§ 22-69-102 — Legislative declaration

Colorado § 22-69-102

• Jurisdiction: Colorado
• Title 22: Education
• Art.: Alternative Teacher Compensation Plan Act

Text

(1) The general assembly hereby finds
that:

(a) Teachers are a key component in the academic success of children;

(b) To support teachers, school districts should encourage innovative,
creative, and high-quality teaching practices, and teachers who follow these
practices and who promote excellent student performance should be rewarded;

(c) Promoting student performance and achieving teaching excellence is
particularly difficult when dealing with the issues related to at-risk students;

(d) Consistent with the findings of the P-20 council, the state does not fully
fund state mandates nor adequately meet the needs of school districts to attract,
retain, and support the high-quality teachers needed to reach Colorado's
educational goals;

(e) Alternative teacher compensation plans can serve as a mechanism for
rewarding teaching excellence and encouraging creative and innovative
approaches to helping Colorado improve the academic performance of all students
and meet its education goals that include, but are not limited to, decreasing the
dropout rate, closing the achievement gap, and increasing the number of
postsecondary degrees and certificates awarded to Colorado students; and

(f) Consistent with the recommendations of the P-20 council, the ultimate
success of alternative compensation systems will require both significant increases
in base pay and sustained, stable, and sufficient financial resources to ensure that
meaningful, differentiated pay schedules can be supported over the long term.

(2) The general assembly therefore declares that providing seed money
through a competitive grant program to school districts that seek to develop
alternative teacher compensation plans is a concrete way in which the state can
further the goals of teaching excellence and high student achievement in the
participating school districts.

(3) The general assembly further finds and declares that, for purposes of
section 17 of article IX of the state constitution, providing funding for the design
and development of alternative teacher compensation plans is specifically included
as an authorized use of moneys in the state education fund created in section 17 (4)
of article IX of the state constitution. Therefore, this article may be implemented
with appropriations from the state education fund.

Legislative History

Source: L. 2008: Entire article added, p. 1219, � 34, effective May 22.