Brief (1)
SB 328 applies to school districts and establishes the "career teacher salary plan," a plan approved by the Commissioner of Education and supplemental to a school district's regular salary plan, and provides a weight in the school finance formula to assist school districts in providing additional compensation to classroom teachers who participate in the plan.
Career Teacher. For purposes of this program, a career teacher is a classroom teacher who qualifies for coverage under the teacher due process law (usually, a person who has completed three years of employment in the district and who has been offered a fourth contract).
State Funding for the Career Teacher Salary Plan. A school district board that adopts a career teacher salary plan qualifies for the new "career teacher weighting" under the school finance law. The weight is 0.4 of base state aid per pupil (BSAPP) for each teacher who participates in the plan. Money generated by the weight is deposited in the new career teacher salary fund of school districts. Expenses attributable to the program must be paid from this fund.
Participation in a Career Teacher Plan. A teacher's participation in the salary plan is voluntary; it must be agreed to by both the board and teacher. A board or an administrator may not impose sanctions on a teacher who declines to participate in the plan. Under such a plan, the teacher and the board may enter into a multi-year employment contract, up to three years. The career teacher exchanges coverage under the main features of the teacher due process law for a more limited employment protection procedure in the event of a nonrenewal decision and is excluded from provisions of the continuing contract and professional negotiations laws.
Contract Nonrenewal on Contract Rejection by the Teacher. When a school district board intends to nonrenew a career teacher's contract, notice must be given on or before May 1 of the year in which the contract expires. The teacher must give written notice to a board by May 15 when the teacher intends to reject contract renewal. Contract terms may be changed at any time by mutual consent of the parties.
A career teacher who is given written notice of a board's intention to not renew the contract may request a meeting with the board by filing a written request with the board clerk within 10 days from the date of receipt of the notice. The board then holds the meeting within 10 days from the date of request. The meeting is held in executive session, at which time the board specifies the reasons for its action. The teacher is given an opportunity to respond to the board. Neither party may have counsel present at the meeting. Within 10 days after the meeting, the board reconsiders its reasons for nonrenewal and makes a final decision.
The Commissioner of Education Approves School District Career Teacher Salary Plans. The Commissioner of Education will:
Effective Date. The bill becomes effective on July 1, 2001.
Background
SB 328 is a bill that was introduced in 1999. Hearings were held on the bill in both 1999 and 2000. The Kansas Association of School Boards (KASB), United School Administrators (USA), and Kansas National Education Association (KNEA) appeared as conferees on the measure this year, the first two groups as proponents and the latter as an opponent.
KASB said that the bill could be one component in addressing a critical need in education--enhancement of professional standards and accountability. KASB noted that SB 328 is consistent with one of the recommendations of the National Commission on Teaching for America's Future. KASB noted that the teaching profession should be strengthened for the benefit of teachers and students, but that this will not happen until the current compensation and tenure laws are addressed. USA explained that the career plan is a way for school districts to exercise local control in rewarding exemplary teachers for the outstanding work they are doing. Also, such plans make it possible for school districts to better compete with business and industry in retaining teachers in fields such as mathematics, science, and technology. Teachers who choose to participate in a career teacher plan would be in an employment setting more nearly like employees in the private sector.
KNEA explained that SB 328 does not address teaching and learning or student achievement. The bill is mainly about urging low paid teachers to give up due process rights and contract protections. KNEA said that under provisions of SB 328, teachers would be less likely to be innovative and take risks as they would have less employment protection than under current law. KNEA pointed out that incentive compensation systems now can be worked out collaboratively at the bargaining table.
Last year, the State Department of Education estimated the state level administrative costs of this program in FY 2000 would be $55,628.
Also, last year, with respect to the additional state aid to school districts that would be required, a projection was that if a net of 10 percent of the approximately 32,000 teachers participated in this program, the FY 2001 fiscal note would be about $5.0 million. Perhaps it would not be unreasonable to project growth of about $5.0 million per year in the short term. It would appear that the maximum possible exposure would be in the range of $40.0 to $45.0 million per year.
Senate Committee of the Whole amendments added the admonition that a school board or administrator may not impose a sanction on a teacher who declines to participate in a career teacher salary plan and updated statutory and other references. *Supplemental notes are prepared by the Legislative Research Department and do not express legislative intent. The supplemental note and fiscal note for this bill may be accessed on the Internet at http://www.ink.org/public/legislative/bill_search.html