(Doc Name h:\legwork\house\amend\h-wm\008\rural teacher incentive.docx):
EXPLANATION: Rural Teacher Recruiting Incentive
Amend the bill, as and if amended, Part IB, Section 1A,
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION - EIA, page 393, after line 8, by adding
an appropriately numbered paragraph to read:
/(SDE: Rural Teacher Recruiting Incentive)
(A) There is
created a program within the South Carolina Center for Educator
Recruitment, Retention, and Advancement (CERRA) to recruit and
retain classroom educators in rural and underserved districts
experiencing excessive turnover of classroom teachers on an
annual basis
(B) During Fiscal Year 2015-16, CERRA shall
develop eligibility requirements and applications for individual
educators, school districts, and institutions of higher
education not inconsistent with existing licensure requirements
for each, but also including:
(1) Eligible districts identified
by CERRA as experiencing greater than twelve percent average
annual teacher turnover, as reported on the districts' five most
recent district report cards issued by the South Carolina
Department of Education, may make application to participate in
the program.
(2) Individuals eligible for incentives shall be
willing to provide instructional services in an eligible
district in exchange for participation in an incentive detailed
in item (C) of this section, pursuant to the obligations and
restrictions stated for each.
(3) Institutions of higher
education eligible to receive education funding as a component
of recruiting incentives created pursuant to item (C) of this
section shall not be excluded from participation in Teaching
Fellows Program in accordance with proviso 1A.66 of this Act.
However, an institution of higher education cannot concurrently
receive funding on behalf of an eligible individual from both
the Teaching Fellows Program and incentives developed pursuant
to item (C) of this section.
(4) Any incentives requiring
individuals to relocate into an eligible district to provide
instructional services shall not be made available to
individuals providing instructional services in other eligible
districts.
(C) Pursuant to item (A), CERRA shall develop a set
of incentives including, but not limited to, salary supplements,
education subsidies, professional development, and mentorship to
be provided to classroom educators that offer instructional
services in eligible districts. The incentives and
implementation shall be developed in consultation with the State
Department of Education and the Education Oversight Committee,
and shall provide incentive options for eligible individuals at
all stages of their careers, including high-school and college
or university students interested in entering the teaching
profession.
(D) CERRA shall report by January 15, 2016 to the
Governor, President pro Tempore of the Senate, and Speaker of
the House on the incentives developed pursuant to item (C) of
this section and make recommendations for attracting and
retaining high quality teachers in rural and underserved
districts. The report shall contain at a minimum eligibility
requirements and application processes for districts and
individuals, descriptions of and proposed budgets for each
incentive program and an analysis of the number and demographics
of individuals potentially eligible for each.
(E) Funds
appropriated or transferred for use in the Rural Teacher
Recruiting Incentive may be carried forward from prior fiscal
years and used for the same purpose./
Renumber sections to conform.
Amend totals and titles to conform.