AN ACT to increase compensation for teachers in the public schools with at least fifteen years of experience.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.(a)  The following monthly teacher salary schedule shall apply for the 2021‑2022 fiscal year to licensed personnel of the public schools who are classified as teachers. The salary schedule is based on years of teaching experience.

2021‑2022 Teacher Monthly Salary Schedule

Years of Experience                                                              A Teachers

0                                                                                         $3,500

1                                                                                         $3,600

2                                                                                         $3,700

3                                                                                         $3,800

4                                                                                         $3,900

5                                                                                         $4,000

6                                                                                         $4,100

7                                                                                         $4,200

8                                                                                         $4,300

9                                                                                         $4,400

10                                                                                       $4,500

11                                                                                       $4,600

12                                                                                       $4,700

13                                                                                       $4,800

14                                                                                       $4,900

15‑24                                                                                 $5,250

25+                                                                                    $5,460.

SECTION 1.(b)  Salary Supplements for Teachers Paid on This Salary Schedule. –

(1)        Licensed teachers who have National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) certification shall receive a salary supplement each month of twelve percent (12%) of their monthly salary on the A salary schedule.

(2)        Licensed teachers who are classified as M teachers shall receive a salary supplement each month of ten percent (10%) of their monthly salary on the A salary schedule.

(3)        Licensed teachers with licensure based on academic preparation at the six‑year degree level shall receive a salary supplement of one hundred twenty‑six dollars ($126.00) per month in addition to the supplement provided to them as M teachers.

(4)        Licensed teachers with licensure based on academic preparation at the doctoral degree level shall receive a salary supplement of two hundred fifty‑three dollars ($253.00) per month in addition to the supplement provided to them as M teachers.

(5)        Certified school nurses shall receive a salary supplement each month of ten percent (10%) of their monthly salary on the A salary schedule.

SECTION 1.(c)  The first step of the salary schedule for (i) school psychologists, (ii) school speech pathologists who are licensed as speech pathologists at the master's degree level or higher, and (iii) school audiologists who are licensed as audiologists at the master's degree level or higher shall be equivalent to the sixth step of the A salary schedule. These employees shall receive a salary supplement each month of ten percent (10%) of their monthly salary and are eligible to receive salary supplements equivalent to those of teachers for academic preparation at the six‑year degree level or the doctoral degree level.

SECTION 1.(d)  The twenty‑sixth step of the salary schedule for (i) school psychologists, (ii) school speech pathologists who are licensed as speech pathologists at the master's degree level or higher, and (iii) school audiologists who are licensed as audiologists at the master's degree level or higher shall be seven and one‑half percent (7.5%) higher than the salary received by these same employees on the twenty‑fifth step of the salary schedule.

SECTION 1.(e)  Beginning with the 2014‑2015 fiscal year, in lieu of providing annual longevity payments to teachers paid on the teacher salary schedule, the amounts of those longevity payments are included in the monthly amounts under the teacher salary schedule.

SECTION 1.(f)  A teacher compensated in accordance with this salary schedule for the 2021‑2022 school year shall receive an amount equal to the greater of the following:

(1)        The applicable amount on the salary schedule for the applicable school year.

(2)        For teachers who were eligible for longevity for the 2013‑2014 school year, the sum of the following:

a.         The salary the teacher received in the 2013‑2014 school year pursuant to Section 35.11 of S.L. 2013‑360.

b.         The longevity that the teacher would have received under the longevity system in effect for the 2013‑2014 school year provided in Section 35.11 of S.L. 2013‑360 based on the teacher's current years of service.

c.         The annual bonus provided in Section 9.1(e) of S.L. 2014‑100.

(3)        For teachers who were not eligible for longevity for the 2013‑2014 school year, the sum of the salary and annual bonus the teacher received in the 2014‑2015 school year pursuant to Section 9.1 of S.L. 2014‑100.

SECTION 1.(g)  As used in this section, the term teacher shall also include instructional support personnel.

SECTION 2.  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of Public Instruction for the 2021‑2022 fiscal year the sum of one hundred seventy‑nine million dollars ($179,000,000) in recurring funds to increase salaries for teachers with at least 15 years of experience in accordance with Section 1 of this act.

SECTION 3.  This act becomes effective July 1, 2021.