(1) Beginning with the 2009-10 school year for teachers, school counselors, and principals who hold a certification from the national board for professional teaching standards, and school counselors who hold a certification from the national board for certified counselors, and beginning with the 2019-20 school year for nationally certified school psychologists who hold a certification from the national association of school psychologists, collectively referred to in this section as "school professionals", the department, subject to available appropriations, shall award an annual stipend of one thousand six hundred dollars to any school professional who is employed in a school district, a program operated by a board of cooperative services, a charter school authorized by a school district pursuant to part 1 of article 30.5 of this title 22, or a charter school authorized by the state charter school institute pursuant to part 5 of article 30.5 of this title 22. For any stipends that are awarded, the department shall allocate the stipend money to the school district that employs the school professional who is to receive the stipend, and the school district shall then make payment directly to the eligible school professional. A school district may, at its discretion, withhold any required employer retirement and medicare contributions associated with the stipend pursuant to this section from the one thousand six hundred dollar stipend amount. For any stipends that are awarded, the stipend shall be: (a) Payable on May 1, 2009, and each May 1 thereafter, for nationally certified teachers, school counselors, and principals; (b) Payable on May 1, 2020, and each May 1 thereafter, for nationally certified school psychologists; (c) Prorated for less than full-time employment; (d) Considered regular salary pursuant to section 24-51-101 (42)(a); and (e) In addition to, and not in lieu of, any existing compensation being awarded at the local level to a school professional. (2) Beginning with the 2009-10 school year for nationally certified teachers, school counselors, and principals, and beginning with the 2019-20 school year for nationally certified school psychologists, subject to available appropriations, an additional annual stipend of three thousand two hundred dollars shall be awarded to any school professional who meets the criteria set forth in subsection (1) of this section and who is employed as of May 1 in a given school year in a low-performing, high-needs school. Subject to available appropriations, a school professional shall continue to receive the additional stipend award pursuant to this subsection (2) if the school professional remains employed in a school that was previously a low-performing, high-needs school but improved sufficiently to implement an improvement or performance plan pursuant to section 22-11-210. The additional stipend for a school professional is subject to the same restrictions and requirements as set forth in subsection (1) of this section. (3) (a) On or before August 30, 2011, the department shall contract with an outside source to conduct two studies concerning the effectiveness of any annual stipends awarded to teachers pursuant to this section. (b) The first study shall evaluate the effect of national board certification on student achievement, using longitudinal growth as a measurement. The results of the study shall describe, at a minimum, any differential effectiveness correlated to school characteristics, including but not limited to: (I) Title I of the federal "Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965", 20 U.S.C. sec. 6301 et seq., eligibility; (II) School size; and (III) The proportion of students who attend the school for whom English is a second language. (c) The second study shall evaluate the effectiveness of any stipends awarded on encouraging teachers to obtain national board certification and encouraging teachers to teach in low-performing schools, the effect of the national board certification on teacher retention, and the effect of having national board certified teachers on the culture of the school. (d) On or before January 30, 2012, the department shall submit a report containing the findings of the study to the education committees of the house of representatives and the senate, or any successor committees, the governor, and the commissioner of education. (4) If insufficient funding is available to award a stipend pursuant to subsection (1) of this section to all school professionals, stipends shall be awarded only to those school professionals who meet the criteria of subsection (1) of this section and who are employed in a low-performing, high-needs school.
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