Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. R. 160-5-2-.05 - Experience for Salary Purposes
(1)
DEFINITIONS.
(a)
Career, Technical, and Agricultural
Education (CTAE) -program of study featuring concentrations developed to
provide students rigorous core elements, performance standards, and skills
necessary after high school graduation to go straight into the workforce or
postsecondary educational programs. (This may include programs such as
agriculture, construction, business and computer, culinary arts, healthcare
science, transportation and others.)
(b)
Certified Personnel
-individuals trained in education who hold Teaching (T), Leadership (L),
Service (S), Technical Specialist (TS), or Permit (P) certification issued by
the Georgia Professional Standards Commission.
(c)
Charter school - a public
school that is operating under the terms of a charter, including, but not
limited to, charter schools authorized by the Georgia Charter School Commission
and charter schools not operating under a local board of education.
(d)
Clear Renewable Certificate
- the certificate issued by the Georgia Professional Standards
Commission which indicates all Special Georgia Requirements and other
conditions have been met.
(e)
Creditable Year of Experience - a year of experience that meets
the requirements of this rule.
(f)
Georgia Department of Education (GaDOE) - the state agency charged
with the fiscal and administrative management of certain aspects of K-12 public
education, including the implementation of federal and state mandates. Such
management is subject to supervision and oversight by the State Board of
Education.
(g)
Georgia
Professional Standards Commission (PSC) - the state agency created by
O.C.G.A. §
20-2-983 and authorized to assume
full responsibility for the certification, preparation and conduct of
certified, licensed or permitted personnel employed in Georgia, and the
development and administration of teacher certification testing.
(h)
Governor's Office of Student
Achievement (GOSA) - the state agency mandated by O.C.G.A. §
20-14-26 to create a uniform
performance-based accountability system for K-12 public schools that
incorporates both state and federal mandates, including student and school
performance standards.
(i)
Investing in Educational Excellence (IE2) - local education agency
that contracts for flexibility, and accountability that allows LEAs to request
increased flexibility from certain state laws, rules, and regulations in
exchange for increased accountability and defined consequences through a
contractual agreement with the State Board of Education under O.C.G.A. §
20-2-80.
(j)
Leadership Position - a
position in which an individual has the authority and/or responsibility, in a
supervisory role, for LUA approved educational programs and/or personnel
required to hold certification for their assigned job as determined by Georgia
Professional Standards Commission (PSC).
(k)
Local Educational Agency (LEA)
- local school system pursuant to local board of education control and
management.
(l)
Local Unit of
Administration (LUA) - a local education agency or a regional
educational service agency.
(m)
Recognized Accrediting Agency - an entity, recognized by the U.S.
Department of Education (US ED), responsible for granting accreditation to
public and private schools and school districts throughout the United States,
or the Georgia Accrediting Commission (GAC).
(n)
Regional Educational Service
Agencies (RESAs) - an agency established under O.C.G.A. §
20-2-270 to provide shared
services to improve the effectiveness of educational programs and services of
LEAs and to provide direct instructional programs to selected public school
students.
(o)
Salary Schedule
Categories BT and T - The two categories on the State Salary Schedule
referred to as BT and T that correspond to the certified personnel's
certificate title held. Placement in the BT category is determined by
certificate titles where content requirements have been completed for the field
but pedagogy requirements have not been completed, with the exception of
Special Georgia Requirements. An example of an educator who would be placed on
the BT category of the State Salary Schedule would be a teacher who had a
Bachelor's degree in Math (met content requirement) but had not yet completed
their teacher preparation program through either a college or any of the
alternate routes (not met pedagogy requirement). All other certificate titles
issued by the PSC shall be paid according to the T category of the State Salary
Schedule. Certified personnel holding at least one category T certificate title
are paid according to the T category. It should be noted that the "B" in the BT
column was the letter used to represent the former "provisional" certificate
title that is not currently used.
(p)
Salary Step - The column on
the State Salary Schedule that corresponds to certified personnel's creditable
years of experience.
(q)
State Board of Education (SBOE) - constitutional authority which
defines education policy for public K-12 education agencies in Georgia.
(r)
State Salary Schedule
- the document developed pursuant to O.C.G.A. §
20-2-212 that details the minimum
state salary for certified personnel that has been approved by the State Board
of Education and funded by the Georgia General Assembly.
(s)
State Supplement - any
salary enhancement or stipend that certified personnel are to receive by state
law or State Board of Education rule in addition to the salary the certified
personnel are entitled to receive as set by the State Salary Schedule.
(2)
RESPONSIBILITY FOR VERIFYING AND AWARDING EXPERIENCE.
(a) LUAs are responsible for evaluating,
verifying, documenting and awarding experience for placement of certified
personnel on the State Salary Schedule in accordance with this rule. The LUA
may require the employee to submit any documentation the LUA deems necessary to
verify, evaluate, and award employee experience. The chairperson of the local
board of education shall verify and document the experience of the district
superintendent. The chairperson of the Regional Educational Service Agency
(RESA) board of control shall verify and document the experience of the RESA
director.
(b) Employees may contest
the LUA, evaluation, verification and award of experience under the provisions
of O.C.G.A. §
20-2-1160.
(c) LUAs shall adopt policies to provide for
the consistent identification and definitions of certified positions and how
such definitions are applied to employees. The policy must be consistent with
reporting requirements established by GaDOE.
(3)
REQUIREMENTS FOR VERIFYING AND
AWARDING EXPERIENCE.
(a) The LUA shall
place each employee holding a renewable certificate or non-renewable
certificate on the State Salary Schedule that corresponds to the employee's
creditable years of experience.
(b)
Certified personnel shall earn one creditable year of experience for each year
in which the employee worked full time in a position listed in paragraph
(4)(a), (4)(b), and (4)(c) of this rule.
1.
For the purpose of crediting years of experience for work in an LUA, a full
time year is defined as a minimum of 63% of the LUA defined school year for
certified personnel.
2. For the
purpose of crediting years of experience in a college or university, full time
is defined as teaching 15 quarter hours each quarter for three consecutive
quarters or nine semester hours each semester for two consecutive semesters or
holding a fulltime contract for a professional position from the
institution.
3. For the purpose of
crediting years of experience for all other prior service listed in paragraph
(4)(c) of this rule as eligible experience that is not service in an LUA,
charter school, school operating under an IE2 partnership contract, college or
university, full time shall have the meaning as defined by the LUA.
(c) Certified personnel shall earn
one creditable year of experience for each period the certified personnel's
prior half-time experience met all of the following conditions:
1. The employee worked in an LUA, charter
school, or school operating under an IE2 partnership contract.
2. The employee worked at least the
equivalent of 63% of full-time employment in two consecutive academic years.
The equivalent of 63% of full-time employment may be composed of the sum of the
number of full-time days plus the number of half-time days (half-time day
equates to 50 - 99% of the LUA defined workday.)
3. The combination of full-time and half-time
experience shall have been earned during a period of continuous, uninterrupted
service, either within the same academic year or in consecutive
years.
4. The employee was under
contract for service if the experience was earned in an LUA. The employee need
not have been under contract for service if the experience was earned in a
charter school or school operating under an IE2 partnership contract.
(d) Certified personnel shall not
earn creditable years of experience for any half-time experience that does not
meet the requirements of paragraph (3)(c).
(e) No more than one creditable year of
experience shall be earned or attributed during any 12-month period, unless
provided by law or this rule.
(f)
Creditable years of experience earned during one school year shall be credited
at the beginning of the next contracted school year.
(g) Notwithstanding any other provisions of
this rule, certified personnel shall not earn a creditable year of experience
for any year the employee received an unsatisfactory performance evaluation as
determined by the evaluation system approved by GaDOE or an LUA.
(4)
REQUIREMENTS FOR
PLACEMENT ON THE STATE SALARY SCHEDULE.
(a) Under any of the following conditions,
each LUA shall recognize experience in a professional position for which a
state-issued certificate or a state/national license is required. (In all
conditions listed, the individual held a valid, in-field state education
certificate or state/national professional license related to the field of
employment and was under contract during the period in which the experience was
earned.)
1. Serving in a professional position
in an LUA in the United States.
2.
Serving in a professional position in a private elementary, middle, or high
school that was accredited by a recognized accrediting agency at the time the
experience was earned.
3. Serving
as a teacher or educational administrator in a foreign country, provided the
individual held a U.S. equivalent of a bachelor's degree or higher and held
educator credentials or other legal authorization for teaching in the foreign
country during the time the experience was earned.
4. Serving in a professional position in
kindergarten, prekindergarten, or Head Start programs provided they are under
the legal jurisdiction of an LUA, the state department of education or was
accredited by a recognized accrediting agency at the time the experience was
earned.
5. Teaching elementary and
secondary school subjects and vocational subjects to children or to adults,
including veterans, provided the teaching was on a full-time basis and was
under the direction of an LUA, the state department of education, or any other
state agency authorized to provide educational services to children in grades
prekindergarten through 12th grade or authorized to
teach elementary and secondary subjects to adults.
6. Serving in a professional position in a
clinical situation or in any special education center, including speech,
reading, hearing, and psychological education centers.
7. Serving as a professional librarian in a
bookmobile, public library, Department of Defense library, or public school
library shall be counted as experience for media specialists.
8. Serving in a professional position in the
U.S. Department of Education or in a state department of education.
9. Serving in a professional position in the
Georgia Professional Standards Commission or Professional Practices Commission
in Georgia or in their counterparts in any other state.
10. Serving in a professional position, such
as teacher, social worker, psychologist, counselor, media specialist, nurse or
administrator, in any government agency authorized to provide services to
children in grades prekindergarten through twelfth grade or in a private entity
sponsored by the U.S. or a state department of education provided the
individual was under contract at the time the experience was earned.
11. Serving a full-time, year-long internship
sponsored cooperatively by an institution of higher education and an LUA or in
conjunction with an approved staff development program.
12. Serving as a full-time cooperative
extension service agent may be used for a maximum of three years' creditable
years of experience provided the experience is earned after July 1,
1995.
(b) Under any of
the following conditions, each LUA shall recognize experience in a professional
position for which a certificate or state/national license is not required,
provided that the individual held a degree from a college/university accredited
by a recognized accrediting agency when the experience was earned.
1. Serving in a professional position in a
college/university accredited by a recognized accrediting agency; e.g., as a
teacher, counselor, librarian, dean, president, provided the experience was
full-time and the individual held academic/professional rank or the equivalent
such as instructor, assistant professor, associate professor, professor.
Individuals receiving experience credit shall have held a master's degree, at a
minimum, and/or shall have been on a tenured track when the experience was
earned.
2. Serving in a teaching,
supervisory, or leadership position in schools under the direction of the
Technical College System of Georgia, provided the experience was full-time and
the individual held academic/professional rank or the equivalent.
3. Teaching in the Peace Corps.
4. Serving in a professional position in the
U.S. Department of Education or in a state department of education.
5. Serving in a professional position in a
private elementary, middle, or high school that was accredited by a recognized
accrediting agency at the time the experience was earned.
6. Serving in any LUA in a professional
leadership position that does not require a certificate, such as school
business manager, school personnel director, school facilities
director/planner; school/community coordinator.
7. Serving full-time as a food service
director, manager/supervisor in a public or private organization, including,
but not limited to, administrative experience in the Child Nutrition Program in
the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the American Dietetic Association
approved internship, provided the internship was taken after the degree was
earned.
8. Serving in a
professional position in the Georgia Professional Standards Commission or
Professional Practices Commission in Georgia or in their counterparts in any
other state.
9. Serving in a
professional position in private industry that is job-related to the position
the individual is entering in the LUA. In this case, a maximum of three years'
credit shall be granted for experience earned after July 1, 1995, and the
individual shall be placed on the State Salary Schedule at the appropriate step
to reflect three years of creditable experience. Years of Creditable Experience
3, Salary Step 1.
(c)
Under any of the following limited conditions, each LUA shall recognize
experience for which a degree is not required.
1. Serving on active duty in the Armed Forces
of the United States. Service in the Reserves shall not be counted unless the
individual is called to active duty.
(i) A
maximum of three years' credit shall be allowed for military service according
to the following schedule:
8 full months = 1 year
20 full months = 2 years
32 full months = 3 years
(ii) Six months of active military service
combined with two or more months of teaching experience in an LUA shall be
counted as a full year for granting creditable years of experience, provided
the military service interrupts continuous teaching or prevents entrance into
teaching immediately following college graduation.
(iii) A maximum of three creditable years of
experience shall be granted for military service unless teaching experience was
a part of military duty, or unless otherwise required by law.
(iv) Three years of military experience shall
place an individual on the State Salary Schedule at the appropriate step
representing three years of experience. Other creditable experience beyond this
military experience shall be counted from this step.
(v) Fewer than three years of creditable
military experience shall place the individual on State Salary Schedule at the
appropriate step representing less than three years creditable service. In this
case, after a year of creditable experience in a Georgia LUA, the individual
shall move on the State Salary Schedule to the appropriate step representing
three years of creditable service.
2. An LUA shall grant creditable years of
experience for work in a vocational field included in Career, Technical, and
Agricultural Education (CTAE).
(i) A maximum
of three years' work experience in vocational fields is acceptable for salary
purposes provided that it is beyond the first two years of work experience
required to receive certification from the PSC. i.e., to receive three years'
experience credit, the individual must have a minimum of five years' work
experience.
(ii) Three years of
creditable work experience shall place the individual on the State Salary
Schedule on the appropriate step to represent three years of creditable
service. All other creditable experience for such an individual shall be
counted from this step.
(iii) Fewer
than three years of creditable work experience shall place the individual on
State Salary Schedule at the appropriate step representing less than three
years creditable service. In the latter case, after a year of creditable
experience in a Georgia LUA, the individual shall move to State Salary Schedule
step representing three years of creditable service.
(d) Each LUA shall NOT recognize
the following experience for advancement on the State Salary Schedule:
1. Experience as a cooperative extension
service agent earned prior to July 1, 1995.
2. Supply/substitute teaching.
3. Clerical or nonprofessional experience in
an education institution.
4.
Service as a member of a board of education.
5. Experience in private elementary, middle
or secondary schools not holding accreditation from a recognized accrediting
agency.
6. Experience in a
college/university not holding accreditation from a recognized accrediting
agency.
7. Experience in any
college/university as an adjunct faculty member, graduate assistant, athletic
coach (without teaching responsibilities), or office staff member.
8. Occupational experience required for the
issuance of a teaching certificate.
9. Experience as a teacher aide,
paraprofessional, or teaching assistant.
(e) Each LUA shall place educators on the
State Salary Schedule according to the following requirements:
1. An individual holding a category T
certificate and having zero years of experience shall be placed on Salary Step
E. After one year of creditable experience in a Georgia LUA, that individual
shall be advanced (i.e., skip years one and two) to Salary Step 1 as if he or
she had three years of creditable experience.
2. An individual holding a category T
certificate and having one or two years of experience that was not earned in a
Georgia LUA shall be placed on Salary Step E until a year of experience has
been earned in a Georgia LUA, at which time the individual shall be advanced to
Salary Step 1 (three years of creditable experience) on the State Salary
Schedule.
3. An individual holding
a category T certificate and having three or more years of experience who has
not taught previously in a Georgia LUA, shall be placed on the Salary Step that
corresponds to the individual's years of creditable experience; e.g., an
individual with three years of creditable experience not in a Georgia LUA shall
be placed on Salary Step 1; an individual with four years of creditable
experience shall be placed on Salary Step 2, etc.
4. If an employee holding a category BT
certificate has zero, one, or two creditable years of experience, the employee
shall be placed on Salary Step E and shall not advance on the State Salary
Schedule until the employee earns three creditable years of experience or
obtains a clear renewable certificate.
(f) From Salary Step 1, each certified
personnel shall advance one step on the State Salary Schedule for each year of
creditable experience earned.
(g)
Notwithstanding any other provisions of this rule, on and after July 1, 2010,
and until such date as may be determined by the State Board of Education that
mathematics, science, or both are no longer areas in which there is an
insufficient supply of teachers, a secondary (grades 6-12) teacher in a local
school system who is or becomes certified in mathematics or science by the PSC
and teaches secondary mathematics or science any portion of the work day shall
be moved to the Salary Step on the State Salary Schedule that is applicable to
a teacher with six creditable years of experience subject to appropriation by
the Georgia General Assembly. From such Salary Step, the teacher shall be
attributed one additional creditable year of experience for each creditable
year of experience the teacher earns for the next five years. After five years,
such teacher may continue to be attributed one additional creditable year of
experience for each creditable year of experience earned if he or she meets or
exceeds student achievement criteria in mathematics or science as established
by GOSA. If such teacher does not meet or exceed the student achievement
criteria in mathematics or science as established by GOSA after five years, or
any year thereafter, such teacher shall be moved to the Salary Step applicable
to the actual number of creditable years of experience that the teacher
accumulated.
(h) On and after July
1, 2010 the LUA shall pay a supplement of $1000.00, subject to appropriation by
the General Assembly, per endorsement to individuals who hold a PSC teaching
certificate grades K-5 with endorsement in mathematics, science or both for
each year such endorsement is in effect up to a maximum of five
years.
(i) After five years, such
individual shall continue to receive the $1000.00, subject to appropriation by
the General Assembly, supplement provided he or she meets or exceeds student
achievement criteria established by the Governor's Office of Student
Achievement (GOSA).
(j) Upon
expiration of five years or any year thereafter, that the individual does not
meet or exceed student achievement as required the LUA shall cease payment of
the supplement.
(k) An individual
holding a renewable or non-renewable leadership certificate issued on and after
July 1, 2010 shall only be placed on the salary level of the State Salary
Schedule attributed to the leadership degree if the individual is employed by
the LUA and serves in a leadership position. This shall not apply, regardless
of whether or not the individual is in a leadership position, to the following:
1. An educator who possessed a leadership
degree prior to July 1, 2010 or
2.
An educator who possessed:
(i) A master's
level leadership degree prior to July 1, 2012;
(ii) A specialist level leadership degree
prior to July 1, 2013; or
(iii) A
doctoral level leadership degree prior to July 1, 2014, As long as the
individual was enrolled in such leadership preparation program on or before
April 1, 2009.
(l) Each LUA shall pay to full and half time
certified employees the salary prescribed by the State Salary Schedule adopted
annually by the State Board of Education.
1.
Each LUA shall pay certified personnel based on the validity date of the
individual's certificate within the contract year.
2. Unless otherwise specified in this rule,
each LUA shall pay individuals holding at least one valid professional
certificate in any field the professional salary at the certificate level held,
regardless of the field of assignment, provided that a valid certificate is
held in the field of assignment. Certificate validity, type and level are
determined by the PSC.
(m) Each LUA shall pay to 11 and 12 month
employed certified personnel and to superintendents and RESA directors at least
the daily rate based on the state minimum salary schedule in effect for the
preceding fiscal year for the number of days worked beyond the LUA defined
school year.
(n) In accordance with
state law, Each LUA may supplement the minimum salaries of certified personnel.
In determining the amount of local supplement, the LUA may take into
consideration the nature of duties to be performed, the responsibility of the
position held, the subject matter or grades taught, and experience and
performance of the employee whose salary is being supplemented. In any fiscal
year in which such personnel receive an increase under the State Salary
Schedule, the LUA shall not decrease any local supplement for such personnel
below the local supplement received in the immediately preceding fiscal year
unless the LUA has conducted at least two public hearings regarding the
decrease and followed hearing requirements as specified in O.C.G.A. §
20-2-212.
(o) In accordance with state law, each LUA
shall pay state supplements to specified personnel listed on the state schedule
of minimum salaries, subject to appropriation by the General
Assembly.
(p) Each LUA shall pay
beginning classroom teachers the first salary payment for the number of days
worked at the end of the first month of the school year in which service is
rendered.
Notes
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