HOUSE BILL NO. 65
INTRODUCED BY B. LAWSON
BY REQUEST OF THE GOVERNOR
A BILL FOR AN ACT ENTITLED: "AN ACT ESTABLISHING A MENTORING OR INDUCTION GRANT PROGRAM FOR FIRST-TIME OR NOVICE PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHERS; REQUIRING THE OFFICE OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION TO ADOPT RULES TO IMPLEMENT THE MENTORING OR INDUCTION GRANT PROGRAM; REQUIRING A DISTRICT OR CONSORTIUM OF DISTRICTS TO REPORT TO THE OFFICE OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION ON THE EFFECTIVENESS OF ITS MENTORING OR INDUCTION GRANT PROGRAM; REQUIRING THE OFFICE OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION TO REPORT TO THE LEGISLATURE REGARDING MENTORING OR INDUCTION GRANT PROGRAM EFFECTIVENESS; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE."
WHEREAS, according to the analysis of data from a 5-year federal study known as "Baccalaureate and Beyond", which was reported in "Education Week", January 13, 2000, one out of five of new classroom teachers leave the teaching profession after 3 years; and
WHEREAS, new teachers who scored the highest on the SAT or ACT exam and who did not participate in a mentoring or induction program were twice as likely to leave the profession; and
WHEREAS, Montana schools are facing extraordinary difficulty in employing and keeping qualified teachers to educate Montana's children in almost all curricular areas; and
WHEREAS, teacher mentoring or induction programs in other states have demonstrated success in significantly reducing the attrition rate of beginning teachers, while enhancing teacher quality.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MONTANA:
NEW SECTION. Section 1. Grant program to mentor first-time teachers -- grant criteria -- rulemaking authority. (1) Subject to a line item appropriation for the purposes of this section, the office of public instruction shall provide grants to individual school districts in Montana or to a consortium of Montana school districts working collectively, to establish and maintain a mentoring or induction grant program to assist first-time or novice teachers.
(2) Grants must be awarded based on a competitive process according to rules adopted by the office of public instruction. The rules must include but are not limited to:
(a) procedures for grant applications;
(b) specific amount and longevity of grants awarded; and
(c) criteria for comparison of submitted grant proposals.
(3) If applicable, a district shall develop and implement a mentoring or induction grant program in cooperation with the exclusive representative, as defined in 39-31-103.
(4) A district or group of districts that receive a grant pursuant to this section shall provide a written report to the office of public instruction describing the effectiveness of its mentoring or induction grant program. The office of public instruction shall compile and provide a biennial report on use and effectiveness of mentoring or induction grant programs to the legislature.
NEW SECTION. Section 2. Codification instruction. [Section 1] is intended to be codified as an integral part of Title 20, chapter 9, part 6, and the provisions of Title 20, chapter 9, part 6, apply to [section 1].
NEW SECTION. Section 3. Effective date. [This act] is effective July 1, 2001.
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Latest Version of HB 65 (HB0065.01)
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