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HB 1498

Insurance; prepaid funeral services; permit; application; Insurance Commissioner; violations; penalties; examination; repealer; effective date.

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Mark Chapman and 1 co-sponsor

ND districts and center boards may offer one-time first-year signing bonuses to licensed staff who were not classroom teachers in ND the prior year, outside regular salary schedule

Becomes law without Governor's signature 05/06/2025
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Bill Summary · HB 1498

Summary — HB 1498 (North Dakota) — First‑Year Signing Bonuses; Center Board Powers

Status & Timing
- Bill: HB 1498 — amends ND Century Code §§ 15‑20.2‑07 and 15.1‑09‑33.1; creates a new section in chapter 15.1‑09.
- Introduced: December 3, 2024.
- Final action: Passed by the Legislative Assembly with emergency clause; filed with the Secretary of State 04/23/2025 (effective immediately on enactment due to emergency declaration).

Purpose / Intent
- To give school districts and area career and technical center boards explicit authority to offer one‑time recruitment incentives (first‑year or signing bonuses) to help attract teachers and other licensed instructional staff, particularly those who were not classroom teachers in North Dakota during the prior school year.

Key Provisions
1. New authority for school boards (new section to chapter 15.1‑09)
- A school board may offer a first‑year signing bonus to an individual who:
- Is licensed or approved by the Education Standards and Practices Board;
- Has signed an employment contract with the district; and
- Was not a classroom teacher in North Dakota during the previous school year.
- Any bonus paid under this new section:
- Is in addition to amounts payable under a negotiated teachers’ contract;
- May not be included in the district’s negotiated salary schedule; and
- May not be included as salary for continuing contract purposes.

  1. Amendments to § 15.1‑09‑33.1 (signing bonuses more generally)

    • Clarifies who may receive a signing bonus (licensed/approved, contracted, and never previously employed in the newly assigned role by that district).
    • Allows payment as one lump sum or in installments over up to five years from contract signing.
    • Reinforces constraints:
      • Bonus is additional to negotiated contract pay;
      • Not part of the negotiated salary schedule;
      • Not counted as salary for continuing contract calculations;
      • Cannot be paid until the individual is licensed/qualified for the role by the Education Standards and Practices Board;
      • Cannot be used for an individual employed the prior year in the same role by another North Dakota district until that individual has been employed by the receiving district for two years.

  2. Amendments to § 15‑20.2‑07 (powers and duties of center boards)

    • Explicitly authorizes center boards (those governing area career and technology centers) to offer a first‑year signing bonus under the same eligibility and limitation rules listed above (licensed/approved, contracted with the center board, not a classroom teacher in North Dakota the prior school year).
    • Maintains that such bonuses are additional to negotiated pay and cannot be included in salary schedules or continuing contract salary.

Who Is Affected
- Primary: School districts and area career and technical center boards (authority to offer bonuses); prospective teachers and licensed instructional staff, especially out‑of‑state hires or those new to teaching roles in the district/state.
- Secondary: Local school budgets and district hiring/compensation practices; collective bargaining dynamics (bonuses expressly excluded from negotiated salary schedules and continuing contract salary calculations).

Potential Impacts / Considerations
- Recruitment: Provides districts and centers a tool to recruit licensed individuals who were not teaching in North Dakota the previous year.
- Budgets: Bonuses are discretionary district/center expenditures; local fiscal impact depends on district uptake and bonus amounts (no statewide cost estimate in the bill text).
- Labor relations: Because bonuses are excluded from negotiated salary schedules, they do not alter base pay or continuing contract calculations—but could affect negotiations and equity between teachers.
- Immediate effect: Emergency clause makes the law effective upon enactment, allowing districts to use the authority without delay.

Textual References
- Amends: NDCC § 15‑20.2‑07 and § 15.1‑09‑33.1; creates a new section in chapter 15.1‑09 (first‑year bonus authority).

If you want, I can:
- Extract the exact statutory language added for use in district policy updates; or
- Draft a short guidance memo for school boards explaining compliance and payroll/accounting considerations.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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