Opinion ID: 1843606
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: school staff must be provided with staff development opportunities, instructional support and reasonable compensation.

Text: This plan contemplates substantial additional staff development; accordingly, a coordinated staff development program shall be planned and implemented. This staff development shall incorporate training for teachers, for principals, administrators and others in leadership roles in the systems. The training programs shall be of the intensity and duration necessary for educators and others to meet the new standards and shall reflect new management and organization practices such as high performance management and total quality management to produce high performance schools and systems. With respect to students with disabilities, such training initiatives shall require training for regular education teachers, special education teachers, teachers' aides, principals, administrators, and shall make training available for parents and students, on the topic of instruction in the regular classroom, collaborative teaming and problem solving including positive behavioral support strategies, among other topics more specifically described in the special education section of this document. Defendants shall submit a staff development and leadership training plan to the Court within six months from the date of the Court's remedy order. Defendants shall develop and implement a plan under which an increasing proportion of funds for staff development and leadership training goes directly to schools and school systems. Parties shall have 45 days from the submission of the plan to file objections with the Court. Sufficient extra staff days shall be provided to enable educators to meet the new responsibilities required of them under this Section. Schools shall be permitted flexibility in determining how these extra days are used. Defendants shall submit a plan for providing educators with extra staff days to the Court no later than 12 months after student learning goals have been adopted. Parties shall have 60 days from the submission of the plan to file objections with the Court. Compensation shall be provided to Alabama teachers at levels sufficient to attract and retain persons capable of effectively helping students reach high levels of achievement. To that end, a compensation study shall be undertaken to consider emerging approaches to compensation, interdistrict inequities and the adequacy of compensation from a regional and a national perspective. All students shall be provided with adequate instruction and instructional support, including, but not limited to, appropriate student teacher ratios, adequate guidance, health, and library services and adequate clerical and other support staff. Minimum standards shall be set consistent with appropriate national or regional standards. Defendants shall submit the standards they develop to the Court within six months of the date of the Court's remedy order. Parties shall have 45 days from their submission to file objections with the Court. Schools shall also implement special programs to assist beginning teachers such as teacher mentoring programs and other similar efforts. In addition, in order to provide all teachers with additional support, a core group of knowledgeable and effective in-house staff shall be used in each school to provide support and assistance to a teacher and/or a parent confronted with a child having significant learning problems. These teacher assistance teams will provide a building-based support system for teachers and parents. Defendants shall submit the plan covering these areas to the Court within six months from the date of the Court's remedy order. Parties shall have 45 days from its submission to file objections with the Court. Other required instructional services and support to be provided will include extended structured learning opportunities for students who are experiencing difficulty achieving the student performance objectives. In addition, targeted compensatory assistance to provide or expand effective instructional programs to improve student performance, prevent drop-outs, and prepare graduates for work or higher education shall be provided. These programs are intended for students at the secondary level who have previously been denied the knowledge and skills necessary for college, other post-secondary education or career path employment. All at-risk [fn. : `At-risk' as used herein means students eligible for free or reduced priced meals.] students in grades K-3 and at-risk students failing to meet the student performance objectives in grades 4-12 shall be provided with effective educational programs with a research basis confirming their success in bringing such students to high levels of achievement, e.g., Success for All, Reading Recovery. Defendants shall submit a plan for providing extended structured learning opportunities, targeted compensated programs, and effective educational programs to the Court within six months of the date of the Court's order. Parties shall have 45 days from submission of this plan to file objections with the Court.