ENROLLED

COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE

FOR

H. B. 2381

(By Delegates Ambler, Cooper, D. Evans, Perry, Duke, Rohrbach,

                   Espinosa, Upson, Rowan and Romine)

[Passed March 11, 2015; in effect July 1, 2015.]

AN ACT to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated §18A-4-2c, relating to providing a teacher mentoring increment for classroom teachers with national board certification who teach and mentor at persistently low performing schools; defining persistently low performing schools; defining mentoring; specifying method of payment; and specifying eligibility.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

            That the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended by adding thereto a new section, designated §18A-4-2c, read as follows:

ARTICLE 4. SALARIES, WAGES AND OTHER BENEFITS.

§18A-4-2c. Teacher mentoring increment for classroom teachers with national board certification who teach and mentor at persistently low performing schools.

            (a) An additional $2,000 shall be paid annually to each classroom teacher who:

            (1) Holds a valid certificate issued by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards;

            (2) Is employed to teach at a school designated as a persistently low performing school by the West Virginia Department of Education; and

            (3) Is also assigned as part of their regular employment, to serve in a mentoring capacity for other teachers at the school.

            (b) The additional payment:

            (1) Shall be in addition to any amounts prescribed in the applicable state minimum salary schedule;

            (2) Shall be paid in equal monthly installments; and

            (3) Shall be considered a part of the state minimum salaries for teachers.

            (c) For the purposes of this section:

            (1) “Persistently low performing school” means a school identified by the department as being among the lowest twenty percent of schools in the state in three-year aggregate mathematics and reading/language arts scores on the statewide summative assessment; and

            (2) “Mentoring” means working under the direction of the principal to improve the professional practice knowledge and skills of other teachers employed at the school through on-site embedded professional development and other appropriate school building level approaches. Mentoring includes, but is not limited to, an assigned role in the comprehensive system for teacher induction and professional growth pursuant to section three, article three-c of this chapter, and may include working with other teachers to improve instruction at the school.

            (d) A national board certified teacher who becomes eligible for an additional payment under this section remains eligible for five consecutive years of employment at the same school in the same assignment regardless of a subsequent change in the designation of the school as a persistently low performing school. The teacher may become eligible again at the same school if it continues to be persistently low performing or at a different persistently low performing school, but not sooner than five years from the beginning of a previous eligibility.

            (e) Nothing in this section permits continued eligibility if the certificate issued by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards is no longer valid.

            (f) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter to the contrary, a county may use other funds, including federal and local funds, available to them to increase or provide other incentives for highly qualified teachers to teach at persistently low performing schools.