Arkansas Administrative Code
Agency 005 - DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Division 16 - Division of Human Resources ***
Rule 005.16.07-006 - ADE 278: Rules Governing Incentives for Teacher Recruitment and Retention in High Priority Public School Districts
Universal Citation: AR Admin Rules 005.16.07-006
Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 9, September, 2024
Rules Governing Incentives for Teacher Recruitment and Retention in High Priority Districts with an Average Daily Membership of 1,000 or Fewer
1.00 Regulatory Authority
1.01 These rules shall be
known as the Arkansas Department of Education Rules Governing Incentives for
Teacher Recruitment and Retention in High Priority Districts.
1.02 These rules are enacted pursuant to the
Arkansas State Board of Education's authority under Ark. Code Ann. §§
6-11-105,
6-17-811,
25-15-201 et seq. and Act 1044 of
2007.
2.00 Purpose
The purpose of this rule is to establish the procedures to provide incentives for teacher recruitment and retention in high priority districts.
3.00 Definitions
Unless otherwise specifically stated herein, the term:
3.01 Department - Means the Arkansas
Department of Education.
3.02 High
Priority District - Means a public school district in which eighty percent
(80%) or more of public school students are eligible for the free or
reduced-price lunch program under the National School Lunch Act based on the
October 1 student count of the previous year submitted to the Department of
Education and had a three-quarter average daily membership in the previous year
of one thousand (1,000) or fewer students.
3.03 New Teacher Bonus - Means an incentive
bonus provided under Sections 4.01.1 through 4.01.3 of these rules to a teacher
that is within the first three (3) years of employment with a single high
priority district.
3.04 Previous
year - Means the school year immediately preceding the current school
year.
3.05 Retention Bonus - Means
an incentive bonus of two-thousand dollars ($2,000) to be paid to a teacher who
has received a new teacher bonus and enters his or her fourth or subsequent
year of service in the same or other high- priority school district or for a
teacher employed in a high-priority district who does not meet the requirements
of Sections 4.01.1 through 4.01.3 of these rules.
3.06 Teacher - Means a licensed classroom
teacher who spends seventy percent (70%) of his or her time working directly
with students in a classroom setting teaching all grade-level or subject-matter
appropriate classes, including guidance counselors and
librarians.
4.00 Incentives
4.01 Beginning in the
2007-2008 school year, and each school year thereafter, a teacher licensed by
the State Board of Education who enters into a teaching contract and who
completes the entire current school year teaching in a high-priority district
shall, at the end of the school year and upon completion of his or her
contracted teaching obligations, be entitled to receive, in addition to all
other contracted salary and benefits:
4.01.1
A newly hired teacher who has not previously taught in a high-priority
district, a one (1) time signing bonus of four thousand dollars ($4,000) for
the first year of service in the district to be paid upon completion of the
full year of teaching.
4.01.2 A
newly hired teacher who meets the requirements of Section 4.01.1 of these
rules, who continues to teach in the same high-priority district and who
completes the second full year of contracted teaching obligations, a new
teacher bonus in the amount of three thousand dollars ($3,000).
4.01.3 A teacher who meets the requirements
of Sections 4.01.1 and 4.01.2 of these rules, who continues to teach in the
same high- priority district and who completes the third full year of
contracted teaching obligations, a new teacher bonus in the amount of three
thousand dollars ($3,000).
4.01.4 A
teacher who meets the requirements of Sections 4.01.1 through 4.01.3 of these
rules, who enters the fourth or subsequent year of service with the same
high-priority district or begins employment with a high-priority district other
than the high-priority district where he or she was employed when he or she
received any bonuses pursuant to Sections 4.01.1 through 4.01.3 above shall
receive a retention bonus in the amount of two thousand dollars ($2,000) for
the fourth and each subsequent complete year of service in the high-priority
district to be paid at the end of the school year after completing all
contractual obligations
4.01.5 A
teacher employed in a high priority district who does not meet the requirements
of Sections 4.01.1 through 4.01.3 of these rules, shall receive a retention
bonus in the amount of two thousand dollars ($2,000) for each complete year of
service in the high-priority district to be paid at the end of the school year
after completing all contractual obligations.
4.02 The Superintendent of the high-priority
district where the teacher is employed shall certify in writing to the
Department that the teacher has completed all contractual obligations for the
school year. The Superintendent shall submit such certification information for
applicable teachers to the Department no more than twenty-one (21) calendar
days after the end of the high-priority district's school year.
4.03 No teacher is entitled to any incentives
outlined in Section 4.01 above unless the teacher has fulfilled all contractual
obligations for the current school year.
4.04 Any bonus pay awarded to an eligible,
full time equivalent teacher who does not work the entire school year shall be
pro-rated based on the portion of the school year that the eligible teacher was
employed by the high- priority district.
5.00 Documentation
5.01 Beginning in 2007-2008, the Department
shall issue by September 1 of each year a list of the high priority districts
in which eighty percent (80%) or more of the public school students are
eligible for the free or reduced-price lunch program under the National School
Lunch Act and that had a three-quarter average daily membership in the previous
year of one thousand (1,000) or fewer students.
5.02 Beginning in 2007-2008, the Free and
Reduced Price Meal calculation shall be based on the list of eligible students
in a district as verified by the Child Nutrition Unit of the Department based
on the October 1 list of eligible for grades K-12 for the previous school
year.
5.03 The determination of
eligibility for high priority district designation in annexed or consolidated
districts is made based on the combination of enrollment, average daily
membership and free and reduced price meal calculations for the two or more
districts that were annexed or consolidated.
5.04 Beginning in 2007-2008, high priority
districts shall notify the Department on forms provided by the Department, and
identify all eligible teachers employed at the high priority district for the
current school year. The district shall list teachers who were not employed by
the high priority district during the previous school year and teachers
employed the previous school year who continue to be employed for the current
school year.
5.05 Upon receipt of
the form from each high priority district and the written certification from
the Superintendent required by Section 4.02 of these rules, the Department
shall distribute the funds to the districts who will distribute the appropriate
bonuses to the teachers employed by the high priority districts.
5.06 Districts will be responsible for the
payment of all matching benefit payments.
6.00 Monitoring of Program
6.01 It shall be the responsibility of each
high- priority district to monitor the incentive bonus distribution in their
district and provide data to the Arkansas Department of Education.
6.02 The Arkansas Department of Education's
Teacher Recruitment and Retention Unit will collect the data and monitor the
total program for the state.
Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. Arkansas may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
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