HOUSE BILL NO. 145

INTRODUCED BY G. MASOLO

BY REQUEST OF THE GOVERNOR AND THE OFFICE OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION

A BILL FOR AN ACT ENTITLED: "AN ACT RECOGNIZING EXCELLENCE IN TEACHING BY PROVIDING PROFESSIONAL STIPENDS TO TEACHERS WHO OBTAIN CERTIFICATION FROM THE NATIONAL BOARD FOR PROFESSIONAL TEACHING STANDARDS; PROVIDING AN APPROPRIATION; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE."

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MONTANA:

NEW SECTION. Section 1. Professional stipends for teachers certified by national board for professional teaching standards. (1) Pursuant to subsection (8), a one-time stipend of $5,000 must be provided to each teacher who obtains certification from the national board for professional teaching standards if the teacher is:

(a) a full-time employee of a Montana public school district, as defined in 20-6-101, an education cooperative, as described in 20-7-451, or the Montana school for the deaf and blind, as described in 20-8-101;

(b) a full-time classroom teacher, librarian, or other full-time employee serving in an assignment covered by national board certification assessment; and

(c) certified to teach in Montana under the provisions of 20-4-103.

(2) A teacher is eligible for the stipend in the school year beginning July 1 after the teacher obtains certification from the national board for professional teaching standards.

(3) By February 1, the trustees of each school district that employs a teacher who is eligible for a stipend under subsection (1) shall submit a request to the superintendent of public instruction for a stipend payment. The request must be made on a form prescribed by the superintendent of public instruction and must document that the teacher meets the criteria established in subsection (1) for the current school fiscal year.

(4) By March 1, the superintendent of public instruction shall distribute stipend payments to each school district that has requested and has been approved for funding for its qualifying employees. The district shall deposit the money in the miscellaneous program fund of the district.

(5) The trustees of the district shall provide the stipend to the qualifying employee from the miscellaneous program fund by May 1 of the school fiscal year.

(6) The employer shall deduct the employer and employee share of any state and federal taxes, retirement fund contributions, unemployment insurance, and federal social security from the stipend amount prior to payment to the employee.

(7) The stipend may not be included in the calculation of same salary, as defined in 20-4-203(3), but must be included in the calculation of the average final compensation for the purposes of determining a retirement allowance under 19-20-802 or 19-20-804. The employer is not liable for any additional contributions to the teachers' retirement system, other than those listed in subsection (6), as a result of the inclusion of the stipend amount in the computation of average final compensation.

(8) The obligation for funding the professional stipend is an obligation of the state. Nothing in this section may be construed to require the trustees of a district to provide a stipend to a qualifying teacher without a payment from the state to the district. If the appropriation for funding professional stipends is less than the total amount for which Montana teachers qualify, the superintendent of public instruction shall prorate the appropriation to the school districts in a manner that provides the same amount of stipend to each qualifying teacher.

NEW SECTION. Section 2. Appropriation. There is appropriated $50,000 from the general fund to the superintendent of public instruction for the biennium ending June 30, 2001, for stipends to Montana public school teachers who obtain certification from the national board for professional teaching standards.

NEW SECTION. Section 3. Codification instruction. [Section 1] is intended to be codified as an integral part of Title 20, chapter 4, part 1, and the provisions of Title 20, chapter 4, part 1, apply to [section 1].

NEW SECTION. Section 4. Effective date. [This act] is effective July 1, 1999.

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