2016 Oklahoma Statutes
Title 70. Schools
§70-3-152.1. Academic Achievement Award program.

A. The State Board of Education shall develop an Academic Achievement Award (AAA) program. The AAA program shall provide monetary awards to qualified employees at:

1. The top school site that attains the highest overall student achievement as measured by the average of the last three reported academic performance data scores in each of the five groups based on average daily membership (ADM) as provided for in subsection D of this section;

2. The top school site that attains the highest annual improvement in student achievement as measured by the average of the last three reported academic performance data scores in each of five groups based on average daily membership (ADM) as provided for in subsection D of this section; and

3. All school sites that attain the "Gold", "Silver", or "Bronze" levels as measured by academic performance data score as established by the State Board of Education.

B. 1. No later than March 31 of each year, the State Board of Education shall provide a monetary award to all qualified employees at school sites designated as recipients of the Academic Achievement Award as calculated pursuant to this section.

2. The Board shall determine the amount of funds available for the AAA program, which shall include funds appropriated for the AAA program and may include other funds identified by the Board, which may be used for this purpose. Each year, based on the amount of available funding, the Board shall provide awards to all qualified employees at school sites which have qualified for awards in each category in the following order, with awards being made for each subsequent category to as many school sites which have qualified for awards as can be funded with the remaining funds:

a.paragraph 3 of this subsection,

b.paragraph 4 of this subsection, and

c.paragraph 5 of this subsection.

3. The Board shall determine the top school site in each of the groups as designated in subsection D of this section that have achieved the highest overall student achievement as measured by the average of the last three reported academic performance data scores.

4. The Board shall determine the top school site in each of the groups as designated in subsection D of this section that have achieved the highest annual average percentage improvement in student achievement as measured by the average of the last three reported academic performance data scores.

5. The Board shall determine the school sites that have attained the Gold, Silver, or Bronze levels based on the academic performance data score.

6. In the event of tie scores, the Board shall select the school site with the highest annual percentage improvement in student achievement as measured by the academic performance data score as compared to the previous year. If a tie still exists, the Board shall select the school site with the highest annual percentage improvement in reading achievement as compared to the previous year as measured by the reading assessments administered pursuant to Section 1210.508 of this title.

7. Any school site that qualifies for more than one award as provided for in paragraphs 3, 4 and 5 of this subsection shall receive the award with the highest monetary amount the school site qualifies for as calculated pursuant to subsection C of this section, but in no case shall any school site receive more than one award.

C. 1. The amount of monetary award to be paid to each qualified employee at each school site identified as an award recipient as determined pursuant to paragraphs 3 and 4 of subsection B of this section shall be Two Thousand Dollars ($2,000.00).

2. The amount of monetary award to be paid to each qualified employee at each school site identified as having attained the Gold, Silver, or Bronze levels as determined by the State Board of Education shall be as follows:

a.One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) for each Gold level school,

b.Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) for each Silver level school, and

c.Two Hundred Fifty Dollars ($250.00) for each Bronze level school.

D. Groups shall be designated based on average daily membership (ADM) as follows:

1. Group 1 - 0 to 135 ADM;

2. Group 2 - 136 to 235 ADM;

3. Group 3 - 236 to 345 ADM;

4. Group 4 - 346 to 505 ADM; and

5. Group 5 - 506 or more ADM.

E. For purposes of this section, "qualified employees" means all certified personnel employed to serve as a teacher, principal, supervisor, administrator, counselor, librarian, or certified or registered nurse at a school site which has been identified as a recipient of an Academic Achievement Award for at least eighty-five (85) days or equivalent hours of the school year which is the last school year used to calculate the three-year average academic performance data score which is used to determine eligibility for an award. For charter schools formed and operated pursuant to the Oklahoma Charter School Act, qualified employees shall include all administrative and instructional personnel that meet the requirements of this subsection regardless of whether they are certified. Qualified employees shall not include certified personnel who are employed at the school site in a noncertified position and the superintendent of the school district. Qualified employees shall include the certified personnel employed at an elementary school site for at least eighty-five (85) days or equivalent hours of the school year if students who are enrolled at the elementary site were enrolled in an early elementary school site which contains only prekindergarten, kindergarten, first- or second-grade levels that qualifies for an award. Qualified employees shall include the certified personnel employed at an early elementary school site which contains only prekindergarten, kindergarten, first- or second-grade levels for at least eighty-five (85) days or equivalent hours of the school year if students who were enrolled at the early elementary site are now enrolled at an elementary school site that qualifies for an award.

F. Qualified employees who are assigned to more than one school site which is identified as an award recipient shall qualify for only one award, which shall be the highest award the employee qualifies for. For qualified employees who are employed as less than a one full-time-equivalent employee (FTE) by a school district and are assigned to a school site identified as an award recipient or who are employed as one FTE by a school district but are assigned as less than one FTE at a school site identified as an award recipient, the amount of the monetary award paid to the qualified employee shall be prorated based on the prior year final certified personnel FTE reported on the certified personnel report for the school site for the qualified employee.

G. No school site or school district shall be liable for payment of awards pursuant to this section. Awards shall not be included in the calculation of the salary of the teacher for purposes of meeting the district or statutory minimum salary schedule or for purposes of calculating Teachers' Retirement System of Oklahoma contributions or benefits.

H. The State Board of Education shall promulgate rules necessary for the implementation of this section. The Board shall annually announce and recognize the school sites that have qualified for an award under the Academic Achievement Award program and shall post a list of the school sites on the Internet website for the State Department of Education.

Added by Laws 2005, c. 466, § 1, eff. July 1, 2005. Amended by Laws 2007, c. 322, § 1, eff. July 1, 2007; Laws 2008, c. 439, § 2, eff. July 1, 2008; Laws 2010, c. 439, § 1, eff. July 1, 2010; Laws 2013, c. 83, § 6, eff. July 1, 2013.