3120 - EMPLOYMENT OF PROFESSIONAL STAFF

Greenwood Community School Corporation

Bylaws & Policies

3120 - EMPLOYMENT OF PROFESSIONAL STAFF

The School Board recognizes that it is vital to the successful operation of the Corporation that positions created by the Board be filled with highly qualified and competent personnel.

The Board shall approve the employment, and also, when not covered by the terms of a negotiated agreement, fix the compensation and establish the term of employment for each professional staff member employed by this Corporation.

Individuals employed in the following categories shall be considered members of the professional staff:

	A.	Teachers
	B.	Secondary Counselors

Such approval shall be given only to those candidates for employment recommended by the Superintendent.

All applications for employment shall be referred to the Superintendent.

Should the Board choose to employ a family member as herein defined, both the family member and the Board member must file a conflict of interest statement.

Any professional staff member's intentional misstatement of fact or omission material to qualifications for employment or the determination of salary shall be considered by this Board to constitute grounds for dismissal.

Wherever possible, positions shall be filled by properly-licensed professionals.

The Superintendent shall prepare administrative guidelines for the recruitment and selection of all professional staff.

REQUIREMENTS FOR TITLE I TEACHERS

All teachers newly hired for a Title I supported program must be "highly qualified."

"Highly Qualified" means:

	A.	full State certification as a teacher or passed State teacher licensing exam and holds current license to teach; certification or license requirements may not be waived on emergency, temporary, or provisional basis;
	B.	for elementary teachers new to the profession, this also requires:

		1.	at least a bachelor’s degree;
		2.	passing a rigorous State test on subject knowledge and teaching skills in reading, writing, math, and other areas of elementary curriculum (State certification test may suffice);

for secondary or middle school teachers new to the profession this also requires:

		1.	at least a bachelor’s degree, and
		2.	passing a rigorous State test in each of the subject areas s/he will teach (State certification test may suffice), or
		3.	for each academic subject taught, having an academic major, course work equivalent to an undergraduate major, a graduate degree, or advanced certification or credentialing;

for elementary, middle, or secondary school teachers with prior experience, this also requires:

		1.	at least a bachelor’s degree, and
		2.	meets standards for new teachers (above), or
		3.	demonstrates competence in all academic subjects s/he teaches based on a uniform State standard of evaluation (standard for academic subject matter and teaching skills set by the State).

REQUIREMENTS FOR TEACHERS IN CORPORATIONS RECEIVING TITLE I FUNDING

All teachers in a Corporation receiving Title I funds shall be "highly qualified" as described above. The Corporation must have a plan and show annual progress towards meeting these teacher qualification requirements.

I.C. 20-26-5-4, 35-44-1-3, 36-8-12-10.5
20 U.S.C. 6319 & 7801