(a)Establishment; statement of purpose. —(1) There is established a Public School Employee Support Program for High Needs Areas. The Program allows qualified applicants to apply for a stipend from the State.
(2) The purpose of the Program is to improve educational outcomes for struggling student populations by working to retain all of the following:
a. Educators who are of critical importance to those populations, including educators working in certification areas in which Delaware has a shortage and educators working in Delaware’s hardest-to-staff schools.
b. Speech-language pathologists, school counselors, school psychologists, and school social workers who provide professional support services that are of critical importance to students.
(3) The application required and policies adopted under this section must be available on the Office’s website.
(b) As used in this section:
(1) “Award” means a stipend payment made under the Program.
(2) “Educator” means as defined in § 1202 of this title. “Educator” includes teachers employed by the Delaware Division for the Visually Impaired who teach students with visual impairment.
(3) “English learners” means students with limited English proficiency and who meet the definition of English learner as that term is defined by the Department rules and regulations.
(4) “High needs area” means any of the following:
a. A certification area the Office has identified as being difficult to staff or of critical need.
b. A school in the top quartile in 3 or more of the following:
1. Percentage of low-income students.
2. Percentage of English learners.
3. Percentage of students with disabilities.
4. Percentage of minority students.
c. A school with 90% of its students classified as low-income, English learners, or minority.
d. Any facility operated by the Department of Services for Children, Youth and their Families in which education programs are provided.
(5) “Low-income students” means students within the statewide metric determined by the Department of Education utilizing direct certification for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
(6) “Minority students” means students who are members of a racial or ethnic group other than the racial or ethnic group that represents the majority of the State's population.
(7) “Office” means the Delaware Higher Education Office.
(8) “Program” means the Public School Employee Support Program for High Needs Areas established in this section.
(9) “Public school employee” means all of the following:
a. An educator.
b. A speech-language pathologist.
c. A school counselor.
d. A school psychologist.
e. A school social worker.
(10) “Qualified educational loan” means a government, commercial, or foundation loan for actual costs paid for tuition and reasonable educational expenses related to a public school employee’s undergraduate or graduate degree program.
(11) “School” means a Delaware public school, including a vocational-technical school and a charter school established under Chapter 5 of this title.
(12) “Students with disabilities” means students who, because of mental, physical, emotional, developmental, speech, or learning disability problems, as defined by the Department of Education rules and regulations, require special education and related services in order to develop their own capabilities.
(c)Funding. —
Appropriations for the Program are made to the Department through the Budget Appropriations Bill in a separate line item appropriation.
(d)Eligibility for Program. —
In order for an individual to be eligible for the Program, all of the following must apply:
(1) The individual is a full-time public school employee at a school in a high-needs area.
(2) [Repealed.]
(3) For an individual who is applying to the Program as an educator, meets all of the following requirements:
a. The individual has a valid, current license and certificate through the Delaware Department of Education.
b. The individual has not had an ineffective evaluation on the State’s current evaluation system, or the equivalent on a state-approved alternative educator evaluation system.
c. The individual instructs or provides educational support in an identified high needs area for at least 1 school year.
(4) For an individual who is applying to the Program as a speech-language pathologist, the individual must be employed full-time as a speech-language pathologist in a school for a minimum of 1 school year.
(5) For an individual who is applying to the Program as a school counselor, school psychologist, or school social worker, meets all of the following requirements:
a. The individual has obtained a license and certificate through the Delaware Department of Education.
b. The individual must be employed full-time as a school counselor, school psychologist, or school social worker in a school for at least 1 school year.
(e)Application. —
(1) The application to participate in the Program must require each applicant to certify that the applicant meets the eligibility requirements of subsection (d) of this section. The application is otherwise in the form prescribed by the Office.
(2) Annually, each applicant must submit a new, completed application and any additional information the Office may request in accordance with Program regulations.
(f)Decision and disbursement. —
(1) The ability to make awards each year is contingent upon the availability of funds.
(2) If possible, the Office shall make an award to every applicant who satisfies the requirements of this section.
(3) If there are insufficient funds to make an award to every applicant who satisfies the requirements of this section, the Office shall give priority to applicants who meet 1 or more of the following criteria:
a. Applicants employed in both a certification area and a school that the Office identifies as a “high needs area,” as defined in this section.
b. Applicants having the greatest financial need.
(4) The applicants having the greatest financial need is determined in the sole discretion of the Office. To determine financial need the Office shall request at least the applicant’s income and total amount of qualified educational loans. The Office shall determine, in its sole discretion, the weight given to the information.
a.-d. [Repealed.]
(5) The Office has sole discretion to prioritize applications and determine awards consistent with the requirements of paragraphs (f)(2) and (f)(3) of this section.
(6) The Office shall make an award through the State’s central payroll operation.
(7) An applicant may receive only 1 award per year and may receive no more than 5 awards in the applicant’s lifetime.
(g)Amount of award. —
An award must be at least $1,000.
(h) The Department of Education, through the Office, is authorized to adopt rules and regulations to implement this section, subject to the State Board of Education’s approval. The Office may adopt rules and regulations that refine or narrow eligibility requirements or high needs areas, but the Office may not expand the pool of public school employees who are eligible to receive an award beyond the limits set forth in this section.
(i)Penalties.—
If an applicant knowingly submits false information or commits fraud in connection with the application process, the Office may reevaluate the applicant’s eligibility for an award, and may withdraw an award. Any award made as the result of deliberate fraud may be recovered by the Department of Justice through an action at law.
(j)Annual reporting. —
(1) Each fiscal year, the Office shall report to the chairs of the House and Senate Education Committees of the General Assembly all of the following summary data, which must be de-identified to the greatest extent possible:
a. The aggregate number of public school employees who applied for an award.
b. The aggregate number of public school employees who received an award.
c. The races or ethnicities represented by public school employees who applied for an award.
d. The races or ethnicities represented by public school employees who received an award.
e. The certification areas of public school employees who applied for an award.
f. The certification areas of public school employees who received an award.
g. The average amount of an award to a public school employee.
h. The names of the schools that employed public school employees who applied for an award, and for each school, its percentage of low-income students, English learners, students with disabilities, and minority students.
i. The names of the schools that employed public school employees who received an award, and for each school, its percentage of low-income students, English learners, students with disabilities, and minority students.
j. Other summary data the Office identifies as outcome indicators.
(2) The summary data reported under paragraph (j)(1) of this section must be included with the annual report provided to the General Assembly under § 3402 of this title.
(k) If a provision of this section or the application of this section to a person or circumstance is held invalid, unenforceable, or unconstitutional, the remainder of the provisions, and the application of the provisions to any person or circumstance, are not affected.