SECOND REGULAR SESSION
SENATE COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
SENATE BILL NO. 1084
92ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
Reported from the Committee on Pensions and General Laws, March 8, 2004, with recommendation that the Senate Committee Substitute do pass and be placed on the Consent Calendar.
TERRY L. SPIELER, Secretary.
3761S.04C
AN ACT
To repeal sections 168.303, 169.712, and 169.596, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof three new sections relating to the teacher retirement system.
Section A. Sections 168.303, 169.712, and 169.596, RSMo, are repealed and three new sections enacted in lieu thereof, to be known as sections 168.303, 169.712, and 169.596, to read as follows:
168.303. The state board of education shall adopt rules to facilitate job-sharing positions for classroom teachers, as the term "job-sharing" is defined in this section. These rules shall provide that a classroom teacher in a job-sharing position shall receive paid legal holidays, annual vacation leave, sick leave, and personal leave on a pro rata basis. "Job-sharing position" shall mean any position:
(1) Shared with one other employee;
(2) Requiring employment of at least [seventeen] fifteen hours per week but not more than twenty hours per week on a regular basis; and
(3) Requiring at least seventy percent of all time spent in classroom instruction as determined by the employer;
provided that, job-sharing position shall not include instructional support or school services positions including, but not limited to, guidance counselor, media coordinator, psychologist, social worker, audiologist, speech and language pathologist, and nursing positions.
169.712. 1. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, any person duly certificated under the law governing the certification of teachers in Missouri who, after August 28, 1997, is first employed in a position which would otherwise qualify the person for membership in the nonteacher school employee retirement system pursuant to the provisions of sections 169.600 to 169.710 shall be a member of the public school retirement system pursuant to the provisions of sections 169.010 to 169.141, and shall receive creditable service on a pro rata basis in that system for subsequent certificated services which would otherwise have been creditable in the nonteacher school employee retirement system. Any such person shall have the option of being a member of the nonteacher school employee retirement system. The option election must be filed with the board of trustees of the public school retirement system within ninety days of first such employment following August 28, 1997.
2. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, any person duly certificated under the law governing the certification of teachers in Missouri who, on or after August 28, 2003, is employed by a public school, as defined in section 169.010, for at least [seventeen] fifteen but less than twenty hours per week on a regular basis shall be a member of the public school retirement system pursuant to the provisions of sections 169.010 to 169.141, and shall receive creditable service on a pro rata basis in that system. Any such person shall have the option of being a member of the nonteacher school employee retirement system. The option election must be filed with the board of trustees of the public school retirement system within ninety days of first such employment or within ninety days of August 28, 2003, whichever later occurs.
3. Any person who is a member of the public school retirement system or the nonteacher school employee retirement system pursuant to subsection 2 of this section may purchase credit in such system for service after August 28, 1991, that would have qualified such person for membership in either retirement system pursuant to subsection 2 of this section had such subsection been in effect prior to August 28, 2003; provided that such purchase of credit in the public school retirement system shall be subject to the provisions of section 169.056 and such purchase of credit in the nonteacher school employee retirement system shall be subject to the provisions of section 169.655.
169.596. 1. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter to the contrary, a retired certificated teacher receiving a retirement benefit from the retirement system established pursuant to sections 169.010 to 169.141 may, without losing his or her retirement benefit, teach full time for up to two years for a school district covered by such retirement system; provided that the school district has a shortage of certified teachers, as determined by the school district, and provided that no such retired certificated teacher shall be employed pursuant to this section as a superintendent. The total number of such retired certificated teachers shall not exceed, at any one time, the lesser of ten percent of the total teacher staff for that school district, or five certificated teachers.
2. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter to the contrary, a person receiving a retirement benefit from the retirement system established pursuant to sections 169.010 to 169.141 or the retirement system established pursuant to sections 169.600 to 169.715 may, without losing his or her retirement benefit, be employed full time as a non-certified employee for up to two years for a school district covered by [such] the retirement system established pursuant to sections 169.600 to 169.715; provided that the school district has a shortage of noncertificated employees, as determined by the school district. The total number of such retired noncertificated employees shall not exceed, at any one time, the lesser of ten percent of the total noncertificated staff for that school district, or five employees.
3. The employer's contribution rate shall be paid by the hiring school district.
4. In order to hire teachers and noncertificated employees pursuant to the provisions of this section, the school district shall:
(1) Show a good faith effort to fill positions with nonretired certificated teachers or nonretired noncertificated employees;
(2) Post the vacancy for at least one month;
(3) Have not offered early retirement incentives for either of the previous two years;
(4) Solicit applications through the local newspaper, other media, or teacher education programs;
(5) Determine there is an insufficient number of eligible applicants for the advertised position; and
(6) Declare a critical shortage of certificated teachers or noncertificated employees that is active for one year.
5. Any person hired pursuant to this section shall be included in the State Director of New Hires for purposes of income and eligibility verification pursuant to 42 U.S.C. Section 1320b-7.