284.17 Comparable system criteria.

Any comparable system of career paths and compensation for teachers approved pursuant to section 284.15, including the instructional coach model set forth in section 284.16, shall include, at a minimum, all of the following components:

1. A minimum salary of thirty-three thousand five hundred dollars for a full-time teacher.

2. Increased support for new teachers and veteran teachers where appropriate, such as additional coaching, mentoring, and opportunities for observing exceptional instructional practice.

3. Differentiated, multiple teacher leadership roles beyond the initial teacher and career teacher levels, in which a goal of at least twenty-five percent of the teacher workforce serves additional contract days with compensation commensurate with the responsibilities for the leadership role. A district shall demonstrate that a good-faith effort has been made to attain participation by twenty-five percent of the teacher workforce and that no other practical alternative is available to meet the goal. These leadership roles may include but shall not be limited to all of the following:

a. Instructional coaches who engage full-time or part-time in instructional coaching.

b. Peer coaches who provide additional guidance in one or more aspects of the teaching profession to other teachers during normal noninstructional time. Peer coaches may be used only as one element of a more extensive teacher leadership plan.

c. Curriculum and professional development leaders who engage full-time or part-time in the planning, development, and implementation of curriculum and professional development.

d. Model teachers who teach full-time and serve as models of exemplary teaching practice.

e. Mentor teachers who teach full-time or part-time and also support the professional development of initial and career teachers.

f. Lead teachers who teach full-time or part-time and also plan and deliver professional development activities or engage in other activities designed to improve instructional strategies.

4. A rigorous selection process for placement into and retention in teacher leadership roles. The process shall include all of the following components:

a. The use of measures of effectiveness and professional growth to determine suitability for the role.

b. A selection committee that includes teachers and administrators who shall accept and review applications for assignment or reassignment to a teacher leadership role and shall make recommendations regarding the applications to the superintendent of the school district.

c. An annual review of the assignment to a teacher leadership role by the school’s or school district’s administration. The review shall include peer feedback on the effectiveness of the teacher’s performance of duty specific to the teacher’s leadership role. A teacher who completes the time period of assignment to a leadership role may apply to the school’s or the school district’s administration for assignment in a new leadership role, if appropriate, or for reassignment.

d. A requirement that a teacher assigned to a leadership role must have at least three years of teaching experience, and at least one year of experience in the school district.

5. A professional development system facilitated by teachers and other education experts and aligned with the Iowa professional development model adopted by the state board.

6. A school district approved to implement a comparable system pursuant to section 284.15, and which meets the requirements of this section, shall receive funds under section 257.10, subsection 12.

2013 Acts, ch 121, §72

Referred to in §256.9, 284.13, 284.15