A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to provide an incentive to recruit and retain certified staff to teach students with behavioral and EMOTIONAL DISABILITIES.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  Of the funds appropriated from the General Fund to State Aid to Local School Administrative Units, the sum of two million one hundred fifty‑two thousand three hundred thirteen dollars ($2,152,313) for the 2007‑2008 and 2008‑2009 fiscal years shall be used to provide annual bonuses of ten thousand dollars ($10,000) to teachers certified to teach students with behavioral and emotional disabilities and teaching those students in self‑contained classrooms in kindergarten through grade 12. Teachers who have (i) at least four years' teaching experience, (ii) received within the last three years an overall rating on a formal evaluation that is at least above standard, and (iii) the recommendation of the local school administrative unit's exceptional children's director, shall be eligible for the bonus. The bonus shall be paid monthly with matching benefits. Teachers shall remain eligible for the bonuses so long as they continue to teach students with behavioral and emotional disabilities.
SECTION 2.  In accordance with G.S. 115C‑325 and by way of clarification, it shall not constitute a demotion as that term is defined in G.S. 115C‑325(a)(4) if:
(1)	A teacher who receives a bonus under Section 1 of this act is reassigned to teach in a field for which there is no such bonus; or
(2)	A teacher receives a bonus under Section 1 of this act and the bonus is subsequently discontinued or reduced.
SECTION 3.  This act is effective when it becomes law.