 basis, and demonstrate professional commitment to the
2 10 improvement of teaching and learning, and the development of
2 11 beginning teachers.
2 12 Sec. 3. NEW SECTION. 256E.3 DISTRICT FACILITATOR,
2 13 COMMITTEE, AND PLAN.
2 14 1. A board of directors participating in the beginning
2 15 teacher induction program shall appoint a district
2 16 facilitator, whose duties shall include, but are not limited
2 17 to, overseeing the development of a plan for meeting the goals
2 18 of the program as set forth in section 256E.1, and composing a
2 19 district committee pursuant to subsection 2. The board of
2 20 directors may contract with a public or private postsecondary
2 21 institution with an approved practitioner preparation program,
2 22 or with a member of the instructional staff of an approved
2 23 practitioner preparation program, to perform the duties of the
2 24 district facilitator in accordance with this chapter.
2 25 2. The membership of the district committee composed by
2 26 the district facilitator shall include, but is not limited to,
2 27 licensed practitioners and an area education agency staff
2 28 development professional.
2 29 3. The district committee shall adopt a plan and written
2 30 procedures for a mentor program consistent with this chapter.
2 31 The plan and the written procedures shall, at a minimum,
2 32 provide the process for the selection of and the number of
2 33 mentors; the mentor training process; the timetable by which
2 34 the plan shall be implemented; placement of mentors and
2 35 beginning teachers; the minimum amount of contact time between
3 1 mentors and beginning teachers; the minimum amount of release
3 2 time for mentors and beginning teachers for meetings for
3 3 planning, demonstration, observation, feedback, and workshops;
3 4 the process for dissolving mentoring partnerships; and the
3 5 process for measuring the results of the program. The
3 6 district committee shall recommend to the board of directors
3 7 the names of classroom teachers eligible to be mentors.
3 8 4. The district facilitator shall submit the plan, and the
3 9 proposed costs of implementing the plan, to the board of
3 10 directors, which shall consider the plan and, once approved,
3 11 submit the plan and a reasonable cost proposal to the
3 12 department of education, which shall award grants as equitably
3 13 as possible based on the geographic and population diversity
3 14 of the school districts submitting plans. Grants may be
3 15 awarded in subsequent years based upon the most recent plan on
3 16 file with the department.
3 17 5. The district committee is encouraged to work with area
3 18 education agencies and postsecondary institutions in the
3 19 preparation and implementation of a plan.
3 20 Sec. 4. NEW SECTION. 256E.4 BEGINNING TEACHER AND MENTOR
3 21 PLACEMENT.
3 22 The district facilitator shall place beginning teachers in
3 23 a manner that provides the greatest opportunity to participate
3 24 with the largest number of mentors.
3 25 Sec. 5. NEW SECTION. 256E.5 BEGINNING TEACHER INDUCTION
3 26 STATE SUBSIDY – FUND.
3 27 1. A teacher who is enrolled as a mentor in an approved
3 28 beginning teacher induction program shall be eligible for an
3 29 award of five hundred dollars per semester of participation in
3 30 the program, which shall be paid from moneys received pursuant
3 31 to this chapter by the school district employing the mentor.
3 32 2. Moneys received by a school district pursuant to this
3 33 chapter shall be expended to provide mentors with awards in
3 34 accordance with subsection 1, to implement the plan, to
3 35 provide for a stipend for the district facilitator, and to pay
4 1 the costs of the employer's share of contributions to federal
4 2 social security and the Iowa public employees' retirement
4 3 system or a pension and annuity retirement system established
4 4 under chapter 294, for such amounts paid by the district.
4 5 3. Moneys received by a school district under this chapter
4 6 are miscellaneous income for purposes of chapter 257 or are
4 7 considered encumbered. Each local school district shall
4 8 maintain a separate listing within its budget for payments
4 9 received and expenditures made pursuant to this section.
4 10 Moneys received for purposes of this chapter shall not be used
4 11 for payment of any collective bargaining agreement or
4 12 arbitrator's decision negotiated or awarded under chapter 20.
4 13 4. A beginning teacher induction fund is established in
4 14 the office of the treasurer of state to be administered by the
4 15 department. Moneys appropriated by the general assembly for
4 16 deposit in the fund shall be used to provide funding to school
4 17 districts pursuant to the requirements of this section.
4 18 5. Notwithstanding section 8.33, unencumbered or
4 19 unobligated funds remaining on June 30 of the fiscal year for
4 20 which the funds were appropriated shall not revert but shall
4 21 be available for expenditure in the following fiscal year for
4 22 the purposes of this section.
4 23 Sec. 6. NEW SECTION. 256E.6 REPORTS.
4 24 The board of directors of a school district implementing an
4 25 approved beginning teacher induction program as provided in
4 26 this chapter shall submit an assessment of the program's
4 27 results by July 1 of the fiscal year succeeding the year in
4 28 which the school district received moneys under this chapter.
4 29 The department shall annually report the statewide results of
4 30 the program to the chairpersons and the ranking members of the
4 31 senate and house education committees by January 1.
4 32 EXPLANATION
4 33 This bill creates a beginning teacher induction program to
4 34 promote excellence in teaching, build a supportive environment
4 35 in school districts, increase the retention of promising
5 1 beginning teachers, and promote the personal and professional
5 2 well-being of teachers.
5 3 The bill directs the department of education to develop a
5 4 process to be used in awarding beginning teacher grants.
5 5 A teacher serving as a mentor under the program is eligible
5 6 for an award of $500 per semester of participation. Moneys
5 7 received by a district shall be expended to implement the
5 8 plan, for awards to mentors, and for the costs of the
5 9 employer's share of contributions to federal social security
5 10 and the Iowa public employees' retirement system or a pension
5 11 and annuity retirement system established under chapter 294,
5 12 for such amounts paid by the districts.
5 13 The bill establishes a beginning teacher induction fund in
5 14 the office of the treasurer of state to be administered by the
5 15 department of education.
5 16 A school district shall appoint a district facilitator
5 17 whose duties include overseeing the development of a plan for
5 18 meeting program goals and composing a district committee. The
5 19 district committee membership shall include, but is not
5 20 limited to, the district facilitator, licensed teachers and an
5 21 area education agency staff development professional. The
5 22 district committee must adopt a plan and written procedures
5 23 for a mentor program which shall, at a minimum, address the
5 24 mentor selection and training processes; the timetable for
5 25 plan implementation; placement; minimum contact and release
5 26 time; measurement of results; workshops and dissolving
5 27 mentoring partnerships. District committees are encouraged to
5 28 collaborate with area education agencies and postsecondary
5 29 institutions in the preparation and implementation of plans.
5 30 The district committee shall recommend to the board of
5 31 directors the names of classroom teachers eligible to be
5 32 mentors.
5 33 The board of directors shall submit the plan and a cost
5 34 proposal to the department, which shall award grants to school
5 35 districts, selecting from the school districts submitting
6 1 plans based solely upon equitability and geographic and
6 2 population diversity.
6 3 The bill also defines a mentor as a licensed classroom
6 4 teacher employed by a school district or area education agency
6 5 as a classroom teacher, with a record of at least four years
6 6 of effective practice, who has been employed for one full year
6 7 on a nonprobationary basis, and who demonstrates professional
6 8 commitment to the improvement of teaching and learning, and
6 9 the development of beginning teachers.
6 10 LSB 1378SS 78
6 11 kh/jw/5
Text: SF00039 Text: SF00041 Text: SF00000 - SF00099 Text: SF Index Bills and Amendments: General Index Bill History: General Index
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