Brief Description: Including salary bonuses for individuals certified by the national board for professional teaching standards as earnable compensation.

Sponsors: Senators Murray, Fraser and Rasmussen; by request of Select Committee on Pension Policy.

Senate Committee on Ways & Means

Background: Teachers who obtain certification from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) are entitled to an annual bonus created by Chapter 398, Laws of 2007 (2SHB 2262). The basic bonus amount is $5,000 for the 2007-08 school year, which is to be increased annually to keep pace with inflation. An additional bonus of $5,000 is available to NBPTS-certified teachers working in a school in which at least 70 percent of the students qualify for the free and reduced-price lunch program.

The bonuses paid to teachers for NBPTS certification are specifically excluded from the definition of base salary in the Teachers' Retirement System (TRS). This means that the bonuses cannot increase the value of a teacher's retirement allowance, and also means that teachers that earn the bonuses do not make additional retirement system contributions due to the additional income that they receive from the bonuses.

Summary: The definition of salary used in the Plans 1, 2, and 3 of the Teachers' Retirement System (TRS 1, 2, and 3) is amended to allow the inclusion of bonuses paid to teachers certified by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS). Teachers receiving bonuses for earning NBPTS certification make retirement system contributions from the bonus payments and may earn a higher retirement allowance as a result of the salary increase.

Votes on Final Passage:

Senate      49   0
House      85   12

Effective: June 12, 2008