Teacher Compensation Policy
Shortage-subject areas: The District of Columbia does not support differential pay by which a teacher can earn additional compensation by teaching certain subjects.
High-need schools: The District of Columbia does not offer incentives to teach at high-need schools.
The District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) supports
differential pay by which a teacher can earn additional compensation by
teaching certain subject areas or by teaching at high-need schools. Through IMPACTplus, DCPS offers
annual bonuses for teaching in high-poverty schools, defined as
schools with high rates of free and reduced-price lunches. However, these are not District of Columbia-level policies and only apply to DCPS.
Support
differential pay initiatives for effective teachers in both shortage-subject
areas and high-need schools.
The District of Columbia should encourage local school districts to link
compensation to district needs. Such policies can help them achieve a more
equitable distribution of teachers.
The District of Columbia asserted that it recommends but does not require the use of differential pay by which a teacher can earn additional compensation by teaching certain subjects. The District defers this authority to the hiring local school districts to set pay scales. "ESSA has no mandate for [districts] to comply with this initiative, and thus state policy must allow [districts] autonomy and flexibility in this area."
8B: High-Need Schools and Subjects
States should help address chronic shortages and needs. States should ensure that state-level policies (such as a uniform salary schedule) do not interfere with districts' flexibility in compensating teachers in ways that best meet their individual needs and resources. However, when it comes to addressing chronic shortages, states should do more than simply get out of the way. They should provide direct support for differential pay for effective teaching in shortage subject areas and high-need schools.[1] Attracting effective and qualified teachers to high-need schools or filling vacancies in hard-to-staff subjects are problems that are frequently beyond a district's ability to solve. States that provide direct support for differential pay in these areas are taking an important step in promoting the equitable distribution of quality teachers.[2] Short of providing direct support, states can also use policy levers to indicate to districts that differential pay is not only permissible but necessary.