005.19.01 Ark. Code R. § 016 - ADE 134 - Eligibility and Financial Incentives for National Board for Professional Teaching Standards

1.00 Regulatory Authority

1.01 These regulations shall be known as the Department of Education (the Department) Regulations for Governing Eligibility and Financial Incentives for National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS).

1.02 These regulations are enacted pursuant to the State Board of Education=s (State Board) authority under Ark. Code Ann. § 6-11-105 and Ark. Code Ann. 6-17-413 (Act 1060 of 2001.

2.00 Purpose

2.01 The purposes of these regulations are to improve student learning by strengthening teaching and to encourage teachers to participate in and complete NBPTS certification by authorizing the Department of Education to pay full tuition and incentive bonuses to participants and by establishing eligibility requirements.

2.02 The purpose of these regulations is to outline the establishment of a support program for NBPTS.

2.03 The purpose of these regulations is to establish the mechanism for the selection of teacher participants, as determined by the amount of funding available for the program.

3.00 Definitions

For the purposes of these Rules and Regulations, the following definitions shall apply:

3.01 "Completion of the certification process" will be defined as officially being recognized as a National Board Certified Teacher (NBCT) by the NBPTS.

3.02 "National Board for Professional Teaching Standards" will be defined as an independent board which reliably identifies and certifies teachers who meet advanced standards and certifications by effectively enhancing student learning and demonstrating the high level of knowledge and skills, dispositions, and commitments reflected in the following five core propositions:

3.02.01 Teachers are committed to students and their learning.

3.02.02 Teachers know the subjects they teach and how to teach those subjects to students.

3.02.03 Teachers are responsible for managing and monitoring student learning.

3.02.04 Teachers think systematically about their practice and learn from experience.

3.02.05 Teachers are members of learning communities.

3.03 "A support program for candidates" is a comprehensive process of technical and financial assistance provided to program applicants to ensure successful program completion, as Act 1060 of 2001 (Ark. Code Ann. 66-17-413 ) allows.

3.04 "The NBPTS Advisory Committee" (the Committee) is a ten (10) member team of three (3) National Board Certified Teachers, three (3) National Board facilitators, and four (4) educational administrators or business representatives to include one Department staff member who will advise the Department on policy issues, assist in the support system, and select candidates based on relevant criteria when all candidates cannot be funded; such criteria to be established by the Committee in accordance with law and with final review and approval by the State Board.

3.05 "Classroom teacher" means a teacher who is required to hold a standard teaching license from the Department and who is engaged directly in instruction with students in a classroom setting for more than seventy percent (70%) of the individuals contracted time, with that 70% not to preclude:

3.05.01 regularly scheduled instructional preparation time during the regular school day;

3.05.02 a maximum of one period per day service as an instructional department chair;

3.05.03 service as a master teacher in a charter school;

3.05.04 service as a mentor to a novice teacher;

3.05.05 employment by an educational service cooperative when the teacher provides direct student services for a collaborative of school districts in public school buildings and other instructional settings throughout the cooperative area; and

3.05.06 instructional specialist positions such as library/media, counselor, or others for whom NBPTS certificates specifically exist.

3.06 "Classroom setting" for purposes of candidacy means full-time assignment to a setting in a specific Arkansas public school building or buildings in which a teacher works directly with a student or students and for purposes of a starting or a yearly bonus means full-time assignment to a setting in a school building(s) or other instructional settings cited in Section 3.05.05 where an NBCT is directly involved in the instructional process by teaching children, by facilitating the instructional process through work with building teachers in classrooms, or by serving in the role of building principal or assistant building principal.

3.07 "Starting bonus" means a one-time bonus given during the school year in which an individual first obtains National Board certification. The amount can range from $2,000 to $5,000 depending on the funds available but will not fall below $2,000 as approved by the State Board. The Department determines the amount based on funding. A starting bonus may not be paid in the same year as a yearly bonus.

3.08 "Yearly bonus" means a bonus which a NBCT receives in each of years two (2) through ten (10) of the 10-year life of the certificate. The amount can range from $2,000 to $3,000 depending on the funds available but will not fall below $2,000 as approved by the State Board. The Department determines the amount based on funding.

3.09 "Two (2) continuous years" means a two-year period following certification which includes the year of certification and the year immediately following certification.

3.10 "Three (3) years of teaching in the Arkansas public school system", as required for state support of candidacy, shall be credited beginning no earlier than the year in which the initial license to teach in an Arkansas public school is issued.

4.00 Selection Process and Requirements

4.01 Qualified applicants will establish eligibility for funding by:

4.01.01 successfully completing the official application process established by the Department;

4.01.02 never receiving any prior federal or state funding for participation in a certification area in the NBPTS program;

4.01.03 verifying at least three (3) years teaching experience in Arkansas public schools which can include the years following initial licensure, a current standard Arkansas teaching license, and current employment as an Arkansas public school classroom teacher in a classroom setting; and

4.01.04 teaching in an area which correlates to an available and suitable certificate area.

4.02 When candidate demands exceed funding availability, the NBPTS Advisory Committee will review and recommend to the Department an appropriate selection of candidates to be funded.

4.03 At the time that the National Board establishes a certification for school administrators and an Arkansas district-level central office administrator becomes national board certified, the district level central office administrator will be eligible to receive incentive bonuses in the amount awarded to NBCTs for every year for the life of the NBPTS administrators certificate.

4.04 Achieving NBCT status prior to renewal of the Arkansas standard teaching license satisfies professional development requirements for the period between the beginning and end of that one renewal period; achieving a score of 2.25 or better on each of the ten entries submitted to the NBPTS satisfies one-half of the professional development requirements for the period between the beginning and end of one renewal period.

5.00 Payment of Fees and Bonuses

5.01 The Department of Education shall pay full tuition for the NBPTS initial participation fee, one retake entry fee, and up to three days of school release time to qualified teacher applicants as funds are available.

5.02 The Department shall pay any NBCT who is employed in an Arkansas public school district as a teacher in accordance with Section 3.05 -3.06 of these rules and regulations a starting bonus in the first year of certification and a yearly bonus for each of the remaining nine years of the ten-year certificate.

5.03 Any NBCT who moves into the state and teaches in an Arkansas public school classroom shall be eligible for the yearly bonus for every remaining year in the life of the NBPTS certificate; provided that the same bonus is available to a NBCT who moves into the state and assumes the position of building principal or assistant building principal in a public school district for the life of the NBPTS certificate.

5.04 Available funds for NBPTS state activities support functions in this order of priority:

(a) payment of bonus incentives;

(b) initial fee payments;

(c) necessary program expenses;

(d) support system expenses; and

(e) retake entry fees.

5.05 No increase in the starting or yearly bonus is retroactive.

5.06 The Department will issue a standard Arkansas teaching license to any National Board certified teacher, building-level principal, or building-level assistant principal trained in and licensed by a state other than Arkansas who moves to Arkansas, provided that the NBCT status is current at the time of license application and that the applicant passes the required criminal background check.

5.07 An Arkansas-licensed teacher who personally pays the expenses of NBPTS candidacy and becomes a NBCT is eligible for a starting and yearly bonus under the same terms as a NBCT who achieves certification through state fee support.

5.08 The Department shall pay any NBCT who has successfully completed the NBPTS certification as a classroom teacher and is employed in an Arkansas public school district as a building principal or assistant building principal a yearly bonus for each of the remaining years of the ten-year certificate.

6.00 Repayment of Fees

6.01 Repayment of state funds for the NBPTS is required if a recipient:

6.01.01 does not complete the certification process within three years after entry,

6.01.02 after becoming a NBCT with the support of state funds, does not teach in an Arkansas public school classroom in an Arkansas public school district for two (2) continuous school years or serve as a building principal and/or assistant building principal for two (2) continuous years after achieving NBCT status.

6.02 Repayment of funds is not required only due to:

6.02.01 death or disability of the teacher, or

6.02.02 other serious extenuating circumstances and/or health related problems verified by a licensed physician as may be recognized by the State Board.

6.03 The State Board can revoke a teaching license for failure to repay state funds.

7.00 Support Program for Teachers Selected to Participate in NBPTS

7.01 The State Board will establish a support program for teachers selected to participate in NBPTS by:

7.01.01 establishing a variety of support opportunities such as an annual precandidacy orientation, regular meetings of participants, telephone/email contact with facilitators and NBCTs, and Department intervention with NBPTS if necessary;

7.01.02 providing information on NBPTS on the Department web site;

7.01.03 providing other assistance, if determined to be necessary by the Department of Education; and

7.01.04 designating Department staff to coordinate NBPTS activities at the state level.

8.00 Monitoring

8.01 The local public school district who employs a NBCT must report to the Department annually the employment status of that teacher for the ten-year life of the certificate.

8.02 No person shall receive either a starting bonus or a yearly bonus if the person leaves the full-time employment of an Arkansas public school district; becomes employed as a district-level central office administrator (subject to the provisions of Section 4.03); is employed by an Arkansas institution of higher education; or is employed by an education service cooperative and does not teach in a classroom with students as defined in Sections 3.05-3.06 of these rules and regulations.

Notes

005.19.01 Ark. Code R. § 016

12/18/2001