Section 115.42. Grants for national teacher certification or master educator licensure.

 

(1)  

(a) The department shall award a grant to any person who satisfies all of the following requirements:

1. The person is certified by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards or licensed by the department as a master educator under s. PI 34.19 , Wis. Adm. Code.

2. The person is licensed as a teacher by the state superintendent or employed as a teacher in a private school or tribal school located in this state.

4. The person is employed as a teacher in this state.

5. If the person was evaluated under s. 115.415 in the previous school year, the person was placed in the “effective" or “highly effective" performance category in the applicable educator effectiveness system, as determined by the department.

(b) The grant under this subsection shall be an amount equal to the costs of obtaining certification or licensure under par. (a) 1. that are borne by the person, not to exceed $2,000. The department shall award the grant under this subsection in the first school year in which the person meets the requirements under par. (a) .

(2)  

(a) Except as provided in par. (c) , the department shall award 9 grants of $2,500 each to each person who received a grant under sub. (1) if the person satisfies all of the following requirements:

1. The person maintains his or her national teacher certificate or master educator license.

2. The person maintains his or her license as a teacher issued by the state superintendent or remains employed in a private school or tribal school located in this state.

4. The person remains employed as a teacher in this state.

(bL) The department shall award the grants under this subsection annually, one grant in each of the school years following the school year in which the grant under sub. (1) was awarded and in which the person satisfies the requirements under par. (a) .

(c) The amount of each grant under par. (a) shall be $5,000 in any school year in which the recipient is employed in a school in which at least 60 percent of the pupils enrolled satisfy the income eligibility criteria for a free or reduced-price lunch under 42 USC 1758 (b) (1).

(d) In any of the 9 school years following the receipt of a grant under sub. (1) in which the grant recipient is evaluated under s. 115.415 , if the grant recipient is placed in a performance category other than the “effective" or “highly effective" performance category in the applicable educator effectiveness system, as determined by the department, he or she is not eligible for a grant under this subsection in that school year.

(3)  The department may not require, as a condition for renewing a person's teaching license, that the person have earned continuing professional education credits or their equivalent in the 5 years immediately preceding his or her application for renewal if he or she has been initially certified by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards during those 5 years.

(4)  The department shall promulgate rules to implement and administer this section, including rules relating to all of the following:

(a) The application process, including necessary documentation.

(b) The selection process for grant recipients.

(c) The number of times that a teacher may be exempt from continuing professional education requirements under sub. (3) .

1997 a. 237 ; 1999 a. 9 ; 2001 a. 16 ; 2007 a. 20 ; 2009 a. 180 , 302 ; 2013 a. 20 ; 2015 a. 55 , 190 . Cross-reference: See also ch. PI 37 , Wis. adm. code.