Summary — HB 482: "Reauthorize & Revise Teacher Bonuses / Military"
Status & Timing
- Introduced: November 12, 2024 (sponsor: Rep. F. Jackson).
- Purpose: Reauthorize teacher bonus pay for the 2025–2027 fiscal biennium and revise eligibility to allow certain teachers who leave because of military orders to still receive bonuses.
- Payment timing: Bonuses to be paid in January 2026 and January 2027 based on school-year data from 2024–2025 and 2025–2026, respectively.
- Administration: State Board of Education establishes the consolidated program; the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) administers bonus payments.
Main purpose / intent
- Reestablish a consolidated teacher bonus program for the 2025–2027 biennium to reward teacher performance, encourage student learning and improvement, and expand eligibility to accommodate military-related transfers and certain retirees.
Key provisions
- Program established for teachers whose salaries are supported from State funds; bonuses paid in Jan 2026 and Jan 2027 using prior-year data.
- Three bonus categories and payment rules:
1. Advanced-course bonuses
- Eligible teachers: those teaching AP, IB Diploma Programme, or Cambridge AICE courses (including teachers employed by NC Virtual Public School).
- Payment: $50 per student who attains: AP score ≥ 3; IB course score ≥ 4; Cambridge AICE score ≥ “E”.
2. Career & Technical Education (CTE) bonuses
- Eligible teachers: those teaching courses that lead to approved industry certifications consistent with statute.
- Payment: $25 per student for certifications assigned a $25 value; $50 per student for certifications assigned a $50 value.
- The Department of Commerce (in consultation with the State Board) assigns the certification value ranking based 50% on academic rigor and 50% on employment value.
3. Growth-based bonuses
- Uses the EVAAS (Education Value-Added Assessment System) student growth index.
- Teachers qualify if they are in the top 25% (statewide or, in some definitions, within their local school administrative unit) in specified grade/subject growth measures (examples: 3rd grade reading; 4th–5th grade reading; 4th–8th grade math).
- Small-school exception: teachers in grade levels with three or fewer teachers may qualify based on “exceeded expected growth.”
Eligibility, retention & special cases
- Qualifying teacher generally must remain employed teaching in the same qualifying public school unit (or NC Virtual Public School for some) from the data collection year through Jan 1 of the payment year.
- Exceptions permitted:
- Retired teachers who last held qualifying positions and meet standard retirement thresholds (e.g., age 65 with 5 years of service; age 60 with 25 years; or 30 years of service) are eligible.
- Teachers who left after the last day of the data-collection school year because of transfer or pending transfer of a spouse under official military orders are eligible — but must notify the qualifying public school unit by Jan 1 of the payment year and provide updated mailing information and notice of transfer.
- Teachers who leave employment for other reasons generally must remain in the same public school unit to qualify.
Other administrative details
- “Qualifying public school unit” includes local school administrative units, charter schools, regional schools, and certain UNC-operated K–12 schools.
- DPI and State Board must implement rules and processes to calculate awards and administer payments.
- The bill directs data-driven distribution and assigns responsibility for the CTE certification value methodology to Dept. of Commerce in consultation with the State Board.
Who is affected
- Primary: K–12 teachers (including virtual program teachers and CTE instructors) whose salaries are state-funded and who meet the defined performance/retention criteria.
- Secondary: local school units and DPI (administration and record-keeping); students indirectly benefit via incentive-aligned instruction.
Fiscal/implementation notes
- The bill ties bonus payments to State-funded teacher salaries and requires DPI processing of awards; funding must be appropriated in the State budget for the biennium to cover payments. The bill text sets payment amounts per student/metric but does not specify a total appropriation in the excerpted text.
Bottom line
HB 482 reauthorizes a consolidated teacher bonus program for 2025–2027, specifies per-student/per-metric bonus amounts for advanced courses, CTE certifications, and high-growth teachers, and explicitly extends eligibility to certain retirees and teachers who must leave their post because of spouse military orders (subject to notification deadlines). It places administration with the State Board and DPI and ties CTE valuation to the Department of Commerce.
