State of Illinois
92nd General Assembly
Legislation

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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.

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