6-17-413. National Board for Professional Teaching Standards certification funding — Bonuses — Definitions.

6-17-413. National Board for Professional Teaching Standards certification funding — Bonuses — Definitions. (a)(1)(A) The Division of Elementary and Secondary Education shall pay the full amount of the participation fee of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards and provide, if determined to be necessary by the division, substitute pay for a maximum of three (3) days of approved paid leave for teachers selected by the State Board of Education to participate in the program of the national board. (B) A teacher shall have completed at least three (3) years of teaching in the Arkansas public school system before applying for the assistance under this section and § 6-17-412 and shall not have previously received state funding for participation in any certification area in the program of the national board. (2)(A) The State Board of Education shall promulgate rules for the selection process of teacher participants in the program of the national board. (B) The number of teacher participants each year will be determined by the amount of funding available for the program. (3)(A) The division shall pay a yearly incentive bonus of five thousand dollars ($5,000) for no more than ten (10) school years or, in the case of a recertification obtained before January 1, 2018, for the life of the recertification to any classroom teacher, building-level principal, or building-level assistant principal who: (i) Is selected by the State Board of Education to participate in the program of the national board; (ii) Successfully completes the certification process of the national board; (iii) Has begun the certification process or has received certification or recertification of the national board before January 1, 2018; and (iv) Is, at the time of receiving the bonus: (a) Employed full time as a classroom teacher, building-level principal, or building-level assistant principal in an Arkansas public school district; or (b)(1) After working a minimum of three (3) years with national board certification as a classroom teacher, building-level principal, or building-level assistant principal in a public school district, employed full time as a teacher in an accredited teacher preparation program at a state-supported institution of higher education. (2)(A) Only teachers who hold national board certification on or after August 1, 2009, shall be eligible for a bonus for employment as provided under this subdivision (a)(3)(A)(iv)(b) if funds are available after payments are made to those eligible under subdivisions (a)(3)(A)(iv)(a) and (a)(3)(B)(i) of this section. (B) However, a bonus payment shall not be made retroactive. (B)(i) A teacher certified by the national board who moves into the state on or before January 1, 2017, and is employed full time as a classroom teacher, building-level principal, or building-level assistant principal in an Arkansas public school district shall be eligible for the yearly incentive bonus of five thousand dollars ($5,000) for every school year the person is employed full time as a classroom teacher, building-level principal, or building-level assistant principal in a local public school district for no more than ten (10) school years. (ii) A teacher who holds national board certification on or after August 1, 2009, who moves into the state on or before January 1, 2017, shall be eligible for the yearly incentive bonus of five thousand dollars ($5,000) for every school year the teacher is employed full time for no more than ten (10) school years if, after working for three (3) years with national board certification as a classroom teacher, building-level principal, or building-level assistant principal in a public school district in this state, the teacher is employed as a teacher in an accredited teacher preparation program at a state-supported institution of higher education if funds are available after payments are made to those eligible under subdivisions (a)(3)(A)(iv)(a) and (a)(3)(B)(i) of this section. (C) The increased incentive bonuses provided in this section shall not be retroactive. (D) No person shall receive a starting bonus and a yearly incentive for the same school year. (E) A person shall not receive either a starting bonus or a yearly incentive bonus, irrespective of the person's past participation in the certification of the national board, as a teacher, building-level principal, or building-level assistant principal in an Arkansas public school district or teacher in an accredited teacher preparation program at a state-supported institution of higher education if the person: (i) Leaves the full-time employment of an Arkansas public school district; (ii) Becomes employed as a school district-level central office administrator; (iii) Is employed by an Arkansas institution of higher education and does not teach in an accredited teacher preparation program; or (iv) Is employed by an education service cooperative and does not teach in a classroom with students. (F) At the time that the national board establishes a certification of the national board for school administrators and an Arkansas school district-level central office administrator becomes certified by the national board, the school district-level central office will be eligible to receive incentive bonuses in the amount awarded to teachers certified by the national board for every year for the life of the administrator certificate of the national board. (4) The State Board of Education is authorized to promulgate rules to establish a support program for teachers selected to participate in the program of the national board. (b)(1) A teacher who receives state moneys for the participation fee of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards but who does not complete the certification process within three (3) years after the teacher's entry into the certification program of the national board or who becomes certified by the national board but does not teach or serve as a building-level principal or building-level assistant principal in the Arkansas public school system for three (3) continuous school years after receiving the certification by the national board shall repay the division the amount it contributed to the participation fee of the national board and the total amount it contributed to any yearly bonus. (2) If the teacher, principal, or assistant principal leaves the employment of a public school district before the three (3) continuous years are completed and is employed by an Arkansas institution of higher education or employed by an education service cooperative and the teacher does not teach in a classroom with students, the teacher, principal, or assistant principal shall repay the division the amount it contributed to the participation fee of the national board and the total amount it contributed to any yearly salary bonus. (3) The State Board of Education may suspend the Arkansas teacher's license of any person that fails, when required to do so, to repay moneys contributed by the division for the certification program of the national board. (4) Repayment of moneys contributed by the division is not required if, due to the death or disability of the teacher or other extenuating circumstances as may be recognized by the State Board of Education, the teacher does not complete the certification process of the national board or does not teach in the Arkansas public school system for three (3) continuous school years after completing the certification process of the national board. (c)(1) Provisions of this section and § 6-17-412 shall apply only to the extent that funds are appropriated to the division to pay for these provisions. (2)(A) For a member of the Arkansas Teacher Retirement System, the division shall withhold any employee contributions when necessary from the incentive bonus and shall send the employee contributions to the system for credit as a part of the member's salary. (B) The employer contributions shall be provided from funds that are appropriated to the division to pay for the bonuses and shall be sent to the system for credit as employer contributions to match the member's salary. (d)(1) As used in this subsection, “speech-language pathologist” means a speech-language pathologist who: (A) Has a master's degree, which includes medical-based training; (B) Has completed a one-year clinical fellowship; (C) Has passed the specialty area of the National Teacher Examination; and (D) Holds a Certificate of Clinical Competence in Speech-Language Pathology from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. (2) By December 1 of each year, the division shall pay a yearly incentive bonus of five thousand dollars ($5,000) to a speech-language pathologist who: (A) Holds an Arkansas teaching license in speech-language pathology; (B) Is a full-time employee of an Arkansas education service cooperative or public school district as a speech-language pathologist at the time of receiving the bonus; and (C) Is not considered a purchased service contractor but may be employed under a teacher contract subject to renewal under § 6-17-1506. (3)(A)(i) Bonuses paid to a certified speech-language pathologist under this subsection shall be paid from the funds appropriated and available for bonuses to speech-language pathologists. (ii) If sufficient funds are not available to pay the full amount of the bonus to each certified speech-language pathologist as provided under this section, the division may reduce the amount of the bonus for each qualified recipient proportionately as necessary to provide a bonus to each qualified speech-language pathologist in an equal amount. (B) The cost and expenses related to training for or acquisition of the certificate shall not be funded through the program created under this section and § 6-17-412 but shall be the responsibility of the certified speech-language pathologist. (4) Although a certified speech-language pathologist entitled to a bonus under this subsection will hold a valid Arkansas teaching license in speech-language pathology, references to “teacher” under this section shall mean a classroom teacher as defined under § 6-17-412(a)(1) who is in the program but not a certified speech-language pathologist. (5)(A)(i) If a speech-language pathologist who receives a bonus under this subsection leaves employment in the Arkansas public school system before completing three (3) continuous school years of employment, the speech-language pathologist shall repay the division a prorated portion of the bonus received in the school year based on a daily rate for the remainder of a school year in which the speech-language pathologist leaves employment. (ii) The first year of the three (3) continuous school years is the first year that the speech-language pathologist received a bonus under this subsection (d). (iii) The daily rate is calculated as the amount of the annual bonus paid to the speech-language pathologist divided by the number of days in the speech-language pathologist's contract. (B) The State Board of Education may suspend the Arkansas speech-language pathology license of any person who fails to repay the amount of the bonus required to be repaid under this subdivision (d)(5). (C) Repayment of all or a portion of a bonus under this subdivision (d)(5) is not required if, due to the death or disability of the speech-language pathologist or other extenuating circumstances as may be recognized by the State Board of Education, the speech-language pathologist does not remain employed in the Arkansas public school system for three (3) continuous school years after first receiving the bonus under this subsection. (e)(1) The division shall pay a yearly incentive bonus to a person who: (A) On or after January 1, 2018, began the certification process and received National Board for Professional Teaching Standards certification; and (B) At the time of receiving the bonus is employed full-time in a public school, including an open-enrollment public charter school, as a: (i) Classroom teacher; (ii) Instructional facilitator; or (iii) Instructional leader. (2) A yearly incentive bonus under this subsection shall be: (A) Two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) for a person who at the time of receiving the bonus is employed full-time in a public school, including an open-enrollment public charter school, that is not a high-poverty school or a high-poverty charter school; (B) Five thousand dollars ($5,000) for a person who at the time of receiving the bonus is employed full-time in a high-poverty school that is not in a high-poverty district; or (C) Ten thousand dollars ($10,000) for a person who at the time of receiving the bonus is employed full-time in a: (i) High-poverty school in a high-poverty district; or (ii) High-poverty charter school. (3) A yearly incentive bonus under this subsection shall be limited as follows: (A) A person shall not receive a two thousand five hundred dollar ($2,500) bonus under subdivision (e)(2)(A) of this section in more than five (5) school years; (B) A person shall not receive a five thousand dollar ($5,000) bonus under subdivision (e)(2)(B) of this section in more than five (5) school years; (C) A person shall not receive a ten thousand dollar ($10,000) bonus under subdivision (e)(2)(C) of this section in more than ten (10) school years; (D) A person shall not receive any yearly incentive bonus under this subsection in more than ten (10) school years; (E) A person shall not receive in the same school year more than one (1) yearly incentive bonus under subdivision (e)(2) of this section; and (F)(i) A person shall not receive in the same school year both a bonus under this subsection and a bonus under subsection (a) of this section. (ii) A person who, as of December 1, 2017, meets the qualifications for a yearly incentive bonus under both this subsection and subsection (a) of this section may make an irrevocable election to receive future yearly incentive bonuses under this subsection by filing a written election with the division no later than July 1, 2019. (f) As used in this section: (1) “High-poverty charter school” means an Arkansas open-enrollment public charter school in which seventy percent (70%) or greater of the previous school year's enrolled students are national school lunch students as defined in § 6-20-2303; (2) “High-poverty district” means an Arkansas public school district in which seventy percent (70%) or greater of the previous school year's enrolled students are national school lunch students as defined in § 6-20-2303; (3) “High-poverty school” means an Arkansas public school in which seventy percent (70%) or greater of the previous school year's enrolled students are national school lunch students as defined in § 6-20-2303; and (4)(A) “Instructional leader” means a building-level administrator who is responsible for evaluating teachers or instructional staff. (B) “Instructional leader” includes without limitation a building-level administrator who is an evaluator as defined in § 6-17-2803.