HB 31

A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered 22.1-289.2:1, relating to public school teachers; teacher compensation; Professionally Licensed Teacher Supplemental Pay Program established.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That the Code of Virginia is amended by adding a section numbered 22.1-289.2:1 as follows:
§ 22.1-289.2:1. Professionally Licensed Teacher Supplemental Pay Program established; eligibility; requirements.
A. As used in this section:
"High-vacancy public school" means a public elementary or secondary school that, as determined by the Department pursuant to subsection D, has a teacher vacancy rate that places it within the top 10 percent of public schools with the highest teacher vacancy rates in the Commonwealth.
"Positions and exits collection" means the end-of-year survey conducted each school year by the Department, pursuant to subdivision 9 of § 22.1-79, § 22.1-290.2, and Title II, Part A of the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (P.L. 89-10, as amended by the federal Every Student Succeeds Act, P.L. 114-95), to collect data on the total number of teacher, other instructional personnel, and support staff vacancies in public schools in the Commonwealth for the purpose of identifying areas of critical staff shortages in public schools in the Commonwealth.
"Professional license" means a 10-year renewable teaching license available to any individual who has satisfied all of the Board's requirements for licensure, including an earned baccalaureate degree from an accredited institution and the professional teacher's assessments prescribed by the Board. "Professional license" includes a collegiate professional license and a postgraduate professional license.
"Professionally licensed teacher" means any teacher who holds a valid 10-year renewable, professional license issued by the Board.
"Program" means the Professionally Licensed Teacher Supplemental Pay Program established pursuant to this section.
B. With such funds as may be appropriated for such purpose, the Professionally Licensed Teacher Supplemental Pay Program is established for the purpose of addressing shortages of professionally licensed teachers, decreasing the reliance of public schools on provisionally licensed teachers to mitigate such shortages, and improving the recruitment and retention of professionally licensed teachers in public schools in the Commonwealth by providing an annual supplemental payment to each professionally licensed teacher employed in a high-vacancy public school in the Commonwealth.
C. Beginning with the 2026–2027 school year, pursuant to this section, each professionally licensed teacher employed in a high-vacancy public school in the Commonwealth shall annually receive a supplemental payment in an amount of $10,000. Such supplemental payment shall be (i) considered part of a teacher's annual salary and shall not be considered a bonus or one-time payment, (ii) subject to standard payroll deductions applicable to all teacher salaries, and (iii) reported to the Virginia Retirement System as creditable compensation for the purpose of calculating retirement benefits and other calculations based on annual compensation.
D. The Department shall, prior to making the first disbursements to each school board for such annual supplemental payments pursuant to subsection C, identify and develop a list of high-vacancy public schools in the Commonwealth using the most recent data in the positions and exits collection. At the conclusion of the initial four-year period and every four years thereafter, the Department shall, based on the new data in the positions and exits collection for the immediately preceding school year, identify and update as necessary the list of high-vacancy public schools in the Commonwealth. Any professionally licensed teacher in a school identified as a high-vacancy public school shall receive an annual supplemental payment pursuant to subsection C each year during which the public school at which he is employed is identified as a high-vacancy public school.
E. Each school board shall (i) annually collect and report to the Department such data as the Department deems necessary and appropriate for the administration of the Program and as is required pursuant to subdivision 9 of § 22.1-79 and § 22.1-290.2 and (ii) disburse the annual supplemental payment to each professionally licensed teacher employed in a high-vacancy public school in the school division in accordance with standard payroll practices and schedules.
F. The Department shall be responsible for the administration and oversight of the Program. In administering and overseeing the Program, the Department shall:
1. Identify and develop a list of high-vacancy public schools in the Commonwealth prior to making the first annual supplemental payments and every four years thereafter, in accordance with subsection D;
2. Ensure that funds are distributed to each school division in which there is at least one high-vacancy public school in a timely manner and in an amount sufficient to provide such annual supplemental payment to each professionally licensed teacher employed in a high-vacancy public school; and
3. Submit to the Governor and publish in an accessible location on the Department's website by August 1 of each year a report detailing (i) the impact of the supplemental payments on reducing teacher vacancies in high-vacancy public schools; (ii) the impact on the concentration, recruitment, and retention of professionally licensed teachers in high-vacancy public schools; (iii) the overall success of the Program in serving the purposes described in subsection B; and (iv) recommendations for improvements to the Program, if applicable.