Bill > HB1500

This bill establishes a new teacher appreciation grant program that replaces the previous teacher appreciation grant system and removes several existing provisions related to staff performance evaluations. The new program allows school corporations and schools to award stipends to teachers based on three distinct designations: recognized (earning $3,000-$5,000), exemplary (earning $5,000-$7,500), and master (earning $7,500-$10,000). Teachers can qualify for these stipends by demonstrating high performance in teaching, mentoring other teachers, and providing instructional leadership. Additionally, the program allows grants for teachers in high-need or geographic shortage areas. The bill removes previous requirements for annual performance evaluations with specific rating categories (highly effective, effective, improvement necessary, ineffective) and eliminates provisions that tied teacher salary increases to these ratings. Stipends under the new program are not subject to collective bargaining, can be added partially to a teacher's base salary, and are intended to attract, reward, and retain high-performing teachers. The program is set to run until June 30, 2027, providing a new approach to recognizing and incentivizing teacher excellence.