1. For the purpose of providing career pay, which shall be a salary supplement, for public school teachers, which for the purpose of sections 168.500 to 168.515 shall include classroom teachers, librarians, school counselors and certificated teachers who hold positions as school psychological examiners, parents as teachers educators, school psychologists, special education diagnosticians and speech pathologists, and are on the district salary schedule, there is hereby created and established a career advancement program which shall be known as the "Missouri Career Development and Teacher Excellence Plan", hereinafter known as the "career plan or program". Participation by local school districts in the career advancement program established under this section shall be voluntary. The career advancement program is a matching fund program. The general assembly may make an annual appropriation to the excellence in education fund established under section 160.268 for the purpose of providing the state's portion for the career advancement program. The "Career Ladder Forward Funding Fund" is hereby established in the state treasury. Beginning with fiscal year 1998 and until the career ladder forward funding fund is terminated pursuant to this subsection, the general assembly may appropriate funds to the career ladder forward funding fund. Notwithstanding the provisions of section 33.080 to the contrary, moneys in the fund shall not be transferred to the credit of the general revenue fund at the end of the biennium. All interest or other gain received from investment of moneys in the fund shall be credited to the fund. All funds deposited in the fund shall be maintained in the fund until such time as the balance in the fund at the end of the fiscal year is equal to or greater than the appropriation for the career ladder program for the following year, at which time all such revenues shall be used to fund, in advance, the career ladder program for such following year and the career ladder forward funding fund shall thereafter be terminated.
2. The department of elementary and secondary education, at the direction of the commissioner of education, shall study and develop model career plans which shall be made available to the local school districts. These state model career plans shall:
(1) Contain three steps or stages of career advancement;
(2) Contain a detailed procedure for the admission of teachers to the career program;
(3) Contain specific criteria for career step qualifications and attainment. These criteria shall clearly describe the minimum number of professional responsibilities required of the teacher at each stage of the plan and shall include reference to classroom performance evaluations performed pursuant to section 168.128 . The criteria may include, but shall not be limited to, teacher externships as provided in section 168.025 ;
(4) Be consistent with the teacher certification process recommended by the Missouri advisory council of certification for educators and adopted by the department of elementary and secondary education;
(5) Provide that public school teachers in Missouri shall become eligible to apply for admission to the career plans adopted under sections 168.500 to 168.515 after two years of public school teaching in Missouri, except that such two-year requirement shall not apply to any member of the Armed Forces of the United States or such member's spouse who has teaching experience in another state and who has transferred to this state. All teachers seeking admission to any career plan shall, as a minimum, meet the requirements necessary to obtain the first renewable professional certificate as provided in section 168.021 ;
(6) Provide procedures for appealing decisions made under career plans established under sections 168.500 to 168.515 .
3. School district career plans shall recognize additional responsibilities and volunteer efforts by teachers in formulating criteria for career ladder admission and stage achievement. Such additional responsibilities and volunteer efforts outside of the duties that require a teaching certificate under section 168.021 may include, but shall not be limited to:
(1) Serving as a coach, supervisor, or organizer for any extracurricular activity for which the teacher does not already receive additional compensation;
(2) Serving as a mentor for students or teachers, whether in a formal or informal capacity;
(3) Receiving additional teacher training or certification outside of that offered by the school district;
(4) Serving as a tutor or providing additional learning opportunities to students; and
(5) Assisting students with postsecondary education preparation including, but not limited to, teaching an ACT or SAT preparation course or assisting students with completing college or career school admission or financial assistance applications.
4. The commissioner of education shall cause the department of elementary and secondary education to establish guidelines for all career plans established under this section, and criteria that must be met by any school district which seeks funding for its career plan.
5. A participating local school district may have the option of implementing a career plan developed by the department of elementary and secondary education or a local plan which has been developed with advice from teachers employed by the district and which has met with the approval of the department of elementary and secondary education. In approving local career plans, the department of elementary and secondary education may consider provisions in the plan of the local district for recognition of teacher mobility from one district to another within this state.
6. The career plans of local school districts shall not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, religion, national origin, color, creed, or age. Participation in the career plan of a local school district is optional, and any teacher who declines to participate shall not be penalized in any way.
7. In order to receive funds under this section, a school district which is not subject to section 162.920 must have a total levy for operating purposes which is in excess of the amount allowed in Section 11(b) of Article X of the Missouri Constitution; and a school district which is subject to section 162.920 must have a total levy for operating purposes which is equal to or in excess of twenty-five cents on each hundred dollars of assessed valuation.
8. The commissioner of education shall cause the department of elementary and secondary education to regard a speech pathologist who holds both a valid certificate of license to teach and a certificate of clinical competence to have fulfilled the standards required to be placed on stage III of the career program, provided that such speech pathologist has been employed by a public school in Missouri for at least two years and is approved for placement at such stage III by the local school district.
9. Beginning in fiscal year 2012, the state portion of career ladder payments shall only be made available to local school districts if the general assembly makes an appropriation for such program. Payments authorized under sections 168.500 to 168.515 shall only be made available in a year for which a state appropriation is made. Any state appropriation shall be made prospectively in relation to the year in which work under the program is performed and, pursuant to section 168.409 , a portion of the moneys appropriated for the purposes of this section may be used to fund the principal-administrator academy program for school leaders established in section 168.407 .
10. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit a local school district from funding the program for its teachers for work performed in years for which no state appropriation is made available.