HB631: HB631 Education; require minimum base salary for certified professional personnel with bachelor's degrees be based upon national average living wage

25 LC 49 2195 House Bill 631 By: Representatives McQueen of the 61st, Herring of the 145th, Glaize of the 67th, Berry of the 56th, and Olaleye of the 59th A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT To amend Code Section 20-2-212 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to1 salary schedules for professionals in elementary and secondary education, so as to require2 that the minimum base salary for certificated professional personnel with bachelor's degrees3 be based upon the national average living wage as determined by t h e S t a t e B o a r d o f4 Education; to provide for the calculation and publication of su ch national average living5 wage at least once every three years; to provide for related ma tters; to provide for an6 effective date; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.7 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:8 SECTION 1.9 Code Section 20-2-212 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated , relating to salary10 schedules for professionals in elementary and secondary education, is amended by revising11 subsection (a) as follows:12 "20-2-212.13 (a)(1) The State Board of Education shall establish a schedule of minimum salaries for14 services rendered by teachers, administrators, and other certif icated professional15 personnel employed by local units of administration which shall be on a ten-month basis16 H. B. 631 - 1 - 25 LC 49 2195 and which shall be paid by local units of administration to the various classifications of17 professional personnel required to be certificated by the Profe ssional Standards18 Commission. The minimum salary schedule shall provide a minimu m salary base for19 each classification of professional personnel required to be certificated,; shall provide for20 increment increases above the minimum salary base of each class ification based upon21 individual experience and length of satisfactory service, ; and shall include such other22 uniformly applicable factors as the state board may find relevant to the establishment of23 such a schedule.24 (2)(A) Effective July 1, 2026, the T h e minimum salary base for certificated25 professional personnel with a bachelor's degrees d e g r e e and no experience, when26 annualized from a ten-month basis to a 12 month basis, shall be comparable to the27 national average living wage as determined by the State Board o f Education of the28 recent graduates of the University System of Georgia holding bachelor's degrees and29 entering positions, excluding professional educator teaching po sitions, in Georgia30 having educational entry requirements comparable to the require ments for entry into31 Georgia public school teaching.32 (B) No less than every three years by December 1, beginning in 2026, the State Board33 of Education shall:34 (i) Calculate the national average living wage required under subparagraph (A) of35 this paragraph utilizing research based data compiled from no l ess than three36 nationally recognized authorities; and37 (ii) Publish on the Department of Education's public website such national average38 living wage along with an explanation of how such average was calculated including39 all of the authorities upon which such calculation was based.40 (3) The placement of teachers on the salary schedule of minimum salaries provided for41 in this subsection shall be based on certificate level and years of creditable experience,42 except service; provided, however, that a teacher shall not receive credit for any year of43 H. B. 631 - 2 - 25 LC 49 2195 experience in which the teacher received an unsatisfactory or ineffective annual44 summative performance evaluation rating, or its equivalent, pursuant to Code45 Section 20-2-210 or for the second year in which a teacher receives two consecu tive46 annual summative needs development ratings pursuant to Code Section 20-2-210.47 (4) The General Assembly shall annually appropriate funds to impl ement a salary48 schedule for certificated professional personnel. For each state fiscal year, the state board49 shall adopt the salary schedule for which funding has been appropriated by the General50 Assembly. A local unit of administration shall not pay to any full-time certificated51 professional employee a salary less than that prescribed by the schedule of minimum52 salaries, except as required by this Code section; nor shall a local unit of administration53 pay to any part-time certificated professional employee less than a pro rata portion of the54 respective salary prescribed by the schedule of minimum salaries, except as required by55 this Code section.56 (5) For purposes of this subsection, an educator's placement on the salary schedule shall57 not be based on a leadership degree, which shall mean a degree earned in conjunction58 with completion of an educator leadership preparation program a pproved by the59 Professional Standards Commission, unless the educator is emplo yed in a leadership60 position as defined by the State Board of Education, but shall be placed on the salary61 schedule position attributable to the educator but for the lead ership degree; provided,62 however, that this shall not apply, regardless of whether or not he or she is in a leadership63 position, to:64 (1)(A) An educator who possessed a leadership degree prior to July 1, 2010; or65 (2)(B) An educator who possessed:66 (A)(i) A master's level leadership degree prior to July 1, 2012;67 (B)(ii) An education specialist level leadership degree prior to July 1, 2013; or68 (C)(iii) A doctoral level leadership degree prior to July 1, 2014, so long as he or she69 was enrolled in such leadership preparation program on or before April 1, 2009."70 H. B. 631 - 3 - 25 LC 49 2195 SECTION 2.71 This Act shall become effective on July 1, 2025.72 SECTION 3.73 All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.74 H. B. 631 - 4 -