168.500. Career and teacher excellence plan, career ladder forward funding fund established--general assembly to appropriate funds--termination of fund--participation to be voluntary--qualifications--

MISSOURI STATUTES AND CODES

168.500. Career and teacher excellence plan, career ladder forward funding fund established--general assembly to appropriate funds--termination of fund--participation to be voluntary--qualifications--

Career and teacher excellence plan, career ladder forward fundingfund established--general assembly to appropriate funds--terminationof fund--participation to be voluntary--qualifications--speechpathologists on career program, when.

168.500. 1. For the purpose of providing career pay, which shall bea salary supplement, for public school teachers, which for the purpose ofsections 168.500 to 168.515 shall include classroom teachers, librarians,guidance counselors and certificated teachers who hold positions as schoolpsychological examiners, parents as teachers educators, schoolpsychologists, special education diagnosticians and speech pathologists,and are on the district salary schedule, there is hereby created andestablished a career advancement program which shall be known as the"Missouri Career Development and Teacher Excellence Plan", hereinafterknown as the "career plan or program". Participation by local schooldistricts in the career advancement program established under this sectionshall be voluntary. The career advancement program is a matching fundprogram of variable match rates. The general assembly shall make an annualappropriation to the excellence in education fund established under section160.268, RSMo, for the purpose of providing the state's portion for thecareer advancement program. The "Career Ladder Forward Funding Fund" ishereby established in the state treasury. Beginning with fiscal year 1998and until the career ladder forward funding fund is terminated pursuant tothis subsection, the general assembly shall appropriate funds to the careerladder forward funding fund. Notwithstanding the provisions of section33.080, RSMo, to the contrary, moneys in the fund shall not be transferredto the credit of the general revenue fund at the end of the biennium. Allinterest or other gain received from investment of moneys in the fund shallbe credited to the fund. All funds deposited in the fund shall bemaintained in the fund until such time as the balance in the fund at theend of the fiscal year is equal to or greater than the appropriation forthe career ladder program for the following year, at which time all suchrevenues shall be used to fund, in advance, the career ladder program forsuch following year and the career ladder forwarding funding fund shallthereafter be terminated.

2. The department of elementary and secondary education, at thedirection of the commissioner of education, shall study and develop modelcareer plans which shall be made available to the local school districts.These state model career plans shall:

(1) Contain three steps or stages of career advancement;

(2) Contain a detailed procedure for the admission of teachers to thecareer program;

(3) Contain specific criteria for career step qualifications andattainment. These criteria shall clearly describe the minimum number ofprofessional responsibilities required of the teacher at each stage of theplan and shall include reference to classroom performance evaluationsperformed pursuant to section 168.128;

(4) Be consistent with the teacher certification process recommendedby the Missouri advisory council of certification for educators and adoptedby the department of elementary and secondary education;

(5) Provide that public school teachers in Missouri shall becomeeligible to apply for admission to the career plans adopted under sections168.500 to 168.515 after five years of public school teaching in Missouri.All teachers seeking admission to any career plan shall, as a minimum, meetthe requirements necessary to obtain the first renewable professionalcertificate as provided in section 168.021;

(6) Provide procedures for appealing decisions made under careerplans established under sections 168.500 to 168.515.

3. The commissioner of education shall cause the department ofelementary and secondary education to establish guidelines for all careerplans established under this section, and criteria that must be met by anyschool district which seeks funding for its career plan.

4. A participating local school district may have the option ofimplementing a career plan developed by the department of elementary andsecondary education or a local plan which has been developed with advicefrom teachers employed by the district and which has met with the approvalof the department of elementary and secondary education. In approvinglocal career plans, the department of elementary and secondary educationmay consider provisions in the plan of the local district for recognitionof teacher mobility from one district to another within this state.

5. The career plans of local school districts shall not discriminateon the basis of race, sex, religion, national origin, color, creed, or age.Participation in the career plan of a local school district is optional,and any teacher who declines to participate shall not be penalized in anyway.

6. In order to receive funds under this section, a school districtwhich is not subject to section 162.920, RSMo, must have a total levy foroperating purposes which is in excess of the amount allowed in section11(b) of article X of the Missouri Constitution; and a school districtwhich is subject to section 162.920, RSMo, must have a total levy foroperating purposes which is equal to or in excess of twenty-five cents oneach hundred dollars of assessed valuation.

7. The commissioner of education shall cause the department ofelementary and secondary education to regard a speech pathologist who holdsboth a valid certificate of license to teach and a certificate of clinicalcompetence to have fulfilled the standards required to be placed on stageIII of the career program, provided that such speech pathologist has beenemployed by a public school in Missouri for at least five years and isapproved for placement at such stage III by the local school district.