(a) (1) (A) The Department of Education shall pay the full amount of the participation fee of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards and provide, if determined to be necessary by the department, substitute pay for a maximum of three (3) days of approved paid leave for teachers selected by the State Board of Education to participate in the program of the national board.
(B) A teacher shall have completed at least three (3) years of teaching in the Arkansas public school system before applying for the assistance under this section and § 6-17-412 and shall not have previously received state funding for participation in any certification area in the program of the national board.
(2) (A) The State Board of Education shall promulgate rules and regulations for the selection process of teacher participants in the program of the national board.
(B) The number of teacher participants each year will be determined by the amount of funding available for the program.
(3) (A) The department shall pay a starting incentive bonus of two thousand dollars ($2,000) upon receiving the certification of the national board and a yearly incentive bonus of two thousand dollars ($2,000) for every school year for the life of the certificate of the national board to any classroom teacher, building-level principal, or building-level assistant principal who:
(i) Is selected by the State Board of Education to participate in the program of the national board;
(ii) Successfully completes the certification process of the national board;
(iii) Receives certification of the national board; and
(iv) Is, at the time of receiving the bonus:
(a) Employed full time as a classroom teacher, building-level principal, or building-level assistant principal in an Arkansas public school district; or
(b) (1) After working a minimum of three (3) years with national board certification as a classroom teacher, building-level principal, or building-level assistant principal in a public school district, employed full time as a teacher in an accredited teacher preparation program at a state-supported institution of higher education.
(2) (A) Only teachers who hold national board certification on or after August 1, 2009, shall be eligible for a bonus for employment as provided under this subdivision (a)(3)(A)(iv)(b) if funds are available after payments are made to those eligible under subdivisions (a)(3)(A)(iv)(a) and (a)(3)(B)(i).
(B) However, a bonus payment shall not be made retroactive.
(B) (i) A teacher certified by the national board who moves into the state and is employed full time as a classroom teacher, building-level principal, or building-level assistant principal in an Arkansas public school district shall be eligible for the yearly incentive bonus of five thousand dollars ($5,000) for every school year the person is employed full time as a classroom teacher, building-level principal, or building-level assistant principal in a local public school district for the life of the certificate of the national board.
(ii) A teacher who holds national board certification on or after August 1, 2009, who moves into the state shall be eligible for the yearly incentive bonus of five thousand dollars ($5,000) for every school year the teacher is employed full time for the life of the certificate of the national board if, after working for three (3) years with national board certification as a classroom teacher, building-level principal, or building-level assistant principal in a public school district in this state, the teacher is employed as a teacher in an accredited teacher preparation program at a state-supported institution of higher education if funds are available after payments are made to those eligible under subdivisions (a)(3)(A)(iv)(a) and (a)(3)(B)(i).
(C) The starting incentive bonus and the yearly incentive set forth in subdivisions (a)(3)(A) and (B) of this section shall increase yearly as follows:
(i) The starting incentive bonus and the yearly incentive for 2003 shall be three thousand dollars ($3,000);
(ii) The starting incentive bonus and the yearly incentive for 2004 shall be four thousand dollars ($4,000); and
(iii) The starting incentive bonus and the yearly incentive for 2005 and each year thereafter shall be five thousand dollars ($5,000).
(D) The increased incentive bonuses provided in this section shall not be retroactive.
(E) No person shall receive a starting bonus and a yearly incentive for the same school year.
(F) A person shall not receive either a starting incentive bonus or a yearly incentive bonus, irrespective of the person's past participation in the certification of the national board, as a teacher, building-level principal, or building-level assistant principal in an Arkansas public school district or teacher in an accredited teacher preparation program at a state-supported institution of higher education if the person:
(i) Leaves the full-time employment of an Arkansas public school district;
(ii) Becomes employed as a school district-level central office administrator;
(iii) Is employed by an Arkansas institution of higher education and does not teach in an accredited teacher preparation program; or
(iv) Is employed by an education service cooperative and does not teach in a classroom with students.
(G) At the time that the national board establishes a certification of the national board for school administrators and an Arkansas school district-level central office administrator becomes certified by the national board, the school district-level central office will be eligible to receive incentive bonuses in the amount awarded to teachers certified by the national board for every year for the life of the administrator certificate of the national board.
(4) The State Board of Education is authorized to promulgate rules and regulations to establish a support program for teachers selected to participate in the program of the national board.
(b) (1) A teacher who receives state moneys for the participation fee of the national board but who does not complete the certification process within three (3) years after the teacher's entry into the certification program of the national board or who becomes certified by the national board but does not teach or serve as a building-level principal or building-level assistant principal in the Arkansas public school system for three (3) continuous school years after receiving the certification by the national board shall repay the department the amount it contributed to the participation fee of the national board and the total amount it contributed to any yearly bonus.
(2) If the teacher, principal, or assistant principal leaves the employment of a public school district before the three (3) continuous years are completed and is employed by an Arkansas institution of higher education or employed by an education service cooperative and the teacher does not teach in a classroom with students, the teacher, principal, or assistant principal shall repay the department the amount it contributed to the participation fee of the national board and the total amount it contributed to any yearly salary bonus.
(3) The State Board of Education may suspend the Arkansas teacher's license of any person that fails, when required to do so, to repay moneys contributed by the department for the certification program of the national board.
(4) Repayment of moneys contributed by the department is not required if, due to the death or disability of the teacher or other extenuating circumstances as may be recognized by the State Board of Education, the teacher does not complete the certification process of the national board or does not teach in the Arkansas public school system for three (3) continuous school years after completing the certification process of the national board.
(c) (1) Provisions of this section and § 6-17-412 shall apply only to the extent that funds are appropriated to the department to pay for these provisions.
(2) (A) For a member of the Arkansas Teacher Retirement System, the department shall withhold any employee contributions when necessary from the incentive bonus and shall send the employee contributions to the system for credit as a part of the member's salary.
(B) The employer contributions shall be provided from funds that are appropriated to the department to pay for the bonuses and shall be sent to the system for credit as employer contributions to match the member's salary.
(d) (1) As used in this subsection, "speech-language pathologist" means a speech-language pathologist who:
(A) Has a master's degree, which includes medical-based training;
(B) Has completed a one-year clinical fellowship;
(C) Has passed the specialty area of the National Teachers Examination; and
(D) Holds a Certificate of Clinical Competence in Speech-Language Pathology from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.
(2) By December 1 of each year, the department shall pay a yearly incentive bonus of five thousand dollars ($5,000) to a speech-language pathologist who:
(A) Holds an Arkansas teaching license in speech-language pathology;
(B) Is a full-time employee of an Arkansas education service cooperative or public school district as a speech-language pathologist at the time of receiving the bonus; and
(C) Is not considered a purchased service contractor but may be employed under a teacher contract subject to renewal under § 6-17-1506.
(3) (A) (i) Bonuses paid to a certified speech-language pathologist under this subsection shall be paid from the funds appropriated and available for bonuses to speech-language pathologists.
(ii) If sufficient funds are not available to pay the full amount of the bonus to each certified speech-language pathologist as provided under this section, the department may reduce the amount of the bonus for each qualified recipient proportionately as necessary to provide a bonus to each qualified speech-language pathologist in an equal amount.
(B) The cost and expenses related to training for or acquisition of the certificate shall not be funded through the program created under this section and § 6-17-412 but shall be the responsibility of the certified speech-language pathologist.
(4) Although a certified speech-language pathologist entitled to a bonus under this subsection will hold a valid Arkansas teaching license in speech-language pathology, references to "teacher" under this section shall mean a classroom teacher as defined under § 6-17-412(a)(1) who is in the program but not a certified speech-language pathologist.
(5) (A) (i) If a speech-language pathologist who receives a bonus under this subsection leaves employment in the Arkansas public school system before completing three (3) continuous school years of employment, the speech-language pathologist shall repay the department a prorated portion of the bonus received in the school year based on a daily rate for the remainder of a school year in which the speech-language pathologist leaves employment.
(ii) The first year of the three (3) continuous school years is the first year that the speech-language pathologist received a bonus under this subsection (d).
(iii) The daily rate is calculated as the amount of the annual bonus paid to the speech-language pathologist divided by the number of days in the speech-language pathologist's contract.
(B) The State Board of Education may suspend the Arkansas speech-language pathology license of any person who fails to repay the amount of the bonus required to be repaid under this subdivision (d)(5).
(C) Repayment of all or a portion of a bonus under this subdivision (d)(5) is not required if, due to the death or disability of the speech-language pathologist or other extenuating circumstances as may be recognized by the State Board of Education, the speech-language pathologist does not remain employed in the Arkansas public school system for three (3) continuous school years after first receiving the bonus under this subsection.
Section: Previous 6-17-404 6-17-406 6-17-407 6-17-409 6-17-410 6-17-411 6-17-412 6-17-413 6-17-414 6-17-415 6-17-416 6-17-417 6-17-418 6-17-419 6-17-421 NextLast modified: November 15, 2016