14 Del. Admin. Code § 1501 – Salary Supplements for Educators

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Professional Standards Boards

1500 Professional Standards Board

1501 Salary Supplements for Educators

1.0 Content

1.1 The following requirements shall be met in order to receive the salary supplements established by14Del.C.§1305. This regulation shall apply to the awarding of salary supplements as a percentage of the State portion of an educator's annual salary paid in accordance with the provisions of14Del.C.§1305for gaining knowledge and skills that lead to more effective instruction, for achieving national certification from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards or from an equivalent program, and for accepting additional responsibility assignments that impact student achievement.
1.2 Supplements are available subject to an annual appropriation from the General Assembly.

2.0 Definitions

The following words and terms, when used in this regulation, shall have the following meaning:

"Additional responsibility assignments" means additional assignments for educators that are academic in nature and that impact student achievement. For purposes of this regulation and pursuant to14Del.C.§1305(n), extracurricular or noninstructional supervisory activities are specifically excluded from additional responsibility assignments.

"Administrator mentor" means a certified administrator who holds an active Continuing or Advanced License issued by the Department under 14Del.C.Ch. 12, is currently employed as an administrator, performs the duties and responsibilities in the State’s administrator mentor program, and is rated as satisfactory on the State’s current evaluation system or on a state-approved alternative educator evaluation system. A certified administrator is an educator who holds at least 1 of the following Standard Certificates: School Principal and Assistant School Principal (14DE Admin. Code1591), Certified Central Office Personnel (14DE Admin. Code1592), Superintendent and Assistant Superintendent (14DE Admin. Code1593), Special Education Director (14DE Admin. Code1594), and Charter School Leader (14DE Admin. Code1596).

"Base salary" means the salary earned by an educator as determined by the educator’s level of education and years of service on the Delaware educators’ salary schedule pursuant to14Del.C.§1305.

"Department" means the Delaware Department of Education.

"Educator" means a person licensed and certified by the State under 14Del.C.Ch. 12 to engage in the practice of instruction, administration, or other related professional support services in Delaware public schools, including charter schools, pursuant to the rules and regulations developed by the Professional Standards Board, in consultation and cooperation with the Department, and approved by the State Board of Education. The term ‘educator’ does not include substitute teachers.

"Induction coach" means a person who holds an active Continuing or Advanced License issued by the Department under 14Del.C.Ch. 12 and is certified and employed as a teacher or a specialist at a school district or charter school in Delaware and has participated in the training for coaches of teachers and specialists required by the Department and the employing authority. Teachers and specialists serving as coaches are those who have satisfactory evaluations on the State's current evaluation system or on a state-approved alternative educator evaluation system during the school year in which they coach and are not on an improvement plan. Coaches are selected by the employing authority to provide support for teachers and specialists in years 1 and 2 of the comprehensive educator induction program.

"Induction coordinator" means a person appointed by an employing authority to annually submit and oversee an approved comprehensive educator induction program for teachers and specialists for the school district or charter school and serve as a liaison between the employing authority and the Department.

"Knowledge and skills" means understandings and abilities that, when acquired by educators, lead to more effective instruction.

"Lead induction coach" means a person who holds an active Continuing or Advanced License issued by the Department under 14Del.C.Ch. 12 and is certified and employed as a teacher at a school district or charter school in Delaware and has participated in the training for lead coaches of teachers and specialists required by the Department and the employing authority. Teachers serving as lead induction coaches have satisfactory evaluations on the State's current evaluation system, or on a state-approved alternative educator evaluation system during the school year in which the individual is the lead induction coach and are not on an improvement plan. In addition, the lead induction coach is selected by the employing authority to oversee the comprehensive educator induction program at the building level and is an active part of the site induction team. The lead induction coach provides guidance and professional learning to induction coaches and support to teachers and specialists in years 3 and 4 of the program.

"National certification" means an Educator has achieved and maintains a current national certification as provided in14Del.C.§1305(l).

"Salary supplement", when referring to knowledge, skills, national certification, and additional responsibility-based supplements, means additional State salary as described in14Del.C.§1305.

3.0 Knowledge and Skills Salary Supplements

Currently, there are not any approved knowledge and skills salary supplements.

4.0 National Certification

4.1 An educator may receive a salary supplement for achieving and currently maintaining the following certifications as provided in14Del.C.§1305(l):
1. 4.1.1 National Board Certification from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards;
2. 4.1.2 Certificate of Clinical Competence in Audiology (CCC-A) or Certificate of Clinical Competence Speech-Language Pathology (CCC-SLP) from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association;
3. 4.1.3 National Certified School Counselor from the National Board for Certified Counselors;
4. 4.1.4 Music Therapist – Board Certified (MT-BC) from the Certification Board for Music Therapists;
5. 4.1.5 Nationally Certified School Psychologist (NCSP) from the National Association of School Psychologists;
6. 4.1.6 Nationally Certified School Nurse (NCSN) from the National Board for Certification of School Nurses;
7. 4.1.7 School-based physical therapists who have passed the National Physical Therapy Exam (NPTE) as administered by the Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy (FSBPT); or
8. 4.1.8 Occupational Therapist Advanced Certification from the American Occupational Therapy Association or the Occupational Therapist Registered from the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy.
4.2 In order to be eligible for a national certification salary supplement, the educator shall maintain current certification through the applicable national organization.
4.3 An educator who is employed as a superintendent, assistant superintendent, or director or in a non-instructional area of transportation, finance/business management, human resources/personnel management, purchasing, community/public relations, administrative services, pupil services, audiology, occupational therapist, physical therapist, psychologist, speech language pathologist, human relations, nurse, social work/services, information technology, or a specialized assignment comparable to these non-instructional areas shall not be eligible for a salary supplement for national certification from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.
4.4 An educator who achieves and maintains national certification shall receive an annual salary supplement equal to 12% of the educator’s base salary for the certification in subsection 4.1.1 or 6% of the educator’s base salary for the certifications in subsections 4.1.2 through 4.1.8.

5.0 Additional Responsibility Assignments

5.1 Additional responsibility assignments shall be:
1. 5.1.1 Focused on school improvement issues that impact student achievement;
2. 5.1.2 Supported by high quality, targeted professional development; and
3. 5.1.3 Academic in nature.
5.2 In order to qualify for an additional responsibility assignment salary supplement, an educator shall have completed the State approved training program for the position or, in the absence of a training program, shall meet the criteria set forth for the position by the State, school district, charter school, or other employing authority and shall provide State, school district, charter school, or other employing authority approved levels of service, participate in designated activities throughout the period of responsibility, document the satisfactory fulfillment of the specified assignment, and remain employed by the employing authority at which the service was performed.
5.3 Additional responsibility assignment salary supplements may be renewed.
5.4 The following assignments are currently approved additional responsibility assignments:
1. 5.4.1 Administrator mentor, induction coordinator, lead induction coach, and induction coach in years 1 and 2 of the program who are paid in accordance with the provisions of14Del.C.§1305as provided in14DE Admin. Code1503Comprehensive Educator Induction Programs.
2. 5.4.2 An induction coach is not eligible for and shall not be paid an additional responsibility assignment salary supplement if the induction coach is assigned to a teacher or specialist who, at the employing authority's discretion, is required to repeat year 1 or year 2 of the program or is assigned beyond year 2 of the program.
  1. 5.4.2.1 For the purpose of subsection 5.4.2, "teacher" means a person who holds an active educator's license issued by the Department under 14Del.C.Ch. 12, is currently employed at a school district or charter school in Delaware, and meets students on a regularly scheduled basis, plans and delivers instruction, develops or prepares instructional materials, and evaluates student performance and includes individuals who hold the School Library Media Specialist Standard Certificate (14DE Admin. Code1580) or School Reading Specialist Standard Certificate (14DE Admin. Code1581).
  2. 5.4.2.2 For the purpose of subsection 5.4.2, "specialist" means a person who holds an active educator's license issued by the Department under 14Del.C.Ch. 12 to engage in other related professional support services, is currently employed at a school district or charter school in Delaware, and holds at least 1 of the following Standard Certificates: Elementary School Counselor (14DE Admin. Code1522), Secondary School Counselor (14DE Admin. Code1545), School Nurse (14DE Admin. Code1582), School Psychologist (14DE Admin. Code1583), School Social Worker (14DE Admin. Code1584) School Behavior Analyst (14DE Admin. Code1585), or School Behavior Analyst Assistant (14DE Admin. Code1586).

6.0 Educators’ Eligibility for Salary Supplements

Additional responsibility assignments. An educator shall provide the school district, charter school, or other employing authority with such information as may be required to enable the school district, charter school, or other employing authority to verify that the educator has fulfilled the requirements of subsection 5.2 of this regulation.

7.0 Payment of Salary Supplements

Salary supplements for additional responsibility assignments. Salary supplements earned by educators who are paid in accordance with the provisions of14Del.C.§1305as a result of fulfilling additional responsibility assignments shall be effective following receipt by the Department of documentation from the school district, charter school, or other employing authority of satisfactory completion of the duties associated with the additional responsibility assignment and shall be paid annually.