H1030 - 2016 Appropriations Act. (SL 2016-94)

Overview: Sec. 8.8 of S.L. 2016-94 directs the State Board of Education (SBE) to establish the Advanced Placement/International Baccalaureate Pilot Program (Pilot) to reward teacher performance and encourage student learning and improvement. As part of the Pilot, the Department of Public Instruction must administer bonus pay for two school years to licensed teachers of advanced courses, beginning with data from the 2015-2016 school year, as follows:

• A bonus of $50 for each student taught by an advanced course teacher in each advanced course who receives the following score:
• A score of three or higher on a College Board Advanced Placement Examination.
• A score of four or higher on an International Baccalaureate course examination.
• A teacher bonus awarded under this Pilot may not exceed $2000 in any school year.
• Bonuses for advanced course scores for the 2015-2016 and 2016-2017 school years will be payable in January 2017 and January 2018 respectively to qualifying advanced course teachers who remain employed teaching advanced courses in the same local school administrative unit at least from the school year the data is collected until the corresponding school year that the bonus is paid. The bonuses are not considered compensation under the Teachers' and State Employees' Retirement System.

The SBE must report on and study the Pilot as follows:

• The amount of bonuses awarded to advanced course teachers, including the amount awarded for Advanced Placement courses and the amount awarded for International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme courses, to the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the Fiscal Research Division by March 15, 2017, and again by March 15, 2018.
• The effect of the Pilot on advanced course teacher performance and retention to the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Fiscal Research Division, and the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee by March 15, 2018.

This section became effective July 1, 2016, and expires June 30, 2018.