School boards, local; teacher career ladder compensation programs.

Local school boards; teacher career ladder compensation programs. Requires each local school board to establish a teachercareer ladder compensation program (program) whereby each rung onthe ladder corresponds to a specific teacher career and compensationlevel as determined by the local school board. The bill requireseach local school board to design and implement its own program,provided, however, that each program shall include the followingprinciples and components: (i) each teacher shall provide increasinglevels of student academic progress as measured by objective criteriabefore the teacher progresses to the next rung of the ladder; (ii)each teacher shall demonstrate improvement in teaching skills beforethe teacher progresses to the next rung of the ladder; (iii) each teacher shall assume additional teaching and other responsibilitiessuch as curriculum development, team teaching, mentoring, and professionaldevelopment activities before the teacher progresses to the nextrung of the ladder; (iv) the local school board is responsible forproviding teachers in the program with appropriate professional growthand development opportunities; and (v) the local school board shallensure that equal pay is provided to teachers in the program whoare performing at the same level. The bill provides that teacher participation in a teacher career ladder compensation program is optionaland any teacher may opt to be compensated pursuant to the local schoolboard's standard salary scale.