THE BILL ITSELF
SB 1216
Public School Personnel Compensation
Florida Senate - 2026 SB 1216 By Senator Rodriguez 40-00435A-26 20261216__
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A bill to be entitled
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An act relating to public school personnel
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compensation; amending s. 1012.22, F.S.; providing
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that cost-of-living adjustments are for employees with
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direct student contact; providing that such
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adjustments do not preclude district school boards
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from providing other adjustments; deleting a
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limitation on such adjustments; revising the
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requirement for the use of advanced degrees when
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setting salary schedules for instructional personnel
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and school administrators; deleting certain
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limitations for salary adjustments under the
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performance salary schedule; providing an effective
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date.
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Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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Section 1. Paragraph (c) of subsection (1) of section
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1012.22, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
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1012.22 Public school personnel; powers and duties of the
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district school board.—The district school board shall:
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(1) Designate positions to be filled, prescribe
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qualifications for those positions, and provide for the
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appointment, compensation, promotion, suspension, and dismissal
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of employees as follows, subject to the requirements of this
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chapter:
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(c) Compensation and salary schedules.—
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1. Definitions.—As used in this paragraph:
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a. “Adjustment” means an addition to the base salary
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schedule that is not a bonus and becomes part of the employee’s
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permanent base salary and is shall be considered compensation
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under s. 121.021(22).
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b. “Grandfathered salary schedule” means the salary
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schedule or schedules adopted by a district school board before
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July 1, 2014, pursuant to subparagraph 4.
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c. “Instructional personnel” means instructional personnel
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as defined in s. 1012.01(2)(a)-(d), excluding substitute
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teachers.
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d. “Performance salary schedule” means the salary schedule
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or schedules adopted by a district school board pursuant to
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subparagraph 5.
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e. “Salary schedule” means any the schedule or schedules
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used to provide the base salary for district school board
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personnel.
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f. “School administrator” means a school administrator as
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defined in s. 1012.01(3)(c).
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g. “Supplement” means an annual addition to the base salary
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for the term of the negotiated supplement as long as the
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employee continues his or her employment for the purpose of the
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supplement. A supplement does not become part of the employee’s
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continuing base salary but is shall be considered compensation
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under s. 121.021(22).
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2. Cost-of-living adjustment.—A district school board may
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provide a cost-of-living salary adjustment to district
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employees, including, but not limited to, instructional
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personnel as defined in s. 1012.01(2), prekindergarten teachers,
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noninstructional personnel, and school administrators as defined
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in s. 1012.01(3)(c), if the adjustment :
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a. does not discriminate among comparable classes of
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employees based upon the salary schedule under which they are
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compensated. A cost-of-living adjustment does not preclude a
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district school board from providing other salary adjustments
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from additional funding sources, including categorical funding
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and the classroom teacher and other instructional personnel
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salary increase under s. 1011.62(14) and supplemental funding
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sources, including grants.
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b. Does not exceed 50 percent of the annual adjustment
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provided to instructional personnel rated as effective.
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3. Advanced degrees.—A district school board may use
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advanced degrees in setting a salary schedule for instructional
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personnel or school administrators if the advanced degree is
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held in the individual’s area of certification , a field related
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to his or her teaching assignment, or a related field of study.
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For purposes of the salary schedule, an advanced degree may
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include a master’s degree or higher that is in the area of
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certification or teaching assignment, or an advanced degree in
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another field with a minimum of 18 graduate semester hours
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related to the individual’s area of certification or teaching
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assignment .
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4. Grandfathered salary schedule.—
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a. The district school board shall adopt a salary schedule
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or salary schedules to be used as the basis for paying all
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school employees hired before July 1, 2014. Instructional
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personnel on annual contract as of July 1, 2014, shall be placed
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on the performance salary schedule adopted under subparagraph 5.
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Instructional personnel on continuing contract or professional
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service contract may opt into the performance salary schedule if
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the employee relinquishes such contract and agrees to be
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employed on an annual contract under s. 1012.335. Such an
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employee shall be placed on the performance salary schedule and
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may not return to continuing contract or professional service
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contract status. Any employee who opts into the performance
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salary schedule may not return to the grandfathered salary
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schedule.
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b. In determining the grandfathered salary schedule for
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instructional personnel, a district school board must base a
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portion of each employee’s compensation upon performance
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demonstrated under s. 1012.34 and shall provide differentiated
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pay for both instructional personnel and school administrators
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based upon district-determined factors, including, but not
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limited to, additional responsibilities, school demographics,
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high-demand teacher needs areas, advanced degrees, and level of
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job performance difficulties.
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5. Performance salary schedule.— By July 1, 2014, The
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district school board shall adopt a performance salary schedule
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that provides annual salary adjustments for instructional
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personnel and school administrators based upon performance
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determined under s. 1012.34. Employees hired on or after July 1,
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2014, or employees who choose to move from the grandfathered
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salary schedule to the performance salary schedule shall be
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compensated pursuant to the performance salary schedule once
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they have received the appropriate performance evaluation for
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this purpose.
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a. Base salary.—The base salary shall be established as
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follows:
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(I) The base salary for instructional personnel or school
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administrators who opt into the performance salary schedule
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shall be the salary paid in the prior year, including
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adjustments only.
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(II) Instructional personnel or school administrators new
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to the district, returning to the district after a break in
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service without an authorized leave of absence, or appointed for
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the first time to a position in the district in the capacity of
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instructional personnel or school administrator shall be placed
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on the performance salary schedule.
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b. Salary adjustments.— Salary adjustments for highly
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effective or effective performance shall be established as
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follows:
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(I) The annual salary adjustment under the performance
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salary schedule for an employee rated as highly effective must
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be at least 25 percent greater than the highest annual salary
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adjustment available to an employee of the same classification
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through any other salary schedule adopted by the district.
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(II) The annual salary adjustment under the performance
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salary schedule for an employee rated as effective must be equal
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to at least 50 percent and no more than 75 percent of the annual
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adjustment provided for a highly effective employee of the same
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classification.
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(III) A salary schedule shall not provide An annual salary
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adjustment shall only be provided for an employee who receives a
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rating of other than highly effective or effective for the year.
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c. Salary supplements.—In addition to the salary
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adjustments, each district school board shall provide for salary
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supplements for activities that must include, but are not
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limited to:
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(I) Assignment to a Title I eligible school.
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(II) Assignment to a school that earned a grade of “F” or
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three consecutive grades of “D” pursuant to s. 1008.34 such that
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the supplement remains in force for at least 1 year following
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improved performance in that school.
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(III) Certification and teaching in high-demand teacher
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needs areas. Statewide high-demand teacher needs areas shall be
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identified by the State Board of Education under s. 1012.07.
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However, the district school board may identify other areas of
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high-demand needs within the school district for purposes of
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this sub-sub-subparagraph and may remove areas identified by the
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state board which do not apply within the school district.
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(IV) Assignment of additional academic responsibilities.
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If budget constraints in any given year limit a district school
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board’s ability to fully fund all adopted salary schedules, the
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performance salary schedule may shall not be reduced on the
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basis of total cost or the value of individual awards in a
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manner that is proportionally greater than reductions to any
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other salary schedules adopted by the district. Any compensation
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for longevity of service awarded to instructional personnel who
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are on any other salary schedule must be included in calculating
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the salary adjustments required by sub-subparagraph b.
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Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026.