45th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2001

RELATING TO TEACHER COMPENSATION; CREATING A PILOT PROGRAM TO ASSESS A TEACHER MERIT PAY PLAN; PROVIDING POWERS AND DUTIES; MAKING AN APPROPRIATION.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:

Section 1. DEFINITIONS.--As used in Sections 1 through 4 of this act:

A. "ad hoc committee" means the teacher merit pay pilot ad hoc committee;

B. "master teacher" means a certified school instructor, serving on the ad hoc committee, who is certified by the national board for professional teaching standards or achieves high student performance in the classroom as measured by national test scores or is involved in education-related activities outside of teaching in the classroom;

C. "pilot program" means the teacher merit pay pilot program established in accordance with the provisions of Sections 1 through 4 of this act by the ad hoc committee;

D. "school academic achievement plan" means the assessment and accountability measures determined by the ad hoc committee and the participating school to be achieved during the course of the pilot program; and

E. "value-added assessment tool" means a statistical method of determining the effectiveness of school systems, schools and teachers using the Tennessee value-added assessment system methodology.

Section 2. TEACHER MERIT PAY PILOT PROGRAM--AD HOC COMMITTEE--MEMBERSHIP--DUTIES--TERMINATION.--

A. The "teacher merit pay pilot ad hoc committee" is created as an advisory committee within the state board of education. The ad hoc committee shall advise the state board of education on all policies, strategies, organizational structures and other matters necessary to establish and implement a teacher merit pay pilot program that shall operate for the 2002-2003 through 2005-2006 school years in accordance with the provisions of Sections 1 through 4 of this act.

B. The ad hoc committee shall consist of ten members appointed as follows:

(1) two members of the state board of education standing committee on accountability, appointed by the president of the state board of education;

(2) one member who represents the business community who is not employed in education, appointed by the governor;

(3) one member who represents the business community who is not employed in education, appointed jointly by the president pro tempore of the senate and the speaker of the house of representatives;

(4) one member who is a parent of a school-age child who is not employed in education services, appointed by the governor;

(5) one member who is a parent of a school-age child who is not employed in education services, appointed jointly by the president pro tempore of the senate and the speaker of the house of representatives;

(6) two members who are certified school instructors and master teachers and which no more than fifty percent shall be a member of either the New Mexico national education association or the federation of education employees, appointed by the governor; and

(7) two members who are certified school instructors and master teachers and which no more than fifty percent shall be a member of either the New Mexico national education association or the federation of education employees, appointed jointly by the president pro tempore of the senate and the speaker of the house of representatives.

C. The remaining members of the state board of education standing committee on accountability who are not already appointed may serve as advisory members to the ad hoc committee.

D. The ad hoc committee shall meet at the call of the chairman and shall meet not less than monthly. The chairman shall be elected from among the members of the ad hoc committee. Members of the ad hoc committee who are not public employees shall receive per diem and mileage as provided in the Per Diem and Mileage Act.

E. The ad hoc committee shall advise the state board of education on the design and implementation of the pilot program in order to evaluate academic achievement of students through the following merit pay programs:

(1) all certified school instructors at participating schools receive a four hundred dollar ($400) merit pay award as a result of reaching a participating school's benchmarks and outcomes in overall school academic achievement that have been developed by the school academic achievement plan;

(2) participating schools receive a merit pay award of three thousand dollars ($3,000) to be distributed to certified school instructors who participate as members on extracurricular projects with their students, educational committees or educational programs directly related to their school academic achievement plan in addition to their teaching responsibilities;

(3) individual certified school instructors, teaching in the classroom over fifty percent of the day, at participating schools who most improve the academic test scores of their students during the course of the school year in accordance with their school academic achievement plan, benchmarks and outcomes receive a merit pay award in the amount of two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500); and (4) certified school instructors at participating schools who have earned national board for professional teaching standards certification shall receive a one-time merit pay award of three thousand dollars ($3,000).

F. In addition to evaluating the merit pay programs in Paragraphs (1) through (4) of Subsection F of this section, the ad hoc committee shall also evaluate the effectiveness of a value-added assessment tool to determine teaching effectiveness compared to student academic achievement.

G. The ad hoc committee shall design and establish a peer intervention program to advise and mentor low-performing teachers.

H. A certified school instructor at a participating school who receives a merit pay award for having earned national board for professional teaching standards certification shall commit to teaching in the state for two years following the receipt of the merit award. An instructor who chooses to forgo the two years of teaching contingent with the merit award shall repay the award to the state in accordance with rules promulgated by the state board of education.

I. The ad hoc committee shall complete the design of the pilot program prior to the beginning of the 2002-2003 school year.

J. In designing the pilot program, the ad hoc committee shall ensure that provisions for the possibility of receiving a merit award are incorporated into teachers' contracts for the upcoming school year. The teachers' contracts shall set forth standards for receipt of a merit award in compliance with the provisions of Sections 1 through 4 of this act.

K. The ad hoc committee and pilot program shall terminate at the end of the 2005-2006 school year or when the state board of education determines that the pilot program has been successfully implemented and the committee has completed its work, whichever is sooner.

Section 3. TEACHER MERIT PAY PILOT PROGRAM-- PARTICIPATION REQUIREMENTS.--

A. An elementary, middle school or junior high school may participate in the pilot program beginning in the 2002-2003 school year if at least sixty-five percent of its teachers agree to participate.

B. The ad hoc committee shall select through a lottery process no more than one hundred twenty schools throughout the state that have applied to participate in the pilot program.

C. A school applying to participate in the pilot program shall submit a school academic achievement plan to the ad hoc committee, prior to participation in the pilot program. The school academic achievement plan shall include the assessment and accountability measures for the participating schools along with benchmarks and determine outcomes to be achieved by the pilot program at that school.

D. The pilot program shall require participating schools to annually use terra nova pre- and post-testing results to measure student progress.

E. Master teachers shall assist participating schools in the achievement of the schools' academic achievement plans. A master teacher shall receive a salary in accordance with rules promulgated by the ad hoc committee. There shall be no more than one master teacher assigned to every ten participating schools. The master teacher shall oversee the training of the participating schools in the conduct of the pilot program. The master teacher shall also mentor, train and encourage low-performing teachers.

F. At each participating school, the following

priorities shall be established for distributing merit pay awards:

(1) first priority for merit pay awards shall be given to schools that submit a school academic achievement plan that includes a merit pay award to all certified school instructors at the school for achieving benchmarks and outcomes in overall school academic achievement;

(2) second priority for merit pay awards shall be given to individual certified school instructors at participating schools who improve the test scores of their students during the course of the school year;

(3) third priority for merit pay awards shall be given to certified school instructors at participating schools who have earned national board for professional teaching standards certification; and

(4) fourth priority for merit pay awards shall be given to certified school instructors who participate as members on extracurricular projects with their students, educational committees or educational programs directly related to their school academic achievement plan.

G. No participating school shall annually receive more than eighty thousand dollars ($80,000) in merit pay awards, and no more than twenty-five percent of the award shall be given for teachers who have earned national board for professional teaching standards certification.

Section 4. STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION--SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION--ADDITIONAL DUTIES.--In accordance with the provisions of Sections 1 through 4 of this act:

A. the state department of public education shall provide specialized training to participating schools for the conduct of the pilot program;

B. the state department of public education shall provide such administrative assistance, meeting space and other necessary facilities and support services as the ad hoc committee may request; and

C. using the recommendations and advice of the ad hoc committee, the superintendent of public instruction shall report annually to the legislature and the governor on the pilot program, including evaluations, surveys and recommendations of parents and teachers involved in the pilot program. The final report of the pilot program shall be provided to the legislature and the governor by November 2005, including any proposed legislation.

Section 5. APPROPRIATION.--Twelve million dollars ($12,000,000) is appropriated from the general fund to the state department of public education for expenditure in fiscal years 2002 through 2006 to implement the teacher merit pay pilot program. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of fiscal year 2006 shall revert to the general fund.