Retaining Effective Teachers Policy
Alabama neither supports differential pay by which a teacher can earn additional compensation by teaching certain subjects nor offers incentives to teach in high-needs schools. However, the state has no regulatory language that would directly block districts from providing differential pay.
Teachers who are National Board Certified are eligible to receive a $4,450 annual supplement. However, this type of differential pay is not tied to high-needs schools or subject-area shortages.
Support differential pay initiatives for effective teachers in both subject shortage areas and high-needs schools.
Alabama should encourage districts to link compensation to district needs. Such policies can help districts achieve a more equitable distribution of teachers.
Consider tying National Board supplements to teaching in high-needs schools.
This differential pay could be an incentive to attract some of the state's most effective teachers to its low-performing schools.
Alabama recognized the factual accuracy of this analysis. Alabama noted that the State Minimum Salary Schedule for Teachers that is adopted by the Alabama legislature as a component of the annual budget for education is based on highest degree earned from a regionally accredited college or university and the years of public school experience. Although local school systems may exceed the state minimums, the current financial situation tends to preclude doing so.