Sec. 3.5. (a) As used in this section, “school” means a school corporation, charter school, and a virtual charter school.

     (b) Subject to the requirements of this section, a school qualifies for a teacher appreciation grant as provided in this section for a state fiscal year if one (1) or more licensed teachers:

(1) employed in the classroom by the school; or

(2) directly providing virtual education;

were rated as effective or as highly effective, using the most recently completed teacher ratings.

     (c) A school may not receive a teacher appreciation grant under this section unless:

(1) the school has in the state fiscal year in which the teacher appreciation grants are made under this section:

(A) adopted an annual policy concerning the distribution of teacher appreciation grants; and

(B) submitted the policy to the department for approval; and

(2) the department has approved the policy.

The department shall specify the date by which a policy described in subdivision (1) must be submitted to the department.

     (d) The amount of a teacher appreciation grant for a qualifying school corporation or virtual charter school is equal to:

(1) thirty-seven dollars and fifty-cents ($37.50); multiplied by

(2) the school’s current ADM.

However, the grant amount for a virtual charter school may not exceed the statewide average grant amount.

     (e) The following apply to the distribution of teacher appreciation grants:

(1) If the total amount to be distributed as teacher appreciation grants for a particular state fiscal year exceeds the amount appropriated by the general assembly for teacher appreciation grants for that state fiscal year, the total amount to be distributed as teacher appreciation grants to schools shall be proportionately reduced so that the total reduction equals the amount of the excess. The amount of the reduction for a particular school is equal to the total amount of the excess multiplied by a fraction. The numerator of the fraction is the amount of the teacher appreciation grant that the school would have received if a reduction were not made under this section. The denominator of the fraction is the total amount that would be distributed as teacher appreciation grants to all schools if a reduction were not made under this section.

(2) If the total amount to be distributed as teacher appreciation grants for a particular state fiscal year is less than the amount appropriated by the general assembly for teacher appreciation grants for that state fiscal year, the total amount to be distributed as teacher appreciation grants to schools for that particular state fiscal year shall be proportionately increased so that the total amount to be distributed equals the amount of the appropriation for that particular state fiscal year.

     (f) The annual teacher appreciation grant to which a school is entitled for a state fiscal year shall be distributed to the school before December 5 of that state fiscal year.

     (g) The following apply to a school’s policy under subsection (c) concerning the distribution of teacher appreciation grants:

(1) The governing body shall differentiate between a teacher rated as a highly effective teacher and a teacher rated as an effective teacher. The policy must provide that the amount of a stipend awarded to a teacher rated as a highly effective teacher must be at least twenty-five percent (25%) more than the amount of a stipend awarded to a teacher rated as an effective teacher.

(2) The governing body of a school may differentiate between school buildings.

(3) A stipend to an individual teacher in a particular year is not subject to collective bargaining and is in addition to the minimum salary or increases in salary set under IC 20-28-9-1.5. The governing body may provide that an amount not exceeding fifty percent (50%) of the amount of a stipend to an individual teacher in a particular state fiscal year becomes a permanent part of and increases the base salary of the teacher receiving the stipend for school years beginning after the state fiscal year in which the stipend is received. The addition to base salary is not subject to collective bargaining.

     (h) A teacher appreciation grant received by a school shall be allocated among and used only to pay cash stipends to all licensed teachers employed in the classroom who are rated as effective or as highly effective and employed by the school as of December 1. A school may allocate up to twenty percent (20%) of the grant received by the school to provide a supplemental award to teachers with less than five (5) years of service who are rated as effective or as highly effective. A school may allocate up to ten percent (10%) of the grant received by the school to provide a supplemental award to teachers who serve as mentors to teachers who have less than two (2) years of service. The supplemental awards are in addition to the award made from the part of the grant that is allocated to all eligible teachers.

     (i) The lead school corporation or interlocal cooperative administering a cooperative or other special education program or administering a career and technical education program, including programs managed under IC 20-26-10, IC 20-35-5, IC 20-37, or IC 36-1-7, shall award teacher appreciation grant stipends to and carry out the other responsibilities of an employing school corporation under this section for the teachers in the special education program or career and technical education program.

     (j) A school shall distribute all stipends from a teacher appreciation grant to individual teachers within twenty (20) business days of the date the department distributes the teacher appreciation grant to the school. Any part of the teacher appreciation grant not distributed as stipends to teachers before February must be returned to the department on the earlier of the date set by the department or June 30 of that state fiscal year.

     (k) The department, after review by the budget committee, may waive the December 5 deadline under subsection (f) to distribute an annual teacher appreciation grant to the school under this section for that state fiscal year and approve an extension of that deadline to a later date within that state fiscal year, if the department determines that a waiver and extension of the deadline are in the public interest.

     (l) The state board may adopt rules under IC 4-22-2 as necessary to implement this section.

     (m) This section expires June 30, 2025.

As added by P.L.217-2017, SEC.132. Amended by P.L.86-2018, SEC.185; P.L.108-2019, SEC.231; P.L.165-2021, SEC.167; P.L.200-2023, SEC.31; P.L.201-2023, SEC.210; P.L.93-2024, SEC.147.