10.55.714    PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

(1) Professional development:

(a) shall be aligned with the district graduate profile and educational goals outlined in the district integrated strategic action plan described in ARM 10.55.601;

(b) shall be provided to address safety, well-being, and mental health of students and staff;

(c) focuses on teachers as central to student learning and includes all other members of the school community;

(d) focuses on individual, collegial, and organizational learning, reflection, and growth;

(e) respects and nurtures the intellectual and leadership capacity of teachers, principals, and others in the school community by incorporating active learning and adult learning theory;

(f) reflects research and demonstrates models of effective practice in teaching, learning, and leadership;

(g) enables teachers to develop further experience in subject content, teaching strategies, uses of technologies, and other essential elements in teaching to high standards;

(h) offers opportunities for feedback and reflection;

(i) is ongoing and sustained;

(j) is planned collaboratively by those who will participate in and facilitate that development;

(k) requires substantial time, other resources, and where practical provides coaching and expert support;

(l) is job-embedded to encourage teachers to meet, share, collaborate, and grow their practice;

(m) is driven by a coherent long-term plan; and

(n) is evaluated on the impact of professional development on teacher effectiveness and student learning, and the results of this assessment guides subsequent professional development.

(2) Teachers and specialists shall annually complete professional development pursuant to the requirements of 20-1-304 and 20-4-304, MCA, including a minimum of three pupil instruction related (PIR) days dedicated exclusively to professional development.

(a) A professional development PIR day shall constitute six hours of contact time.

(b) A school district may divide a professional development PIR day into no fewer than two-hour blocks of contact time.

(c) A professional development block may be held on the same day as a pupil instruction day, but a school district shall not schedule a professional development PIR day to convene simultaneously with a pupil instruction day.

(3) The local board of trustees shall establish an advisory committee to evaluate the school district's current school year professional development plan; and develop and recommend a plan for the subsequent school year, which is a required component of the integrated action plan outlined in ARM 10.55.601.

(a) The advisory committee shall include, but not be limited to, trustees, administrators, and teachers. A majority of the committee shall be teachers.

(b) Each school year the local board of trustees shall adopt a professional development plan embedded in the district integrated strategic action plan for the subsequent school year based on the recommendation of the advisory committee.

(c) The plan recommended by the advisory committee and adopted by the local board of trustees shall outline how, when, and from whom teachers and specialists shall meet their professional development PIR day expectations.

(d) The plan adopted by the local board of trustees must take into consideration the advisory committee's recommendations and include two professional development PIR days in October during which schools must close in order to permit teachers and specialists to attend the annual professional development meetings of state professional associations.

(e) The adopted plan may include alternatives but shall not interfere with or prohibit teacher and specialist attendance at the annual October professional development meetings of state professional associations.

(f) Teachers and specialists who do not attend the annual professional development October meetings of state professional associations or school district plan approved alternative professional development PIR days shall not be paid for the days they are absent.

(g) Teachers, specialists, administrators, and school districts shall not substitute for professional development PIR day purposes professional development opportunities not specifically outlined in the school district's adopted professional development plan.

(h) The local board of trustees shall make their plan available to employees and the public.

History: Mont. Const. Art. X, sec. 9, 20-2-114, 20-2-121, 20-7-101, MCA; IMP, Mont. Const. Art. X, sec. 9, 20-2-121, 20-3-106, 20-7-101, MCA; NEW, 1989 MAR p. 342, Eff. 7/1/89; AMD, 2000 MAR p. 3340, Eff. 12/8/00; AMD, 2012 MAR p. 2042, Eff. 7/1/13; AMD, 2023 MAR p. 255, Eff. 7/1/23.