Teacher Compensation Policy
Shortage-Subject Areas: South Carolina offers incentives that teachers can earn by teaching certain subjects or at high-need schools. The state's Teacher Loan Program allows eligible teachers to cancel portions of their student loans by teaching in "a critical subject or geographic area."
High-Need Schools: South Carolina does not offer incentives for teachers who teach at high-need schools, other than its loan forgiveness program.
Teachers who are National Board Certified are eligible to receive
a $5,000 annual salary stipend. However, this differential pay is not tied to teaching at high-need schools.
Expand
differential pay initiatives for teachers in shortage-subject areas and
high-need schools.
Although the state's loan forgiveness program is a desirable
recruitment and retention tool for teachers early in their careers, South
Carolina should expand its program to include those who are already part of the
teaching pool. A salary differential is an attractive incentive for every
teacher, not just early career teachers with education debt.
Consider
tying National Board supplements to teaching in high-need schools.
This differential pay could be an incentive to attract some
of South Carolina's most accomplished teachers to low-performing schools.
South Carolina indicated that the Center for Educator Recruitment, Retention, and Advancement was charged with developing and administering an incentive program to recruit and retain classroom teachers in underserved districts in fiscal year 2017.
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.