FOR AN ACT ENTITLED, An Act to  establish a master teacher program to award certain teachers.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF SOUTH DAKOTA:
     Section  1.  The Department of Education and Cultural Affairs shall establish a master teacher program. The South Dakota master teacher program shall reward qualified teachers in qualified school districts by means of a yearly bonus of not more than six thousand dollars per year.
     Section  2.  The Department of Education and Cultural Affairs may allocate only those funds appropriated by the Legislature for the purposes of this Act to each qualified school district according to its relative portion of the total average daily membership as defined in §  13-13-10.1. Any qualified school district may access a portion of the funds for the South Dakota master teacher program if the school district implements a plan to reward teachers who demonstrate excellence and mastery in their profession. All moneys allocated for school districts that are not qualified school districts, shall be redistributed to the qualified school districts on an average daily membership basis.

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     Section  3.  If a qualified school identifies a teacher who has demonstrated excellence and mastery, the qualified school district shall provide a written recommendation and substantiation, along with the specific amount of the bonus to be paid, to the Department of Education and Cultural Affairs after March first and before April fifteenth. The qualified school district is limited to requesting bonuses in an amount not to exceed the amount allocated for such school district.
     Section  4.  For purposes of this Act, a master teacher must comply with the plan developed by the qualified school district and meet the following criteria:

             (1)    The teacher has taught at least three years in the qualified school district;

             (2)    The teacher exhibits excellence and mastery in both a subject area and teaching methods;

             (3)    The teacher is committed to students and their learning;

             (4)    The teacher is responsible for managing and monitoring student learning;

             (5)    The teacher thinks systematically about teaching and learns from experience;

             (6)    The teacher is a member of learning communities;

             (7)    The teacher submits a portfolio of professional work;

             (8)    The teacher is able to demonstrate student performance; and

             (9)    The teacher is endorsed by an administrator, a school board member, a parent, a colleague, or a student in the school district currently employing the teacher.
     Section  5.  For purposes of this Act, a qualified school district is one that meets the following criteria:

             (1)    The school district has a general fund balance of not more than thirty-five percent of total general fund expenditures for the previous school year;

             (2)    The school district rewards not more than twenty-five percent of its teachers, in any school year, with funds from the South Dakota master teacher program;

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             (3)    The school district awards money to master teachers without a reduction or offset in their regular salary;

             (4)    The school district develops a plan to reward master teachers with the advice and counsel of members of the community, administration, and teachers;

             (5)    The school district identifies a panel of individuals designated to select the master teachers. The panel shall consist of seven members including a teacher, an administrator, a school board member, a student, a former student, a parent, and a member of the business community;

             (6)    The school district's plan is approved by the Department of Education and Cultural Affairs.
     Section  6.  The secretary of the Department of Education and Cultural Affairs shall approve vouchers and the state auditor shall draw warrants to pay expenditures authorized by this Act.