005.28.19 Ark. Code R. § 002 Rule Governing the Educator Compensation Reform Program

• Library: Arkansas Administrative Code
• Edition: 2023
• Currency: Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 12, December, 2023
• Year: 2023
• Citation: 005.28.19 Ark. Code R. § 002

Arkansas Division of Elementary and Secondary Education Rules Governing the Educator Compensation Reform Program Effective January 1, 2020

1.00 PURPOSE

1.01 These rules shall be known as the Arkansas Division of Elementary and Secondary Education ("Division") Rules Governing the Educator Compensation Reform Program.

1.02 The purpose of these rules is to provide the process and procedures necessary to calculate and allocate Educator Compensation Reform Program funds to eligible school districts.

2.00 AUTHORITY

2.01 The Arkansas State Board of Education promulgated these rules pursuant to the authority granted to it by Ark. Code Ann. §§ 6-11-105, 25-15-201 et seq., and Acts 170 and 877 of 2019.

3.00 DEFINITIONS

As used in these rules:

3.01 "Educator Compensation Reform Program fund" means a fund established within the Public School Fund, for the Division, made available to school districts to assist with the cost of increasing teacher salaries as required by Ark. Code Ann. § 6-17-2403.

3.02 "Foundation Funding" means the same as the definition set forth in Ark. Code Ann. § 6-20-2303(7) and is the amount set forth in Ark. Code Ann. § 6-20-2305(a)(2).

3.03 "Teacher" means an individual who is required to hold a teaching license from the Division and who is engaged directly in instruction with students in a classroom setting for more than seventy percent (70%) of the individual's contracted time, a guidance counselor, or a librarian 3.03.1 "Teacher" also includes a nonlicensed classroom teacher employed in a position under a waiver from licensure.

4.00 IMPLEMENTATION

4.01 The Educator Compensation Reform Program ("Program") was established to provide additional funding to school districts currently below the minimum teacher salary schedule set forth in Ark. Code Ann § 6-17-2403, and assist school districts in ensuring that all educators in public school districts receive a minimum annual salary of $36,000 over a four-year period.

4.02 School districts that adhered to a teacher compensation schedule at or above $36,000 for a teacher with a bachelor's degree and zero (0) years of experience in the 2018-2019 school year shall not be eligible for funds under the Program.

4.03 School districts that implement a teacher compensation schedule at or above $36,000 for a teacher with a bachelor's degree and zero (0)...