§ 3612 — Teachers of tomorrow teacher recruitment and retention program

§ 3612. Teachers of tomorrow teacher recruitment and retention\nprogram. 1. Definitions. a. The term "teacher shortage area" means a\npublic school or subject area in which there was a shortage of certified\nteachers in the previous school year and there is a projected shortage\nin the current school year as determined by the commissioner.\n b. The term "certified teacher" means a teacher who holds a state\nteaching certificate appropriate to the teaching position, including the\nsubject area if applicable, in which he or she is to be employed.\n c. The term "school district" shall mean a common, union free,\ncentral, central high school, or city school district.\n d. The term "board of education" shall mean the governing board of any\npublic school or public school district defined in paragraph c of this\nsubdivision.\n e. The term "low performing school" shall mean a school building which\nis under registration review or a school building performing\nsignificantly below state standards as defined by the commissioner.\n f. The term "year of service" shall mean ten months of continuous\nfull-time service as a teacher during a school year, generally occurring\nbetween September first and June thirtieth.\n 2. Application and funding. a. Grants shall be made to school\ndistricts for teacher recruitment, retention and certification\nactivities necessary to increase the supply of qualified teachers in\nschool districts experiencing a teacher shortage in accordance with\nsubdivisions three, four, five, seven and eight of this section and in\nschool districts containing a low-performing school pursuant to\nsubdivision six of this section.\n b. Such grants shall be awarded to school districts, within the limits\nof funds appropriated therefor, through a competitive process that takes\ninto consideration the magnitude of any shortage of teachers in the\nschool district, the number of teachers employed in the school district\nwho hold temporary licenses to teach in the public schools of the state,\nthe number of provisionally certified teachers, the fiscal capacity and\ngeographic sparsity of the district, the number of new teachers the\nschool district intends to hire in the coming school year and the number\nof summer in the city student internships proposed by an eligible school\ndistrict, if applicable. Grants provided pursuant to this section shall\nbe used only for the purposes enumerated in this section.\nNotwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, a city\nschool district in a city having a population of one million or more\ninhabitants receiving a grant pursuant to this section may use no more\nthan eighty percent of such grant funds for any recruitment, retention\nand certification costs associated with transitional certification of\nteacher candidates for the school years two thousand one--two thousand\ntwo through two thousand twenty-eight--two thousand twenty-nine.\n c. Not more than sixty percent of the funds allocated pursuant to this\nsection shall be made available to any one school district and provided\nfurther that a city school district in a city with populations in excess\nof one million inhabitants may, notwithstanding any other provision of\nthis section, allocate a portion of the grant received pursuant to this\nsection for teacher recruitment and outreach activities provided that\nany allocation for teacher recruitment and outreach activities shall not\nexceed two hundred twenty-five thousand dollars.\n d. In allocating grants pursuant to this section, a school district\nshall give priority in the following order:\n (1) first, to a school under registration review that is designated as\na teacher shortage area;\n (2) second, to any school performing significantly below state\nstandards as defined by the commissioner; and\n (3) third, to any school that is designated as a teacher shortage\narea.\n e. Any school district receiving funds under this section shall\nmaintain any local effort in the current year equivalent to such effort\nin the base year for any local program related to the recruitment or\nretention of teachers or any program that has purposes that are similar\nto any purpose of this section or the district shall provide a local\nmatch to state funds received pursuant to this section. State funds\nprovided pursuant to this section shall not supplant local funds for any\npurpose similar to the purposes of this section.\n f. Applications by a school district for funding pursuant to this\nsection shall be filed with the commissioner, in a form determined by\nthe commissioner, by June first of the base year and school districts\nshall be notified of their grant award by June thirtieth of the base\nyear, provided that in any year such application and award dates may be\nmodified by the commissioner for the reasonable administration of the\nprogram. Such application shall include a plan by the school district\nfor the expenditure of the funds in each category of allowable expenses\nauthorized by subdivisions three, four, five, six, seven and eight of\nthis section, and such expenditures shall be consistent with such plan\nand the provisions of this section.\n g. A person receiving an award pursuant to any subdivision of this\nsection shall not be eligible for an award pursuant to any other\nsubdivision of this section in a school year.\n 3. Teachers of tomorrow teacher recruitment incentive program.\nTeachers of tomorrow teacher recruitment incentive awards may be\navailable to teachers pursuant to the provisions of this subdivision to\nattract teachers to employment in teacher shortage areas.\n a. Eligibility. To be eligible for an award pursuant to this\nsubdivision, an applicant shall:\n (1) have initial, provisional, permanent or professional certification\nto teach in New York state;\n (2) agree to a service obligation of one year of service in a teacher\nshortage area as a condition of receiving an award pursuant to this\nsubdivision; and\n (3) be employed for the first time as a teacher in the school\ndistrict.\n b. Application and selection. (1) The board of education shall\ndetermine the form of the application and the application process for\nteachers deemed eligible for the award, and shall in its discretion\nselect the number of eligible applicants who will receive an award\npursuant to this subdivision.\n (2) If the number of eligible applicants exceeds the number of awards\ndetermined by the board pursuant to this subdivision then the board\nshall use an objective competitive process based on educational\nqualifications to determine which eligible applicants shall receive\nawards.\n c. Payment of awards. (1) Annual awards from state and local funds\nprovided for this purpose shall be paid by the board of education to the\naward recipient. Award recipients shall be entitled to receive awards\npursuant to the provisions of this subdivision and such awards shall be\nin addition to and not part of any award recipient's base salary.\n (2) The initial annual award shall be three thousand four hundred\ndollars, and such initial award may be renewable each year, for up to\nthree additional years, provided that the recipient agrees to one year\nof service as a full-time teacher in a teacher shortage area for each\nyear of a renewed award and has provided satisfactory service in any\nprior year in which an initial or renewed award was granted to the\nrecipient. No awards shall be made for less than one school year of\nservice and the sum of any initial and renewed awards shall not exceed\nthirteen thousand six hundred dollars.\n Awards made pursuant to this subdivision shall be used to reimburse\nany educational costs, including those for which student loans may have\nbeen taken, incurred by the recipient prior to receipt of the award for\ncertification as a teacher in the public schools of the state.\n (3) The board of education shall develop and secure from the award\nrecipient a written agreement outlining the service obligation. Such\nagreement shall include provisions for the recipient to repay the amount\nof the award to the school district if the recipient fails to complete\ntheir service obligation in any year where an initial or renewed award\nis granted, and such repaid amounts shall be deducted from any grant\namounts due to the district from the state pursuant to this section.\nUpon a written appeal by an award recipient, the board of education, in\nits discretion, may provide a waiver of repayment provisions for an\naward recipient who fails to complete his or her service requirement for\ndocumented reasons of health or other severe hardship, as determined by\nthe commissioner.\n d. Notification. The board of education shall notify both successful\nand unsuccessful applicants by September first of any school year for\nwhich an initial or renewed award is provided to teachers pursuant to\nthis subdivision.\n 4. Teachers of tomorrow certification stipends. Teachers of tomorrow\ncertification stipends may be available to eligible teachers pursuant to\nthis subdivision for the purpose of providing additional training and\neducation required for the applicants to obtain initial or provisional\ncertification. Such additional training and education may be held during\nthe summer or during any other season or time of the year.\n a. Eligibility. To be eligible for an award pursuant to this\nsubdivision, an applicant shall:\n (1) provide proof that he or she has received a temporary license to\nteach from the commissioner and at the time of application does not hold\nany initial, provisional, permanent or professional certification to\nteach in the public schools of the state; and\n (2) agree to a service obligation of one year of service in a teacher\nshortage area as a condition for receiving an award pursuant to this\nsubdivision.\n b. Application and selection. (1) The board of education shall\ndetermine the form of the application and the application process for\nteachers deemed eligible for the award, and shall in its discretion\nselect the number of eligible applicants who will receive an award\npursuant to this subdivision.\n (2) If the number of eligible applicants exceeds the number of awards\ndetermined by the board pursuant to this subdivision then the board\nshall use an objective competitive process based on educational\nqualifications to determine which eligible applicants shall receive\nawards.\n c. Payment of awards. (1) Annual awards from state and local funds\nprovided for this purpose shall be paid by the board of education to the\naward recipient. No award shall be made for less than one year of\nservice.\n (2) Allowable expenses. Awards may be used for the payment of expenses\nincurred by the recipient for the following purposes:\n (i) tuition charged for test preparation workshops intended to prepare\nrecipients to pass teacher certification exams required for initial or\nprovisional teacher certification, which shall be provided by the board\nof education either through a contract for such services or by providing\nsuch services through employees of the board of education; and\n (ii) tuition charged for any additional coursework at an accredited\ninstitution of higher education required of the recipient to receive\ninitial or provisional teacher certification, as determined by the\ncommissioner.\n (3) Certification stipends of two thousand dollars each may be\nprovided pursuant to this subdivision to award recipients. Fifty percent\nof each award amount shall be payable from state funds provided to the\nschool district pursuant to this section and the remaining fifty percent\nshall be payable by the board of education from other sources of\nrevenue, provided that if the board of education elects to provide the\nservices described in clause (i) of subparagraph two of this paragraph\nthen such remaining fifty percent share may be paid by the board through\nin-kind direct services to the award recipient.\n (i) Awards shall be paid to award recipients upon proof of the\nrecipient's expenditure for allowable expenses as provided for in\nclauses (i) and (ii) of subparagraph two of this paragraph.\n (ii) Such awards shall be in an amount of two thousand dollars per\naward or the actual expenses incurred by the recipient, whichever is\nless.\n (iii) No person shall be eligible for more than one award pursuant to\nthis subdivision.\n (4) The board of education shall develop and secure from the award\nrecipient a written agreement outlining the service obligation. Such\nagreement shall include provisions for the recipient to repay the amount\nof the award to the school district if the recipient fails to complete\ntheir service obligation in any year where an award is granted, and such\nrepaid amounts shall be deducted from any grant amounts due to the\ndistrict from the state pursuant to this section. Upon a written appeal\nby an award recipient, the board of education, in its discretion, may\nprovide a waiver of repayment provisions for an award recipient who\nfails to complete his or her service requirement for documented reasons\nof health or other severe hardship, as determined by the commissioner.\n d. Notification. The board of education shall notify both successful\nand unsuccessful applicants by September first of any school year for\nwhich an initial or renewed award is provided to teachers pursuant to\nthis subdivision.\n 5. Teachers of tomorrow summer in the city internship program. City\nschool districts in cities with populations in excess of one hundred and\ntwenty-five thousand inhabitants shall be eligible to apply for funding\npursuant to this section for summer in the city student internships for\nthe purpose of attracting prospective teachers to opportunities in urban\neducation.\n a. Eligibility. To be eligible for an award pursuant to this\nsubdivision, a student shall:\n (1) have completed sixty or more hours of credit bearing college\ncourses, be in good academic standing as determined by the higher\neducation institution of attendance, have attended an accredited New\nYork state college or university full-time in the base year, be enrolled\nin a registered program for the preparation of teachers at an accredited\nNew York state institution of higher education or have indicated a\ndesire to enter the teaching profession, and are recommended by their\ncollege or university to participate in the program.\n (2) agree to a service obligation of the full duration of the\ninternship program, as determined by the board of education.\n b. Application and selection. (1) Boards of education in school\ndistricts that are eligible for funding pursuant to this section shall\ndevelop and distribute an application to the accredited colleges and\nuniversities of the state which have approved teacher education\nprograms. Such application shall include at a minimum a description of\nthe program including:\n (i) the duration of the program which shall operate for at least five\nor more weeks during the months of June through August generally;\n (ii) the amount of any stipend for the program;\n (iii) available housing for the program;\n (iv) the training and professional development opportunities afforded\nto the student; and\n (v) the amount of time the student will spend in direct contact with\nchildren participating in educational activities.\n (2) The board of education shall determine the application process for\nstudents deemed eligible for the award, and shall in its discretion\nselect the number of eligible applicants who will receive an award\npursuant to this subdivision.\n (3) If the number of eligible applicants exceeds the number of awards\ndetermined by the board pursuant to this subdivision then the board\nshall use an objective competitive process based on educational\nqualifications to determine which eligible applicants shall receive\nawards.\n c. Payment of awards. (1) Annual awards from state funds provided for\nthis purpose shall be paid by the board of education to the award\nrecipient. No award shall be made for less than the duration of the\nprogram, as determined by the board of education. Nothing shall prohibit\na board of education from allowing an eligible applicant from\nparticipating in the program more than once, provided the eligible\napplicant provided satisfactory service in any prior year as determined\nby the board of education.\n (2) Allowable expenses. Districts may expend funds pursuant to this\nsubdivision for:\n (i) stipends of up to two thousand dollars per student;\n (ii) housing for a portion of the students participating in the\nprogram, which shall include provisions for the students to pay a\nportion of the housing costs and to pay a refundable security deposit on\nsuch housing;\n (iii) orientation, training and professional development of the\nstudents participating in the program; and\n (iv) other expenses appropriate to the operation of the program, as\napproved by the commissioner.\n (3) The board of education shall develop and secure from the award\nrecipient a written agreement outlining the service obligation. Such\nagreement shall include provisions for the recipient to repay the amount\nof any stipend provided pursuant to this subdivision to the school\ndistrict if the recipient fails to complete their service obligation for\nany year where an award is granted, and such repaid amounts shall be\ndeducted from any grant amounts due to the district from the state\npursuant to this section. Upon a written appeal by an award recipient,\nthe board of education, in its discretion, may provide a waiver of\nrepayment provisions for an award recipient who fails to complete his or\nher service requirement for documented reasons of health or other severe\nhardship, as determined by the commissioner.\n d. Colleges and universities may provide credit for the summer in the\ncity program and may charge a fee for such credit or provide the credit\nfree of charge. Participation in the summer in the city program shall\nqualify as a field experience for purposes of any graduation or\ncertification requirement. Students eligible for the program shall\nsubmit their application to the board of education by the date\ndetermined by the board of education.\n e. Notification. The board of education shall inform eligible\napplicants of their selection for the program by a date determined by\nthe board of education.\n 6. New York state master teacher program. a. New York state master\nteacher awards may be available to teachers pursuant to the provisions\nof this subdivision to attract highly qualified, experienced, expert\nteachers to low performing schools.\n b. The commissioner shall establish and maintain a list of persons\neligible to serve as master teachers for the purposes of this\nsubdivision.\n c. School districts eligible to participate in this program are those\ndistricts which contain a school building that has been designated as a\nlow performing school.\n d. Such school districts, upon notification of eligibility by the\ncommissioner, may apply for funding pursuant to this section to obtain\nmaster teachers to serve in low performing school buildings.\n e. Eligibility. A person shall be eligible to serve as a master\nteacher if he or she meets the following criteria:\n (1) he or she has received national board certification from the\nNational Board for Professional Teaching Standards.\n (2) he or she is to be employed full-time for the school year by a\npublic school designated as a low performing school.\n (3) he or she agrees to a service obligation of three years of service\nin a low performing school as a condition of receiving awards pursuant\nto this subdivision.\n f. Application and selection. (1) The board of education shall\ndetermine the form of the application and the application process for\nteachers deemed eligible for the award, and shall in its discretion\nselect the number of eligible applicants who will receive an award\npursuant to this subdivision.\n (2) If the number of eligible applicants exceeds the number of awards\ndetermined by the board pursuant to this subdivision then the board\nshall use an objective competitive process based on educational\nqualifications to determine which eligible applicants shall receive\nawards.\n g. Payment of awards. (1) Annual awards from state funds provided for\nthis purpose shall be paid by the board of education to the award\nrecipient.\n (2) The initial annual award shall be ten thousand dollars, and such\ninitial annual award may be renewable each year, for two additional\nyears, provided that the recipient has provided satisfactory service in\nany prior year in which an initial or renewed annual award was granted\nto the recipient and the recipient continues to fulfill his or her\nservice obligation. No annual awards shall be made for less than one\nyear of service and provided further that the sum of any initial and\nrenewed annual awards shall not exceed thirty thousand dollars.\n (3) The board of education shall develop and secure from the award\nrecipient a written agreement outlining the service obligation. Such\nagreement shall include provisions for the recipient to repay the amount\nof the annual award to the school district if the recipient fails to\ncomplete a year of service in any year where an initial or renewed award\nis granted, and such repaid amounts shall be deducted from any grant\namounts due to the district from the state pursuant to this section.\nUpon a written appeal by an award recipient, the board of education, in\nits discretion, may provide a waiver of repayment provisions for an\naward recipient who fails to complete his or her service requirement for\ndocumented reasons of health or other severe hardship, as determined by\nthe commissioner.\n h. Each board of education and particular master teacher shall agree\nto a three-year term in an eligible school building for each master\nteacher appointment and each master teacher shall be assigned partner\nclassroom teachers. In addition to assigned teaching duties, activities\nto be undertaken by the master teacher shall include, but are not\nlimited to, engaging in daily and long-term planning and assessment with\npartner teachers, modeling teaching techniques and strategies, and\nserving as classroom experts who provide ongoing support to teachers and\nchildren.\n i. Upon completion of such master teacher's term of participation in\nthe program, the master teacher shall have the right to return to the\nposition he or she held immediately prior to appointment as a master\nteacher without loss of tenure, seniority or other employment rights.\n j. Notification. The board of education shall inform eligible\napplicants of their selection for the program by a date determined by\nthe board of education.\n 7. Teacher recruitment tuition reimbursement program. A tuition\nreimbursement program may be available to teachers pursuant to the\nprovisions of this subdivision, as an incentive to attract qualified\nteachers to teacher shortage areas.\n a. Definition. The term "approved course" shall mean a course in a\nregistered program for the preparation of teachers at an accredited New\nYork state institution of higher education which is taken towards\nmeeting requirements for permanent certification to teach in the public\nschools of the state.\n b. Eligibility. A person shall be eligible for a tuition reimbursement\naward if he or she meets the following criteria:\n (1) has received initial or provisional certification to teach in the\npublic schools of the state and does not hold any permanent or\nprofessional certification to teach in the public schools of the state;\n (2) he or she is employed full-time for the school year by a public\nschool designated as a teacher shortage area; and\n (3) he or she agrees to a service obligation of one year of service in\na teacher shortage area as a condition of receiving the award.\n c. Application and selection. (1) The board of education shall\ndetermine the form of the application and the application process for\nteachers deemed eligible for the award, and shall in its discretion\nselect the number of eligible applicants who will receive an award\npursuant to this subdivision.\n (2) If the number of eligible applicants exceeds the number of awards\ndetermined by the board pursuant to this subdivision then the board\nshall use an objective competitive process based on educational\nqualifications to determine which eligible applicants shall receive\nawards.\n d. Payment of awards. (1) Annual awards from state funds provided for\nthis purpose shall be paid by the board of education to the award\nrecipient.\n (2) The initial reimbursement award shall be seven hundred dollars or\nthe actual cost of one approved course, whichever is less, provided that\na recipient shall be eligible to receive three initial reimbursement\nawards in the school year. Such initial award shall be renewable for up\nto one additional year and such renewed reimbursement award shall be\nseven hundred dollars or the actual cost of one approved course,\nwhichever is less, provided that a recipient shall be eligible to\nreceive three renewed reimbursement awards in the school year, and\nprovided further that such eligible teacher has provided satisfactory\nservice in the prior year as determined by the board of education to be\neligible for any initial or renewed reimbursement awards. In no case\nshall the sum of any initial and renewed reimbursement awards exceed\nfour thousand two hundred dollars.\n (3) The board of education shall develop and secure from the award\nrecipient a written agreement outlining the service obligation. Such\nagreement shall include provisions for the recipient to repay the amount\nof any reimbursement awards received to the school district if the\nrecipient fails to complete a year of service in any year where any\ninitial or renewed awards are granted, and such repaid amounts shall be\ndeducted from any grant amounts due to the district from the state\npursuant to this section. Upon a written appeal by an award recipient,\nthe board of education, in its discretion, may provide a waiver of\nrepayment provisions for an award recipient who fails to complete his or\nher service requirement for documented reasons of health or other severe\nhardship, as determined by the commissioner.\n e. After February first, two thousand four, any course for which\ntuition reimbursement is made shall not be counted toward any continuing\neducation required of persons certified to teach in the public schools\nof the state.\n f. Notification. The board of education shall inform eligible\napplicants of their selection for the program by a date determined by\nthe board of education.\n 8. Summer teacher training program. In a city school district with a\npopulation of one million or more, intensive summer teacher training may\nbe provided pursuant to this subdivision to certified teachers teaching\nin a teacher shortage area that will be employed for the first time in\nthe city school district as a certified teacher.\n a. Eligibility and selection. Such training may be provided to\nteachers who hold initial, provisional, permanent or professional\ncertification to teach in the public schools of the state who will be\nemployed for the first time in the city school district. The board of\neducation shall establish a selection process by which new teachers are\nchosen to participate in this program. Such process at a minimum shall\ninclude:\n (1) proof that the applicant has received, or is eligible to receive,\ninitial, provisional, permanent or professional certification to teach\nin the public schools of the state; and\n (2) proof that the applicant will be employed for the first time in\nthe city school district as a certified teacher in a teacher shortage\narea.\n b. Allowable expenses. Funds provided for summer teacher training may\nbe used for the payment of expenses incurred by the district for\ntraining and orientation of certified teachers employed by the district\nfor the first time including team teaching with cooperating teachers,\nobserving summer school classes, and training on meeting new standards\nand assessments provided such expenditures from state funds for this\npurpose shall not exceed one thousand dollars per eligible participant.\nNothing in this subdivision shall limit the expenditure of local funds\nfor the purposes of this subdivision.\n 9. Science, mathematics and bilingual education tuition reimbursement\nprogram. Of the amount appropriated for purposes of this section for\ngrants to school districts for the two thousand seven--two thousand\neight school year and thereafter, five million dollars ($5,000,000)\nshall be made available for a science, mathematics and bilingual\neducation tuition reimbursement program developed by the commissioner to\nattract qualified teachers who have received or will receive a\ntransitional teaching certificate, to teach mathematics, science, or\nbilingual education in a low-performing school.\n 10. Reporting. By November first following the completion of each\nschool year, the commissioner shall report to the governor and the\nlegislature regarding the teachers of tomorrow teacher recruitment and\nretention program. Such report shall list the amount of each school\ndistrict's total grant pursuant to this section, the uses of the grant\nby each eligible category of expense, the number of awards granted by\ntype pursuant to this section and, if applicable, the number of persons\nreceiving more than one award of a single type or more than one type of\naward and the number of such awards for these individuals, as well as an\nanalysis of the effectiveness of the program in recruiting and retaining\nteachers in the public schools of the state designated as teacher\nshortage areas.\n