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A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered
22.1-289.2:1
, relating to public school teachers; teacher compensation; Professionally Licensed Teacher Supplemental Pay Program established.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That the Code of Virginia is amended by adding a section numbered
22.1-289.2:1
as follows:
§
22.1-289.2:1
.
Professionally Licensed Teacher Supplemental Pay Program established; eligibility; requirements.
A. As used in this section
:
"H
igh
-
vacancy public school" means a public elementary or secondary school that, as determined by the
Department pursuant to subsection D,
has a teacher vacancy rate that place
s
it
within the top 10 percent of public schools with the highest
teacher vacancy rate
s in the Commonwealth
.
"Positions and exits
collection" means the
end-of-year survey conducted
each school year
by the Department, pursuant to
subdivision 9 of §
22.1-79
,
§
22.1-290.2
, and
Title II, Part A of the
federal
Elementary and Secondary Education
Act of 1965
(P.L.
89-10
, as amended by the
federal
Every Student Succeeds Act
, P.L.
114-95
)
,
to collect
data on the total number of
teacher, other instructional personnel, and support staff vacancies in
public schools in the Commonwealth
for the purpose of identifying areas of critical staff shortages
in public schools in the Commonwealth.
"Professional license
" means a 10-year renewable teaching license available to any individual who has satisfied all of the Board's requirements for licensure, including an earned baccalaureate degree from an accredited institution and the professional teacher's assessments prescribed by the Board. "Professional license
"
includes a collegiate professional license and
a postgraduate professional license.
"Professionally licensed teacher" means any teacher who holds a valid 10-year renewable
, professional
license issued by the
Board.
"Program" means the Professionally Licensed Teacher Supplemental
Pay Program established pursuant to this section.
B.
With such funds as may be appropriated for such purpose, t
he Professionally Licensed Teacher Supplemental Pay Program is established for
the purpose of addressing shortages of
professionally
licensed
teachers
, decreasing the reliance of public schools on provisionally licensed
teachers
to mitigate such shortages, and improving the recruitment and retention of professionally
licensed
teachers
in public schools in the Commonwealth
by providing an annual supplemental payment to e
ach professionally licensed teacher employed in a high-vacancy public school
in the Commonwealth
.
C.
Beginning with the 202
6
–202
7
school year, pursuant to this section,
each professionally licensed teacher employed in a high-vacancy public school in the
Commonwealth shall
annually
receive
a supplemental payment
in an amount of $10,000
.
Such supplemental payment shall
be
(i)
considered part of a teacher's annual salary and shall not be considered a bonus or one-time payment
,
(ii
) subject to standard payroll deductions applicable to all teacher salaries
,
and (iii) reported
to the Virginia Retirement System
as creditable compensation for the purpose of calculating retirement benefits and other calculations based on annual compensation.
D.
The Department shall, prior to making the
first disbursements to each school board for such
annual supplemental payments pursuant to subsection C, identify and develop a list of high-vacancy public schools in the Commonwealth using the most recent data in the positions and exits collection.
At the conclusion of the initial four
-
year period and every four years thereafter, the Department shall, based on the new data in the positions and exi
ts
collection for the immediately preceding school year, identify and update as necessary the list of high-vacancy public schools in the Commonwealth.
Any professionally licensed teacher in a school identified as a high-vacancy public school shall receive an annual supplemental payment pursuant to subsection C each year
during which the public school at which he is employed is identified as a high-vacancy public school
.
E.
Each school board shall
(i)
annually
collect and
report
to the
Department such data as the
Department deems necessary and appropriate for the administration of the Program and as is required pursuant to subdivision 9 of §
22.1-79
and §
22.1-290.2
and (ii) disburse the annual supplemental payment to each professionally licensed teacher employed in a high-vacancy public school in the school division in accordance with standard payroll practices and schedules.
F.
The Department shall be responsible for the administration and oversight of the Program. In administering and overseeing the Program, the Department shall:
1. Identify and develop a list of high-vacancy public schools in the
Commonwealth prior to making the first annual supplemental payments and every four years thereafter, in accordance with sub
section
D;
2. Ensure that funds are distributed to each school division in which there is at least one high-vacancy public school in
a timely manner and in an amount sufficient to provide such annual supplemental payment to each professionally licensed teacher employed in a high-vacancy public school;
and
3.
Submit to the
Governor and publish in an accessible location on the Department's website by August 1 of each year a report detailing
(i) the impact of the supplemental payments on reducing teacher vacancies in high-vacancy public schools; (ii) the impact on
the concentration, recruitment, and retention of professionally licensed teac
h
ers in high-vacancy public schools;
(iii) the overall success of the Program in
serving the purposes described in sub
section B; and (iv) recommendations for improvements to the Program, if applicable.