Senate Education Committee Amendment
S 305 - Session 125 (2023-2024)
Work Experience Credit for New Teachers

The Committee on Education proposes the following amendment (SEDU-305.KN0001S):

Amend the bill, as and if amended, SECTION 1, by striking Section 59-25-60(A), (B), and (C) and inserting:

 (A) When reviewing an application by an individual for an educator certificate, the State Department of Education shall award years of experience on the initial certificate for occupational experience in, or related to, the content field of the certificate for which the individual qualifies. Years of experience shall be awarded solely for the purpose of advancement on the teacher salary schedule. To be eligible for years of experience on the educator certificate, the individual must:
  (1) have completed at least five years of related occupational experience within the ten years prior to applying for an educator certificate; and
  (2) complete and submit a verification of work experience form developed by the State Department of Education with the application for an educator certificate.
 (B) Individuals that entered the teaching profession prior to July 1, 2023 with occupational experience in, or related to, the content field of their teaching certificate may complete and submit the verification of work experience form identified in subsection (A)(2) to the State Department of Education to have additional years of experience added to their certificate for the purposes of advancing on the teacher salary schedule. If additional years of experience are awarded, the eligible individual is entitled to have their pay adjusted for the current school year to reflect the new experience step on the employing district's salary schedule. However, the individual is not entitled to retroactive pay for the increased years of experience during prior years of teaching.
 (C) Nothing in this section alters any existing requirements for receiving an educator certificate. Individuals with the work experience identified in subsection (A) must still meet all other existing requirements in order to receive an educator certificate.

 (D) Nothing in this section shall be interpreted as allowing additional years of experience to be awarded for purposes other than advancement on the teacher salary schedule.