(1) The general assembly hereby finds that:

(a) Teachers are a key component in the academic success of children;

(b) To support teachers, school districts should encourage innovative, creative, and high-quality teaching practices, and teachers who follow these practices and who promote excellent student performance should be rewarded;

(c) Promoting student performance and achieving teaching excellence is particularly difficult when dealing with the issues related to at-risk students;

(d) Consistent with the findings of the P-20 council, the state does not fully fund state mandates nor adequately meet the needs of school districts to attract, retain, and support the high-quality teachers needed to reach Colorado's educational goals;

(e) Alternative teacher compensation plans can serve as a mechanism for rewarding teaching excellence and encouraging creative and innovative approaches to helping Colorado improve the academic performance of all students and meet its education goals that include, but are not limited to, decreasing the dropout rate, closing the achievement gap, and increasing the number of postsecondary degrees and certificates awarded to Colorado students; and

(f) Consistent with the recommendations of the P-20 council, the ultimate success of alternative compensation systems will require both significant increases in base pay and sustained, stable, and sufficient financial resources to ensure that meaningful, differentiated pay schedules can be supported over the long term.

(2) The general assembly therefore declares that providing seed money through a competitive grant program to school districts that seek to develop alternative teacher compensation plans is a concrete way in which the state can further the goals of teaching excellence and high student achievement in the participating school districts.

(3) The general assembly further finds and declares that, for purposes of section 17 of article IX of the state constitution, providing funding for the design and development of alternative teacher compensation plans is specifically included as an authorized use of moneys in the state education fund created in section 17 (4) of article IX of the state constitution. Therefore, this article may be implemented with appropriations from the state education fund.