This document includes House Floor Amendments incorporated into the bill on Wed, Feb 14, 2024 at 11:58 AM by housengrossing.
1     
EFFECTIVE TEACHERS IN HIGH POVERTY SCHOOLS

2     
INCENTIVE PROGRAM AMENDMENTS

3     
2024 GENERAL SESSION

4     
STATE OF UTAH

5     
Chief Sponsor: Lincoln Fillmore

6     
House Sponsor: Matt MacPherson

7     

8     LONG TITLE
9     General Description:
10          This bill requires the state board of education to notify each qualifying teacher of
11     potential eligibility in the program.
12     Highlighted Provisions:
13          This bill:
14          ▸     requires the state board of education to provide notice of the program to a teacher
15     who meets certain criteria; and
16          ▸     makes technical changes.
17     Money Appropriated in this Bill:
18          None
19     Other Special Clauses:
20          This bill provides a special effective date.
21     Utah Code Sections Affected:
22     AMENDS:
23          53F-2-513, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2023, Chapter 376
24     

25     Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
26          Section 1. Section 53F-2-513 is amended to read:
27          53F-2-513. Effective Teachers in High Poverty Schools Incentive Program --
28     Salary bonus -- Evaluation.
29          (1) As used in this section:
30          (a) "Benchmark assessment" means the assessment described in Sections 53E-4-307
31     and 53E-4-307.5.
32          [(b) "Cohort" means a group of students, defined by the year in which the group enters
33     kindergarten.]
34          [(c)] (b) "Eligible teacher" means a general education or special education teacher who
35     is employed as a teacher in kindergarten through grade 8 in a high poverty school:
36          (i) at the time the teacher is considered by the state board for a salary bonus[,]; and[:]
37          [(i)] (ii) a full school year before the school year the eligible teacher is being
38     considered by the state board for a salary bonus under this section, regardless of whether the
39     teacher was employed the previous year by a high poverty school or a different public school,
40     either:
41          (A) achieves a median growth percentile of 70 or higher while teaching in grade 4
42     through 8 at any public school in the state a course for which a standards assessment is
43     administered as described in Section 53E-4-303; or
44          (B) achieves at least 85% of students whose progress is assessed as typical or better at
45     the end of the year assessment while teaching kindergarten or grade 1, 2, or 3 at any public
46     school in the state at which a benchmark assessment is administered[; and].
47          [(ii) for a salary bonus awarded to a grade 4 teacher in the 2022-2023 school year,
48     regardless of whether the teacher was employed the previous year by a high poverty school or a
49     different public school, teaches grade 4 and achieves the criteria under the method that the state
50     board creates as described in Subsection (2)(b)(iv).]
51          [(d)] (c) "High poverty school" means a public school:
52          (i) in which, during the previous school year, based on October 1 enrollment as of the
53     year-end data submission:
54          (A) more than 20% of the enrolled students are classified as children affected by
55     intergenerational poverty; or
56          (B) 70% or more of the enrolled students qualify for free or reduced lunch; or
57          (ii) (A) that has previously met the criteria described in Subsection [(1)(d)(i)(A)]
58     (1)(c)(i)(A) and for each school year since meeting that criteria at least 15% of the enrolled
59     students at the public school have been classified as children affected by intergenerational
60     poverty; or
61          (B) that has previously met the criteria described in Subsection [(1)(d)(i)(A)]
62     (1)(c)(i)(A) and for each school year since meeting that criteria at least 60% of the enrolled
63     students at the public school have qualified for free or reduced lunch.
64          [(e)] (d) "Intergenerational poverty" means the same as that term is defined in Section
65     35A-9-102.
66          [(f)] (e) "Median growth percentile" means a number that describes the comparative
67     effectiveness of a teacher in helping the teacher's students achieve growth in a year by
68     identifying the median student growth percentile of all the students a teacher instructs for each
69     standards assessment [or benchmark assessment].
70          [(g)] (f) "Program" means the Effective Teachers in High Poverty Schools Incentive
71     Program created in Subsection (2).
72          [(h)] (g) "Standards assessment" means the assessments described in Section
73     53E-4-303.
74          [(i)] (h) "Student growth percentile" is a number that describes where a student ranks in
75     comparison to [the student's cohort] students with similar achievement on standards
76     assessments in previous years.
77          (2) (a) The Effective Teachers in High Poverty Schools Incentive Program is created to
78     provide an annual salary bonus for an eligible teacher.
79          (b) The state board shall, in accordance with Title 63G, Chapter 3, Utah Administrative
80     Rulemaking Act, make rules for:
81          (i) the administration of the program;
82          (ii) payment of a salary bonus; and
83          (iii) application requirements[; and].
84          [(iv) a method for:]
85          [(A) norm-referencing available reading assessment data for grade 4; and]
86          [(B) for using the data described in Subsection (2)(b)(iv)(A) to set criteria for the
87     purpose of determining teacher eligibility for salary bonuses awarded in the 2022-2023 school
88     year for teachers in grade 4.]
89          (c) The state board shall make an annual salary bonus payment in [a fiscal year that
90     begins on July 1, 2017, and] each fiscal year [thereafter] in which money is appropriated for the
91     program.
92          (d) The state board shall make a partial payment of the annual salary bonus described
93     in Subsection (2)(c), to an eligible teacher who has a part-time assignment in a regular or
94     special education classroom at an eligible school, based on the number of hours the eligible
95     teacher works in the classroom assignment.
96          (3) (a) Subject to future budget constraints, the Legislature shall annually appropriate
97     money to fund the program.
98          (b) Money appropriated for the program shall include money for the following
99     employer-paid benefits:
100          (i) social security; and
101          (ii) Medicare.
102          (4) (a) (i) An LEA shall annually apply to the state board on behalf of an eligible
103     teacher for an eligible teacher to receive an annual salary bonus each year that the teacher is an
104     eligible teacher.
105          (ii) A teacher need not be an eligible teacher in consecutive years to receive the
106     increased annual salary bonus described in Subsection (4)(b).
107          (b) The annual salary bonus for an eligible teacher is $7,000.
108          (c) A public school that applies on behalf of an eligible teacher under Subsection
109     (4)(a)(i) shall pay half of the salary bonus described in Subsection (4)(b) each year the eligible
110     teacher is awarded the salary bonus.
111          (d) The state board shall award a salary bonus to an eligible teacher based on the order
112     that an application from a public school on behalf of the eligible teacher is received.
113          (5) The state board shall:
114          (a) determine if a teacher is an eligible teacher;
115          (b) verify, as needed, the determinations made under Subsection (5)(a) with the school
116     district and school district administrators; [and]
117          (c) publish a list of high poverty schools[.]; and
118          (d) Ĥ→ [at the beginning of each school year,] within 30 days of the data being available,
118a     ←Ĥ provide notice to each teacher in the state
119     who, for the Ĥ→ [previous] current ←Ĥ school year, achieved the criteria described in Subsection
119a     (1)(b) and
120     include:
121          (i) a summary of the program including:
122          (A) the amount of the annual salary bonus; and
123          (B) the remaining requirements to qualify for the annual salary bonus; and
124          (ii) the list of schools described in Subsection (5)(c).
125          (6) The state board shall:
126          (a) distribute money from the program to an LEA in accordance with this section and
127     state board rule; and
128          (b) include the employer-paid benefits described in Subsection (3)(b) in addition to the
129     salary bonus amount described in Subsection (4)(b).
130          (7) Money received from the program shall be used by an LEA to provide an annual
131     salary bonus equal to the amount specified in Subsection (4)(b) for each eligible teacher and to
132     pay affiliated employer-paid benefits described in Subsection (3)(b).
133          (8) (a) After the third year salary bonus payments are made, and each succeeding year,
134     the state board shall evaluate the extent to which a salary bonus described in this section
135     improves recruitment and retention of effective teachers in high poverty schools by examining
136     turnover rates of teachers who receive the salary bonus compared to teachers who do not
137     receive the salary bonus.
138          (b) Each year that the state board conducts an evaluation described in Subsection
139     (8)(a), the state board shall, in accordance with Section 68-3-14, submit a report on the results
140     of the evaluation to the Education Interim Committee on or before November 30.
141          (9) A public school shall annually notify a teacher:
142          (a) of the teacher's median growth percentile; and
143          (b) how the teacher's median growth percentile is calculated.
144          (10) Notwithstanding this section, if the appropriation for the program is insufficient to
145     cover the costs associated with salary bonuses, the state board may limit or reduce a salary
146     bonus.
147          Section 2. Effective date.
148          This bill takes effect on July 1, 2024.