2010 Tennessee Code
Title 49 - Education
Chapter 5 - Personnel
Part 50 - General Provisions
49-5-5002 - Career ladder program Salary supplements.

49-5-5002. Career ladder program Salary supplements.

(a)  The purpose of this part and parts 52-55 of this chapter is to establish a new professional career ladder program for full-time teachers, principals and supervisors.

(b)  (1)  The new career teacher program shall consist of apprentice teacher, career level I teacher, career level II teacher and career level III teacher positions. The new career ladder program shall be designed to promote staff development among teachers and to reward with substantial pay supplements those teachers evaluated as outstanding and who may accept additional responsibilities as applicable.

     (2)  The new career principal program shall consist of career level I principal, career level II principal and career level III principal positions. The new career ladder shall be designed to improve the administrative skills of principals, and reward with substantial pay supplements those principals evaluated as outstanding.

     (3)  The new career assistant principal program shall consist of career level I assistant principal, career level II assistant principal and career level III assistant principal positions. The new career ladder shall be designed to improve the administrative skills of assistant principals and to reward with substantial pay supplements those assistant principals evaluated as outstanding.

     (4)  The new career supervisor program shall consist of career level I supervisor, career level II supervisor and career level III supervisor positions. The new career ladder shall be designed to improve the skills of administrative supervisors and reward with substantial pay supplements those supervisors evaluated as outstanding.

(c)  (1)  Supplements paid under the career ladder program shall consist of a supplement paid for outstanding performance, and in the case of educators with eleven- or twelve-month contracts, a compensation for the extra months of service. In the case of career level II teachers and career level II principals, assistant principals, and supervisors with an eleven-month contract, the payment for outstanding performance shall be two thousand two hundred dollars ($2,200). In the case of career level III teachers and career level III principals, assistant principals, and supervisors with an eleven-month contract, the payment for outstanding performance shall be three thousand three hundred dollars ($3,300). In the case of career ladder educators with a twelve-month contract, the payment for outstanding performance shall be three thousand six hundred dollars ($3,600). Such amount shall be paid by the state to the LEA for the career ladder program.

     (2)  If a career ladder educator is already employed by an LEA for an eleventh month, and is compensated with local funds, the LEA shall receive an amount equal to the difference between the eleven-month supplement provided for in parts 52-55 of this chapter and the amount that the career ladder educator would receive for outstanding performance. If a career educator is already employed by an LEA for a twelfth month, and is compensated with local funds, the LEA shall receive an amount equal to the difference between the twelve-month supplement provided for in parts 52-55 of this chapter and the amount that the career ladder educator would receive for outstanding performance. This is to be reimbursement for funds already paid by the LEA so that the career ladder educator will continue to receive the compensation the educator is being paid by the LEA for the eleven- or twelve-month service plus the state supplement for outstanding performance, but the LEA would recover for its use in its instructional programs funds that it would have expended for employment of that educator during the eleventh or twelfth month, if the educator was not employed under the career ladder program during the eleventh or twelfth month.

(d)  It is the intent of the general assembly that the salary supplements provided for be awarded on the basis of outstanding performance and that the standards utilized for this purpose be kept high. The commissioner of education shall report to the committee created in § 3-15-301 on the adequacy of the standards.

(e)  In each career ladder program the certificate issued to the educator shall be supplementary to the basic license issued to the educator.

[Acts 1984 (1st E.S.), ch. 7, §§ 3, 13; 1984, ch. 829, § 1; 1985, ch. 465, § 3; 1986, ch. 933, §§ 3, 4, 10, 24; 1987, ch. 308, § 34; 1991, ch. 505, § 2; 1993, ch. 32, §§ 1, 41-43; 1999, ch. 34, § 1.]