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92_SB2005
LRB9215876NTpkA
1 AN ACT relating to education.
2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3 represented in the General Assembly:
4 Section 5. The School Code is amended by adding Section
5 2-3.131 as follows:
6 (105 ILCS 5/2-3.131 new)
7 Sec. 2-3.131. Certified Teacher Retention Bonus Program.
8 (a) The General Assembly finds and declares the
9 following:
10 (1) There is a growing shortage of high-quality,
11 certified, veteran classroom teachers who remain teaching
12 at low-performing schools.
13 (2) An incentive retention bonus is appropriate to
14 ensure that these experienced teachers will continue to
15 teach at low-performing schools.
16 (b) In this Section, "Program" means the Certified
17 Teacher Retention Bonus Program.
18 (c) There is hereby established the Certified Teacher
19 Retention Bonus Program. Beginning with the 2002-2003 school
20 year, if a school district, with the agreement of the
21 exclusive bargaining representative, if any, of the certified
22 teachers of that district, chooses to participate in the
23 Program, then the school district may apply for a grant each
24 school year from the State Board of Education on behalf of
25 any schools in the district that are eligible under
26 subsection (d) of this Section and elect to participate in
27 the Program. The amount of the grant shall be sufficient to
28 award bonuses to participating teachers under subsection (g)
29 of this Section and shall be used exclusively to award these
30 bonuses.
31 (d) A school is eligible to participate in the Program
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1 if the school is currently on the State Board of Education's
2 Academic Watch List or Early Academic Warning List. Priority
3 shall be given to schools with a high rate of teacher
4 turnover, as defined by the State Board of Education.
5 (e) To participate in the Program, a teacher at the
6 participating school must hold an Illinois teaching
7 certificate. A teacher is ineligible to participate in the
8 Program if he or she meets any of the following conditions:
9 (1) The teacher has 2 or less years of teaching
10 experience, unless a majority of teachers at the
11 participating school have 2 or less years of teaching
12 experience.
13 (2) The teacher is on probation for any reason.
14 (3) The teacher has received an "unsatisfactory"
15 rating on his or her evaluation conducted pursuant to
16 Article 24A of this Code.
17 (4) The teacher has already received a bonus under
18 this Section.
19 (f) The maximum number of teachers that may participate
20 in the Program at a participating school shall be no more
21 than 20% of the certified teachers at that school, with a
22 priority given to the more experienced teachers who exhibit
23 exemplary teaching ability, as defined by the State Board of
24 Education. However, if a teacher has 2 or less years of
25 teaching experience and a majority of teachers at the
26 participating school have 2 or less years of teaching
27 experience, then the teacher may participate if the teacher
28 has demonstrated exemplary ability as defined by the State
29 Board of Education. Priority for participation in the Program
30 shall be given to teachers who receive certification from the
31 National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.
32 (g) A teacher who participates in the Program shall
33 receive a one-time bonus equal to 25% of the teacher's base
34 salary for the school year, excluding any other bonuses. Any
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1 bonus received under this Section shall not be included in
2 the base pay calculation for any year. The bonus shall be
3 paid to the teacher on a prorated basis as part of the
4 teacher's annual salary payment plan, beginning with the
5 first pay period of the school year.
6 (h) Each participating teacher shall agree to teach at
7 the participating school for an additional 4 school years.
8 Teachers failing to meet this requirement for reasons other
9 than death, disability, or anything else deemed appropriate
10 by the State Board of Education as determined by rule shall
11 repay to the participating school the full amount of the
12 bonus received. The participating school shall use all such
13 returned money to increase the bonus amount for the other
14 participating teachers.
15 (i) Funding for the Program is subject to annual
16 appropriation by the General Assembly for that purpose. If
17 the amount appropriated in a given fiscal year is
18 insufficient to pay in full the amount of all of the grants
19 to school districts that are entitled to grants, the sum
20 shall be prorated among those districts, which in turn shall
21 be prorated among those teachers in each district that are
22 entitled to bonuses.
23 (j) The State Board of Education shall conduct an annual
24 evaluation of the Program. A report on each evaluation shall
25 be submitted to the General Assembly and shall document
26 whether and the extent to which the Program has contributed
27 to pupil performance and teacher retention.
28 (k) The State Board of Education shall adopt any rules
29 consistent with the requirements of this Section that are
30 necessary to implement and administer the Program.
31 (l) This Section is repealed on July 1, 2007.
32 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect on
33 July 1, 2002.