OKLAHOMA CITY (Feb. 8, 2010) —Legislation proposing a performance pay pilot program in six school districts across the state passed committee unanimously with bipartisan support today.

House Bill 2836, by Rep. Earl Sears, creates a teacher performance-based pay pilot program. Under the legislation, the State Department of Education will create a grant award for a teacher performance pay pilot program and adopt guidelines for districts to follow in developing the program.

Each district will be allowed to craft its own plan based on the input of teachers, parents, administrators and community leaders. No district would be required to participate in the program, but instead will develop a plan and apply to the state Board of Education for grant funds and plan approval.

“This legislation will allow us to reward teachers who are going above and beyond to improve student performance, while also encouraging teachers to think outside the box in their classrooms,” said House Speaker Chris Benge, R-Tulsa. “I am pleased Tulsa Public Schools is moving forward with their own performance pay plan, and I hope other districts will follow their lead either on their own or through this legislation.”

The legislation requires that each plan include:

? Measures of student academic growth and achievement and performance goals and benchmarks for student improvement

? Measures of professional growth

? An evaluation tool to measure progress

Outside of those requirements, the district is free to craft a local plan that fits in with its community’s education goals and needs.

If this bill becomes law, the State Department of Education will evaluate each plan by March 31, 2011, and by April 5, 2011, award up to six grants to school districts, contingent upon availability of funds. Each district receiving a grant will have three years to implement the plan.

The grants, which will be a minimum of $1,000 per teacher, will be awarded based on district enrollment. Two grants will go to districts of less than 1,000 average daily membership and two will go to districts with more than 1,000 and less than 8,000 average daily membership. The remaining two grants will go to districts with more than 8,000 average daily membership.

“I see no reason why we shouldn’t have a plan in place to reward teachers who have a proven success record for their dedicated work,” said Rep. Sears, R-Bartlesville and author of the bill. “This plan also may have the added benefit of pushing some teachers to the next level, which will inevitably improve student performance in our state. This bill does not mandate anything and is completely controlled at the local level.”

The legislation calls on the State Department of Education, or a contractor, to conduct an evaluation of the pilot program and submit a preliminary report by December 1, 2013, and a final report by December 1, 2014.

The hope is this legislation would allow school districts to tap into some federal Race to the Top funds if those are secured later this year.

“We want to be ready to take advantage of these additional dollars as soon as possible if Oklahoma is selected to receive Race to the Top funds,” said Sears. “It will take innovative ideas like this to move our state to the next level.”

The bill passed the House Appropriations and Budget Education Subcommittee today with a vote of 12-0 and will next proceed to the full budget committee for consideration.

To view video of Rep. Sears discussing the performance pay pilot program, go to: http://www.okhouse.tv/ViewVideo.aspx?VideoID=222