DELAWARE STATE SENATE

152nd GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SENATE BILL NO. 187

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 14 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO EDUCATION.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE:

Amend Chapter 13, Title 14 of the Delaware Code by making deletions as shown by strike through and insertions as shown by underline as follows:

§ 1305. Basic salary schedule for teachers, nurses, principals, superintendents, and other school employees.

(u) Graduate degrees.

(1) Any employees paid under this section who earned a master’s degree or doctoral degree from an accredited institution of higher education prior to their initial date of hire as an educator must receive credit for that degree under the schedule in subsection (a) of this section regardless of the subject matter of the degree. This paragraph applies to educators hired after [the effective date of this Act].

  (2) To receive credit for a master’s or doctoral degree under the schedule in subsection (a) of this section, such a degree earned after the employee’s initial date of hire as an educator must be directly related to an area or specialty in which the educator is employed.

(3) The Secretary of Education, or their designee, has authority to review and approve requests to recognize any master’s or doctoral degree for purposes of this section on an individual basis at the request of the local school district or charter school. Such review is in the sole discretion of the Secretary.

SYNOPSIS

This Act ensures that educators hired after the effective date of this Act, who earned graduate degrees prior to becoming educators, receive credit on the salary schedule for those degrees regardless of the specific subject area of those degrees. Once an individual is employed as an educator, in order to receive credit for any graduate degrees earned after that time, such degree must be in the subject area in which the educator is employed.

Author: Senator Sturgeon