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TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS Of SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING SECTION 59-25-280 SO AS TO PROVIDE DIFFERENT SALARY SUPPLEMENTS FOR TEACHERS CERTIFIED BY THE NATIONAL BOARD FOR PROFESSIONAL TEACHING STANDARDS, PROVIDE FOR LOANS TO TEACHERS FOR THE NATIONAL BOARD CERTIFICATION APPLICATION FEE, PROVIDE FOR FORGIVENESS OF THE LOANS PURSUANT TO CERTAIN CONDITIONS, AND PROVIDE FOR THE APPROPRIATION OF FUNDS; BY ADDING SECTION 59-25-290 SO AS TO PROVIDE FOR THE CREATION OF A COMMISSION TO DETERMINE NECESSARY CHANGES TO THE SALARY SCHEDULE FOR TEACHERS AND PROVIDE ITS COMPOSITION; AND TO AMEND SECTION 59-18-1530, RELATING TO TEACHER SPECIALISTS, SO AS TO PROVIDE GUIDANCE IN THE CALCULATION OF COMPENSATION FOR TEACHER SPECIALISTS.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. Article 3, Chapter 25, Title 59 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
"Section 59-25-280. (A) Public school classroom teachers or classroom teachers who work with classroom teachers who are certified by the State Board of Education and (1) who have been certified by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, and (2) who work in schools with a poverty index of seventy percent or a school that scored below average or unsatisfactory on the school report card, must be paid a seven thousand five hundred dollar salary supplement in the year of achieving certification. Public school classroom teachers or classroom teachers who work with classroom teachers who are certified by the State Board of Education and who have been certified by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards must be paid a five thousand dollar salary supplement in the year of achieving certification. Teachers employed at the special schools are eligible for this salary supplement. The special schools and their respective salary supplements include the Governor's School for Science and Math (five thousand dollars), Governor's School for the Arts and Humanities (five thousand dollars), Wil Lou Gray Opportunity School (seven thousand five hundred dollars), John de la Howe School (seven thousand five hundred dollars), School for the Deaf and the Blind (seven thousand five hundred dollars), Felton Lab (seven thousand five hundred dollars), Department of Juvenile Justice (seven thousand five hundred dollars), and Palmetto Unified School District 1 (seven thousand five hundred dollars). The salary supplement must be added to the annual pay of the teacher for the length of the national certificate.
(B) The Center of Educator Recruitment, Retention, and Advancement (CERRA-South Carolina) shall develop guidelines and administer the programs whereby teachers applying to the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards for certification may receive a loan equal to the amount of the application fee. One-half of the loan principal amount and interest must be forgiven when the required portfolio is submitted to the national board. Teachers attaining certification within three years of receiving the loan will have the full loan principal amount and interest forgiven. Of the funds appropriated for National Board Certification, the State Department of Education shall transfer to the Center for Educator Recruitment, Retention, and Advancement (CERRA-South Carolina) the funds necessary for the administration of the loan program. In addition, teachers who are certified by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards shall enter a recertification cycle for their South Carolina certificate consistent with the recertification cycle for national board certification. National board certified teachers moving to this State are exempted from initial certification requirements and are eligible for continuing contract status. Their recertification cycle will be consistent with national board certification."
SECTION 2. Article 3, Chapter 25, Title 59 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
"Section 59-25-290. The State Department of Education shall create a commission to conduct a comprehensive study to determine necessary changes to the salary schedule for teachers. The study must review incentives to attract teachers to hard-to-staff schools. The commission must be composed of twelve members to include:
(1) two business leaders appointed by each of the following:
(a) the Governor;
(b) the President Pro Tempore of the Senate; and
(c) the Speaker of the House of Representatives; and
(2) one member appointed by each of the following:
(a) the Education Oversight Committee;
(b) the Palmetto State Teachers Association;
(c) the South Carolina Association of School Administrators;
(d) the South Carolina Department of Education;
(e) the South Carolina Education Association; and
(f) the South Carolina School Boards Association."
SECTION 3. Section 59-18-1530 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding an appropriately lettered subsection at the end to read:
"( ) In calculating the compensation for teacher specialists, the State Department of Education shall include state and local compensation to include local supplements except local supplements for national board certification. Teacher specialists remain eligible for state supplement for national board certification."
SECTION 4. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
This web page was last updated on Tuesday, June 23, 2009 at 2:06 P.M.