New Law Allows Ky. Districts To Pilot Differentiated Pay

By David J. Hoff

After losing a bruising battle over teacher compensation and certification two years ago, the Kentucky legislature has quietly passed what appears to be a first-of-its-kind law that will experiment with new ways of paying teachers, while also raising the amount of money they earn under the current salary schedule.

The new law will allow five districts to abandon the traditional pay scale based on teachers' education and experience. The districts will have the chance to give performance-based rewards, entice teachers with higher salaries to such high-demand fields as math and science, or try any other novel approach that might solve the shortage of qualified teachers in the state's classrooms.

"They can take whatever approaches they want to take, to show we can do something different," said Rep. Jon E. Draud, the vice chairman of the House education committee and a...