Second Regular Session Sixty-ninth General Assembly STATE OF COLORADO INTRODUCED LLS NO. 14-0082.04 Julie Pelegrin x2700 HOUSE BILL 14-1262 HOUSE SPONSORSHIP Priola, Murray, Stephens, Holbert, McNulty, Navarro, Singer SENATE SPONSORSHIP Newell, Grantham, Renfroe, Scheffel House Committees Senate Committees Education Appropriations A BILL FOR AN ACT Concerning distribution of grant moneys to local education providers to fund incentives for highly effective teachers to teach in low-performing schools, and, in connection therewith, creating the "Greatest Resources for Education are Teachers Act" and making an appropriation. Bill Summary (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced and does not reflect any amendments that may be subsequently adopted. If this bill passes third reading in the house of introduction, a bill summary that applies to the reengrossed version of this bill will be available at http://www.leg.state.co.us/billsummaries.) The bill creates the highly effective teacher incentives program (program) to enable school districts, boards of cooperative services that operate public schools, and charter schools (local education providers) to offer salary bonuses to attract highly effective teachers to teach in elementary, middle, or junior high schools that are implementing priority improvement or turnaround plans (low-performing schools). The department of education (department) and the state board of education (state board) will implement the program by distributing grants in 2-year cycles. The amount of a grant is based on the number of highly effective teachers that meet the requirements for receiving salary bonuses and that the local education provider employs in low-performing schools. Each local education provider that applies and meets the requirements for a grant will receive a grant, subject to available appropriations. A local education provider may use the grant only to pay nonbase-building salary bonuses to eligible highly effective teachers. A local education provider that receives a grant and is already paying incentives to highly effective teachers who teach in low-performing schools must pay the bonuses funded by the grant moneys in addition to the other incentives. A highly effective teacher must meet specified criteria to receive the salary bonus. The amount of the salary bonus depends on whether the teacher was working in a high-performing local education provider and changed employment to work in a low-performing school or is continuing to work in a low-performing school and whether the highly effective teacher works in a low-performing elementary, middle, or junior high school. The bill creates the highly effective teacher incentives fund (fund), which consists of a one-time appropriation of $4 million from the state education fund. The state board will disburse approximately one-half of the moneys in the fund in the first grant cycle and approximately one-half of the moneys in a second grant cycle. By December 15, 2019, the department must submit to the education committees of the general assembly a report concerning the implementation and effectiveness of the program. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Colorado: SECTION 1. In Colorado Revised Statutes, add article 95 to title 22 as follows: ARTICLE 95 Highly Effective Teacher Incentives Program 22-95-101. Short title. This article shall be known and may be cited as the "Greatest Resources for Education are Teachers Act". 22-95-102. Legislative declaration. (1) The general assembly finds that: (a) Research demonstrates that one of the most important factors in increasing student learning is the presence of an effective teacher in the classroom; (b) Although there are exceptions, low-performing schools are more likely to have more ineffective and inexperienced teachers; (c) The state and school districts have adopted a more rigorous process for evaluating teacher effectiveness, which, when fully implemented, will identify teachers who are highly effective in the classroom and more likely to be successful in increasing the academic achievement of their students; (d) Highly effective teachers teaching in low-performing schools are essential to closing the achievement gap for low-income students and racial minority student groups and for ensuring that students in low-performing schools attain postsecondary and workforce readiness by the time they graduate from high school; and (e) Providing resources to school districts and charter schools to enable them to offer monetary incentives for highly effective teachers who choose to teach in low-performing schools is an effective way to increase the number of highly effective teachers who teach in low-performing schools. (2) The general assembly finds, therefore, that it is in the best interests of the state to create a grant program to provide moneys to school districts and charter schools to enable them to attract and retain greater numbers of highly effective teachers in low-performing schools, thereby raising the academic achievement of the students enrolled in those schools. 22-95-103. Definitions. As used in this article, unless the context otherwise requires: (1) "Department" means the department of education created and existing pursuant to section 24-1-115, C.R.S. (2) "Fund" means the highly effective teacher incentives fund created in section 22-95-106. (3) "Highly effective teacher" means a teacher who, in his or her most recent performance evaluation, received a rating of highly effective, as described in rules adopted by the state board pursuant to section 22-9-104. (4) "Local education provider" means a school district, a board of cooperative services created pursuant to article 5 of this title that operates a public school, a charter school authorized by a school district pursuant to part 1 of article 30.5 of this title, or an institute charter school authorized by the state charter school institute pursuant to part 5 of article 30.5 of this title. (5) "Low-performing " means that a public school, as a result of the most recent performance evaluation by the department, is required pursuant to section 22-11-210 to implement a school priority improvement plan, as described in section 22-11-405, or a school turnaround plan, as described in section 22-11-406. (6) "State board" means the state board of education created in section 1 of article IX of the state constitution. (7) "Transfer teacher" means a highly effective teacher who, in the first year of a grant cycle: (a) Is newly employed by the local education provider that receives a grant pursuant to this article, having been most recently employed by: (I) A school district or board of cooperative services that held the status of accredited with distinction, as described in section 22-11-207, for the preceding school year; or (II) A charter school or institute charter school that implemented a performance plan, as described in section 22-11-403, for the preceding school year; or (b) Is a returning employee of a local education provider that receives a grant pursuant to this article but has transferred from a public school that implemented a performance plan, as described in section 22-11-403, for the preceding school year. 22-95-104. Highly effective teacher incentives program - created - grant awards - rules. (1) (a) There is created in the department the highly effective teacher incentives program to enable local education providers to offer monetary incentives to attract highly effective teachers to work in low-performing schools. Local education providers may use the grant moneys only to provide nonbase-building salary bonuses to highly effective teachers who choose to work in low-performing schools and meet the qualifications specified in section 22-95-105 (2). (b) During the 2014-15 budget year, the department shall publicize to local education providers and teachers the existence and goals of the program, including the eligibility requirements and qualifications for local education providers and highly effective teachers. (2) Subject to available appropriations and to the limitations specified in section 22-95-106 (2), the state board shall award grants pursuant to this article in two-year cycles beginning with the 2015-16 budget year. The state board shall award the grants from the moneys appropriated to the highly effective teacher incentives fund created in section 22-95-106. A local education provider may apply for a grant at the beginning of each cycle. The amount of each grant is based on the number of eligible highly effective teachers that the local education provider employs and the bonus amounts that the eligible highly effective teachers may receive as described in section 22-95-105. (3) The department shall review the grant applications received pursuant to this section to ensure that the local education provider and each of the highly effective teachers that the local education provider employs or expects to employ meets the qualifications specified in this article. Based on the department's review, the state board shall award grants to each local education provider that qualifies, subject to available appropriations and the limitations specified in section 22-95-106 (2). (4) The state board shall promulgate rules pursuant to the "State Administrative Procedure Act", article 4 of title 24, C.R.S., as necessary to implement this article. 22-95-105. Highly effective teacher incentives program - qualifications - bonus amounts. (1) A local education provider may apply for a grant pursuant to this article if it operates or is a low-performing elementary, middle, or junior high school. A local education provider that applies for a grant pursuant to this article must specify in the application the number of eligible highly effective teachers that it employs or that it expects to employ in low-performing elementary, middle, or junior high schools as of the beginning of the grant cycle for which the local education provider is applying. The department shall adjust the amount of the local education provider's grant if the local education provider employs fewer eligible highly effective teachers during the grant cycle than are included in the grant application. (2) To be eligible to receive a salary bonus pursuant to this section, a teacher must: (a) Be a highly effective teacher; (b) In each school year in which the teacher receives the salary bonus, be employed in a low-performing elementary, middle, or junior high school; and (c) Maintain a performance evaluation rating of effective or higher, as described in state board rules adopted pursuant to section 22-9-104, for the period during which the teacher receives the salary bonus. (3) In each school year in which a highly effective teacher meets the qualifications specified in subsection (2) of this section and is employed by a local education provider that receives a grant pursuant to this article, the highly effective teacher receives a nonbase-building salary bonus in one of the following amounts: (a) Twelve thousand dollars if the highly effective teacher is a transfer teacher who is teaching in a low-performing elementary school; (b) Eight thousand dollars if the highly effective teacher is a transfer teacher who is teaching in a low-performing middle or junior high school; (c) Six thousand dollars if the highly effective teacher is not a transfer teacher but is teaching in a low-performing elementary school for the second or subsequent consecutive school year; or (d) Three thousand dollars if the highly effective teacher is not a transfer teacher but is teaching in a low-performing middle or junior high school for the second or subsequent consecutive school year. (4) Notwithstanding any provision of subsection (3) of this section to the contrary, if a local education provider receives a grant for a second grant cycle, a highly effective teacher who received a salary bonus as a transfer teacher in the first grant cycle will continue to receive the salary bonus amount for a transfer teacher in the second grant cycle so long as the highly effective teacher is employed by the local education provider and continues to meet the qualifications for receiving a salary bonus specified in subsection (2) of this section. (5) A teacher who changes employment to another local education provider to qualify for a salary bonus pursuant to this article retains the years of service the teacher accumulated as an employee of the previous local education provider for purposes of placement on the salary schedule or within the salary policy of the hiring local education provider. (6) A local education provider that receives a grant pursuant to this article and that was paying incentives to highly effective teachers who teach in low-performing schools before receiving the grant must pay the bonus amounts specified in this section in addition to the other incentives it provides. 22-95-106. Highly effective teacher incentives fund - created - legislative declaration. (1) (a) There is created in the state treasury the highly effective teacher incentives fund, which consists of a one-time appropriation of four million dollars in the 2014-15 budget year from the state education fund created in section 17(4) of article IX of the state constitution. The moneys in the fund are continuously appropriated to the department for the direct and indirect costs associated with implementing this article. The department may expend up to two percent of the moneys appropriated to the fund to offset the costs incurred in implementing this article. (b) The state treasurer may invest any moneys in the fund not expended for the purpose of this article as provided by law. The state treasurer shall credit all interest and income derived from the investment and deposit of moneys in the fund to the fund. Any unexpended and unencumbered moneys remaining in the fund at the end of a fiscal year remain in the fund and shall not be credited or transferred to the general fund or another fund. (2) Subject to receiving applications from local education providers that meet the requirements of this article, the state board shall award up to two million dollars in grants to local education providers pursuant to this article in the first grant cycle, which begins in the 2015-16 budget year. Subject to receiving applications from local education providers that meet the requirements of this article, the state board shall award the amount remaining in the fund as of June 30, 2017, as grants to local education providers pursuant to this article in the second grant cycle, which begins in the 2017-18 budget year. (3) The general assembly declares that, for purposes of section 17 of article IX of the state constitution, the highly effective teacher incentives program is an important element in implementing accountable education reform and for accountable programs to meet state academic standards and may therefore receive funding from the state education fund created in section 17 (4) of article IX of the state constitution. 22-95-107. Report. (1) No later than December 15, 2019, the department shall prepare and submit to the education committees of the house of representatives and the senate, or any successor committees, a report on the implementation of this article. At a minimum, the report must include: (a) A list of the local education providers that received grants pursuant to this article, the amount of the bonuses paid by each local education provider, and the public schools in which the highly effective teachers taught; (b) The number of highly effective teachers that received bonuses pursuant to this article, the subject areas in which the highly effective teachers taught, the number of students who were taught by highly effective teachers that received bonuses, and the academic growth of the students who were taught by highly effective teachers that received bonuses; (c) The number of highly effective teachers that received bonuses pursuant to this article in both of the grant cycles and taught at the same low-performing school for the duration of both grant cycles; and (d) For each public school in which a highly effective teacher who received bonuses taught, the type of performance plan that the public school implemented in each school year beginning with the school year before a highly effective teacher teaching in the school received a bonus and continuing through each year in which the highly effective teacher received a bonus. SECTION 2. Appropriation. In addition to any other appropriation, there is hereby appropriated, out of any moneys in the state education fund created in section 17 (4) of article IX of the state constitution not otherwise appropriated, to the highly effective teacher incentives fund created in section 22-95-106, Colorado Revised Statutes, for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2014, the sum of $4,000,000, or so much thereof as may be necessary, for implementation of article 95 of title 22, Colorado Revised Statutes. SECTION 3. Act subject to petition - effective date. This act takes effect at 12:01 a.m. on the day following the expiration of the ninety-day period after final adjournment of the general assembly (August 6, 2014, if adjournment sine die is on May 7, 2014); except that, if a referendum petition is filed pursuant to section 1 (3) of article V of the state constitution against this act or an item, section, or part of this act within such period, then the act, item, section, or part will not take effect unless approved by the people at the general election to be held in November 2014 and, in such case, will take effect on the date of the official declaration of the vote thereon by the governor.