Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 9, March 1, 2024
RELATES TO:
KRS
157.395,
161.131,
161.132,
161.133,
161.134
NECESSITY, FUNCTION, AND CONFORMITY:
KRS
161.133 establishes the Teachers' National
Certification Incentive Trust Fund.
KRS
161.133(3) requires the
Education Professional Standards Board to promulgate an administrative
regulation to establish procedures for the administration of the fund and the
requirements for participating teachers and local boards of education.
KRS
161.134(3) requires the
Education Professional Standards Board to promulgate an administrative
regulation to establish the parameters for mentoring programs utilizing
national board certified teachers. This administrative regulation establishes
participation requirements and payment procedures relating to this fund.
Section 1. Definitions.
(1) "Advanced candidate" means a candidate
enrolled in the incentive program who has failed to successfully complete the
assessments for national board certification during the first year of
enrollment.
(2) "Assessment" means
the certification requirements established by the National Board for
Professional Teaching Standards.
(3) "Candidate" means a Kentucky teacher who
has successfully registered with the National Board for Professional Teaching
Standards to complete the assessments in a given application period.
(4) "Cohort" means a group of school
districts, collaborating districts, or educational cooperatives.
(5) "Incentive Program" means the Teachers'
National Certification Incentive Trust Fund established under the provisions of
KRS
161.133.
Section 2.
(1) To apply to receive payments from the
incentive program, a Kentucky teacher shall register with the National Board
for Professional Teaching Standards by January 31 of the calendar year for
which the teacher is seeking payment.
(2) Upon receipt of notification of
enrollment from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, the
Education Professional Standards Board shall send the candidate written
confirmation of enrollment in the Teacher's National Certification Incentive
Trust Fund and a Statement of Intent Form.
(3) The candidate shall provide the following
information on the Statement of Intent Form:
(a) The signature of the district
superintendent;
(b) The candidate's
actual out-of-pocket expenses toward the certification fee; and
(c) Information about each third-party
payment made on behalf of the teacher toward the certification fee by a local
school district, the Candidate Subsidy Program offered by the National Board
for Professional Teacher Standards, or other educational or noneducational
entity.
(4) The
candidate shall return the completed Statement of Intent Form to the Education
Professional Standards Board within thirty (30) calendar days.
(5) The Education Professional Standards
Board shall indicate the return due date for each Statement of Intent Form
mailed to a candidate.
(6) A
candidate that fails to return the completed Statement of Intent Form by the
indicated due date shall not be eligible for incentive program funds in the
current fiscal year.
Section
3.
(1) A candidate enrolled for
participation in the incentive program under Section 2 of this administrative
regulation shall submit the required portfolio to the National Board for
Professional Teaching Standards by the required due date established by the
National Board.
(2) By June 1, the
Education Professional Standards Board shall notify the candidate of the amount
of payment to be made under this administrative regulation.
Section 4.
(1) After the candidate submits the
portfolio, the Education Professional Standards Board shall send the
superintendent a payment voucher, Form NBC-2. The superintendent, on behalf of
the local board of education, shall submit Form NBC-2 for reimbursement for
substitute teachers employed to allow up to five (5) days of released time for
the teacher pursuing national board certification who has been enrolled for
participation in the incentive program under Section 2 of this administrative
regulation.
(2) The superintendent
shall submit payment voucher Form NBC-2 by June 15 following the school year in
which the released time was used by the teacher pursuing national board
certification.
(3) The teacher
pursuing national board certification shall adhere to the local board of
education policy or procedure for the procurement of substitute
teachers.
Section 5.
(1) A candidate who does not successfully
complete the certification process of the National Board for Professional
Teaching Standards in the first year may choose to bank the scores and retake
the assessment or a portion of the assessment in a subsequent year.
(2) An advanced candidate who is banking
scores or retaking the assessment shall:
(a)
Complete the registration process established in Section 2 of this
administrative regulation; and
(b)
Submit the written documentation established in Section 3(1) of this
administrative regulation.
(3)
(a) The
employing school district of an advanced candidate who is banking scores or
retaking the assessment may request reimbursement for compensation of
substitute teachers employed to allow released time for the advanced candidate
pursuing national board certification.
(b) The total reimbursement for released time
shall not exceed five (5) days for the two (2) year period.
(c) Upon notification of receipt of the
portfolio by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, the
Education Professional Standards Board shall mail the advanced candidate Form
NBC-2 indicating the number of reimbursable released days available to the
candidate in the second year. A copy of Form NBC-2 shall be sent to the
employing school district.
(d) Form
NBC-2 shall be returned by the superintendent, on behalf of the employing local
board of education, to the Education Professional Standards Board by June 15
following the school year in which the advanced candidate pursuing national
board certification used the released time.
Section 6.
(1) Upon receipt of confirmation of the
successful completion of national board certification from the National Board
for Professional Teaching Standards, the Education Professional Standards Board
shall issue reimbursement for actual out-of-pocket expenses up to seventy-five
(75) percent of the initial certification fee.
(2) The Education Professional Standards
Board shall not reimburse a teacher for any fees associated with banking scores
or retaking the assessment.
(3)
Based upon funding from the Kentucky General Assembly, the Education
Professional Standards Board may limit candidate participation and payments to
advanced candidates. All allocated funds that are not expended in the current
fiscal year shall be deposited into the incentive trust fund for use by
candidates in succeeding fiscal years.
(4) The Education Professional Standards
Board shall only authorize payment for which other funds, other than a
repayable loan, have not been received.
(5) If sufficient funds are not available to
fully fund all of the payments to all candidates in a given year under Sections
3 and 4 of this administrative regulation, the Education Professional Standards
Board shall prorate the specific types of payments to ensure that all
candidates enrolled in the incentive program in a given year are benefited
equally. In prorating the payments to incentive program participants, the
Education Professional Standards Board shall prioritize payments to all
candidates in the following manner:
(a)
Reimbursement of up to seventy-five (75) percent of the national board
certification fee paid by candidates or advanced candidates enrolled in the
trust fund shall be the first priority.
(b) Reimbursement to the district for
substitute teachers used to provide up to five (5) days of released time for
the candidate shall be the second priority.
(c) Payment to candidates of the $200 per day
for two (2) days shall be the third priority.
(d) Reimbursement to the district for
substitute teachers used to provide released time for advanced candidates shall
be the fourth priority.
(e) Payment
to advanced candidates of the $200 per day for two (2) days shall be the final
priority.
(6) If there
is insufficient funding, the Education Professional Standards Board shall,
taking into consideration the priorities established under subsection (5) of
this section, pay only as much of the payments under subsection (5)(b) of this
section as funds will allow, before paying any payments under subsection
(5)(c), (d), or (e) of this section.
Section 7.
(1) A local school district or cohort may
submit a proposal to the Education Professional Standards Board for a stipend
for a national board certified teacher who serves as a mentor to
candidates.
(2) The proposal shall
be submitted on or before June 1 preceding the school year in which the
mentoring will occur.
(3) The
proposal shall be reviewed by the Education Professional Standards Board based
upon adherence with the information contained within the request for proposals
and the following documented components:
(a)
Evidence of cooperation with the applicable school-based decision making
councils;
(b) Identification of
each teacher the national board certified teacher will be mentoring;
(c) The length and structure of the mentoring
program;
(d) The goals and
objectives of the mentoring program;
(e) The mentoring program's impact on student
learning;
(f) The mentoring
program's effect on teacher participants' professional growth and development;
and
(g) The stipend amount
requested for the national board certified teacher serving as the
mentor.
(4) A school
district or cohort mentoring program approved by the Education Professional
Standards Board shall submit a summary at the conclusion of the program
detailing how the components identified in subsection (3) of this section were
addressed and listing the mentoring program's accomplishments.
(5)
(a) A
national board-certified teacher who serves as a mentor in a program approved
under this section of this administrative regulation shall receive a stipend of
$500 for each teacher the national board-certified teacher is
mentoring.
(b) A cohort model
mentoring program may request additional funds to support the cohort and its
activities.
(c) The Education
Professional Standards Board shall not use more than twenty-five (25) percent
of the allotment from the General Assembly to cover the cost of
mentoring.
(6) A
national board-certified teacher who is teaching full time shall not mentor
more than six (6) teachers pursuing national board certification in a school
year.
Section 8.
(1) Payments made from this fund under the
requirements of this administrative regulation shall be disbursed directly to
the local school district in which the teacher pursuing national board
certification is employed or to the fiscal agent of a cohort model.
(2) The local school district or the fiscal
agent of a cohort model shall be responsible for deducting any relevant
withholdings prior to disbursing the funds to the teacher.
(3) The local school district shall be
responsible for the salary supplement established in
KRS
157.395 for a teacher obtaining national
board certification.
Section
9. Incorporation by Reference.
(1) The following material is incorporated by
reference:
(a) Statement of Intent Form,
revised 9/2003; and
(b) Form NBC-2,
revised 9/2003;.
(2)
This material may be inspected, copied, or obtained, subject to applicable
copyright law, at the Education Professional Standards Board, 100 Airport Road,
3rd Floor, Frankfort, Kentucky 40601, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30
p.m.
STATUTORY AUTHORITY:
KRS
161.133(3),
161.134(3)