The North Carolina Senate unanimously passed legislation Wednesday to award performance-based bonuses to more public school teachers who helped improve academic outcomes for their students last year.

After hearing feedback from local school administrators that some outstanding teachers were inadvertently omitted from bonus programs created by the General Assembly to reward top performers, Sens. Phil Berger (R-Rockingham), Kathy Harrington (R-Gaston) and Trudy Wade (R-Guilford) sponsored the legislation to ensure those teachers receive the bonuses they earned.

Those eligible include third grade teachers who helped students achieve the greatest growth in reading, along with teachers whose students successfully completed Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB) exams – but who have since been reassigned to other teaching roles in their schools. Eligible third grade reading teachers can receive up to $7,000, while AP and IB teachers can receive up to $2,000.

“Teachers who met the necessary goals last year but were reassigned to other teaching roles in their schools still deserve to be rewarded, and I’m pleased the Senate has taken steps to ensure they receive the bonuses they’ve earned.” said Berger.