53A-17a-153 - Educator salary adjustments.
53A-17a-153. Educator salary adjustments.
(1) As used in this section, "educator" means a person employed by a school district,charter school, or the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind who holds:
(a) a license issued under Title 53A, Chapter 6, Educator Licensing and ProfessionalPractices Act; and
(b) a position as a:
(i) classroom teacher;
(ii) speech pathologist;
(iii) librarian or media specialist;
(iv) preschool teacher;
(v) mentor teacher;
(vi) teacher specialist or teacher leader;
(vii) guidance counselor;
(viii) audiologist;
(ix) psychologist; or
(x) social worker.
(2) In recognition of the need to attract and retain highly skilled and dedicated educators,the Legislature shall annually appropriate money for educator salary adjustments, subject tofuture budget constraints.
(3) Money appropriated to the State Board of Education for educator salary adjustmentsshall be distributed to school districts, charter schools, and the Utah Schools for the Deaf and theBlind in proportion to the number of full-time-equivalent educator positions in a school district, acharter school, or the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind as compared to the total number offull-time-equivalent educator positions in school districts, charter schools, and the Utah Schoolsfor the Deaf and the Blind.
(4) School districts, charter schools, and the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blindshall award bonuses to educators as follows:
(a) the amount of the salary adjustment shall be the same for each full-time-equivalenteducator position in the school district, charter school, or the Utah Schools for the Deaf and theBlind;
(b) a person who is not a full-time educator shall receive a partial salary adjustmentbased on the number of hours the person works as an educator; and
(c) salary adjustments may be awarded only to educators who have received asatisfactory rating or above on their most recent evaluation.
(5) (a) Each school district and charter school and the Utah Schools for the Deaf and theBlind shall submit a report to the State Board of Education on how the money for salaryadjustments was spent, including the amount of the salary adjustment and the number of full andpartial salary adjustments awarded.
(b) The State Board of Education shall compile the information reported underSubsection (5) and submit it to the Public Education Appropriations Subcommittee by November30 each year.
(6) The State Board of Education may make rules as necessary to administer this section,in accordance with Title 63G, Chapter 3, Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act.
(7) (a) Subject to future budget constraints, the Legislature shall appropriate sufficientmoney each year to:
(i) maintain educator salary adjustments provided in prior years; and
(ii) provide educator salary adjustments to new employees.
(b) Money appropriated for educator salary adjustments shall include money for thefollowing employer-paid benefits:
(i) retirement;
(ii) worker's compensation;
(iii) Social Security; and
(iv) Medicare.
(8) (a) Subject to future budget constraints, the Legislature shall:
(i) maintain the salary adjustments provided to school administrators in the 2007-08school year; and
(ii) provide salary adjustments for new school administrators in the same amount asprovided for existing school administrators.
(b) The appropriation provided for educator salary adjustments shall include salaryadjustments for school administrators as specified in Subsection (8)(a).
(c) In distributing and awarding salary adjustments for school administrators, the StateBoard of Education, school districts, charter schools, and the Utah Schools for the Deaf and theBlind shall comply with the requirements for the distribution and award of educator salaryadjustments as provided in Subsections (3) and (4).
Amended by Chapter 3, 2010 General Session