Rep. Norm Thurston — Voting Record

Bill

Number

H.B. 315 (2022GS)

Sponsor

Rep. Winder, M.

Final action

Governor Signed 3/23/2022

Outcome

Became law — signed by Gov. Spencer J. Cox

Summary

What it does

• This bill:
• clarifies that special education teachers are eligible for the Effective Teachers in High Poverty Schools Incentive Program (incentive program);
• makes kindergarten teachers eligible for the incentive program;
• adds a second method for teachers in grades 1 through 3 to be eligible for the incentive program; and
• makes technical and conforming changes.

Every vote on this bill

Bill text

EFFECTIVE TEACHERS IN HIGH POVERTY SCHOOLS
INCENTIVE PROGRAM AMENDMENTS
GENERAL SESSION
STATE OF UTAH
Chief Sponsor: Mike Winder
Senate Sponsor: 
 Lincoln Fillmore
LONG TITLE
General Description:
This bill makes changes to the Effective Teachers in High Poverty Schools Incentive
Program.
Highlighted Provisions:
This bill:
▸ clarifies that special education teachers are eligible for the Effective Teachers in
High Poverty Schools Incentive Program (incentive program);
▸ makes kindergarten teachers eligible for the incentive program;
▸ adds a second method for teachers in grades 1 through 3 to be eligible for the
incentive program; and
▸ makes technical and conforming changes.
Money Appropriated in this Bill:
None
Other Special Clauses:
None
Utah Code Sections Affected:
AMENDS:
53F-2-513
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2021, Chapter 268
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
Section 1. Section 
53F-2-513
 is amended to read:
53F-2-513.
Effective Teachers in High Poverty Schools Incentive Program --
Salary bonus -- Evaluation.
(1) As used in this section:
(a) "Cohort" means a group of students, defined by the year in which the group enters
[
grade 1
] 
kindergarten
.
(b) "Eligible teacher" means a 
general education or special education
 teacher who is
employed as a teacher in [
grade 1 through
] 
kindergarten through grade
in a high poverty
school at the time the teacher is considered by the state board for a salary bonus, and:
(i) a full school year before the school year the eligible teacher is being considered by
the state board for a salary bonus under this section, regardless of whether the teacher was
employed the previous year by a high poverty school or a different public school, either:
(A) achieves a median growth percentile of 70 or higher while teaching in grade 4
through 8 at any public school in the state a course for which a standards assessment is
administered as described in Section 
53E-4-303
; or
(B) achieves at least 85% of students whose progress is assessed as typical or better at
the end of the year assessment while teaching 
kindergarten or
 grade 1, 2, or 3 at any public
school in the state at which a benchmark assessment is administered as described in Section
53F-2-503
[
;
] or 
Section 
53E-4-307.5
;
(ii) for a salary bonus awarded in the [
2020-2021
] 
2021-2022
 school year, regardless of
whether the teacher was employed the previous year by a high poverty school or a different
public school, either:
(A) in the 2018-2019 school year, achieves a median growth percentile of 70 or higher
while teaching in grade 4 through 8 at any public school in the state a course for which a
standards assessment is administered as described in Section 
53E-4-303
; or
(B) in the 2018-2019 school year, achieves at least 85% of students whose progress is
assessed as typical or better at the end of the year assessment while teaching grade 1, 2, or 3 at
any public school in the state at which a benchmark assessment is administered as described in
Section 
53F-2-503
; or
(iii) for a salary bonus awarded to a grade 4 teacher in the [
2021-2022
] 
2022-2023
school year, regardless of whether the teacher was employed the previous year by a high
poverty school or a different public school, teaches grade 4 and achieves the criteria under the
method that the state board creates as described in Subsection (2)(b)(iv).
(c) "High poverty school" means a public school:
(i) in which
, during the previous school year, based on October 1 enrollment as of the
year-end data submission
:
(A) more than 20% of the enrolled students are classified as children affected by
intergenerational poverty; or
(B) 70% or more of the enrolled students qualify for free or reduced lunch;
(ii) (A) that has previously met the criteria described in Subsection (1)(c)(i)(A) and for
each school year since meeting that criteria at least 15% of the enrolled students at the public
school have been classified as children affected by intergenerational poverty; or
(B) that has previously met the criteria described in Subsection (1)(c)(i)(B) and for
each school year since meeting that criteria at least 60% of the enrolled students at the public
school have qualified for free or reduced lunch;
(iii) for the 2020-2021 school year, that met the criteria described in Subsection
(1)(c)(i) or (ii) in the 2018-2019 school year; or
(iv) for the 2021-2022 school year, that met the criteria described in Subsection
(1)(c)(i) or (ii) in the 2019-2020 school year.
(d) "Intergenerational poverty" means the same as that term is defined in Section
35A-9-102
.
(e) "Median growth percentile" means a number that describes the comparative
effectiveness of a teacher in helping the teacher's students achieve growth in a year by
identifying the median student growth percentile of all the students a teacher instructs.
(f) "Program" means the Effective Teachers in High Poverty Schools Incentive
Program created in Subsection (2).
(g) "Student growth percentile" is a number that describes where a student ranks in
comparison to the student's cohort.
(2) (a) The Effective Teachers in High Poverty Schools Incentive Program is created to
provide an annual salary bonus for an eligible teacher.
(b) The state board shall, in accordance with Title 63G, Chapter 3, Utah Administrative
Rulemaking Act, make rules for:
(i) the administration of the program;
(ii) payment of a salary bonus;
(iii) application requirements; and
(iv) a method for:
(A) norm-referencing available reading assessment data for grade 4; and
(B) for using the data described in Subsection (2)(b)(iv)(A) to set criteria for the
purpose of determining teacher eligibility for salary bonuses awarded in the [
2021-2022
]
2022-2023
 school year for teachers in grade 4.
(c) The state board shall make an annual salary bonus payment in a fiscal year that
begins on July 1, 2017, and each fiscal year thereafter in which money is appropriated for the
program.
(d) The state board shall make a partial payment of the annual salary bonus described
in Subsection (2)(c), to an eligible teacher who has a part-time assignment in a regular or
special education classroom at an eligible school, based on the number of hours the eligible
teacher works in the classroom assignment.
(3) (a) Subject to future budget constraints, the Legislature shall annually appropriate
money to fund the program.
(b) Money appropriated for the program shall include money for the following
employer-paid benefits:
(i) social security; and
(ii) Medicare.
(4) (a) (i) A charter school or school district school shall annually apply to the state
board on behalf of an eligible teacher for an eligible teacher to receive an annual salary bonus
each year that the teacher is an eligible teacher.
(ii) A teacher need not be an eligible teacher in consecutive years to receive the
increased annual salary bonus described in Subsection (4)(b).
(b) The annual salary bonus for an eligible teacher is $7,000.
(c) A public school that applies on behalf of an eligible teacher under Subsection
(4)(a)(i) shall pay half of the salary bonus described in Subsection (4)(b) each year the eligible
teacher is awarded the salary bonus.
(d) The state board shall award a salary bonus to an eligible teacher based on the order
that an application from a public school on behalf of the eligible teacher is received.
(5) The state board shall:
(a) determine if a teacher is an eligible teacher;
(b) verify, as needed, the determinations made under Subsection (5)(a) with the school
district and school district administrators; and
(c) publish a list of high poverty schools.
(6) The state board shall:
(a) distribute money from the program to school districts and charter schools in
accordance with this section and state board rule; and
(b) include the employer-paid benefits described in Subsection (3)(b) in addition to the
salary bonus amount described in Subsection (4)(b).
(7) Money received from the program shall be used by a school district or charter
school to provide an annual salary bonus equal to the amount specified in Subsection (4)(b) for
each eligible teacher and to pay affiliated employer-paid benefits described in Subsection
(3)(b).
(8) (a) After the third year salary bonus payments are made, and each succeeding year,
the state board shall evaluate the extent to which a salary bonus described in this section
improves recruitment and retention of effective teachers in high poverty schools by examining
turnover rates of teachers who receive the salary bonus compared to teachers who do not
receive the salary bonus.
(b) Each year that the state board conducts an evaluation described in Subsection
(8)(a), the state board shall, in accordance with Section 
68-3-14
, submit a report on the results
of the evaluation to the Education Interim Committee on or before November 30.
(9) A public school shall annually notify a teacher:
(a) of the teacher's median growth percentile; and
(b) how the teacher's median growth percentile is calculated.
(10) Notwithstanding this section, if the appropriation for the program is insufficient to
cover the costs associated with salary bonuses, the state board may limit or reduce a salary
bonus.