Teacher Recruitment and Retention
Does statute establish requirements for minimum teacher pay?
October 2019
Overview: Sixteen states use statewide teacher salary schedules, which are most often based on years of teaching experience and degree level/credit accumulation. In addition, eight states set minimum teacher salary requirements but leave salary progression up to school districts.
Additional Information: While many states set minimum salary requirements in statute, these minimums are often outdated. In reality, even if a state has a minimum salary in statute, districts often pay far above that requirement to meet market demands. For more information about state teacher salary schedules, see here. 50-State Comparisons on each data point are here.
Additional Information: While many states set minimum salary requirements in statute, these minimums are often outdated. In reality, even if a state has a minimum salary in statute, districts often pay far above that requirement to meet market demands. For more information about state teacher salary schedules, see here. 50-State Comparisons on each data point are here.
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STATE
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Does statute establish requirements for minimum teacher pay?
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Source
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|---|---|---|
| Minnesota | No. Minnesota does not address salary requirements in state law. | N/A |
| Montana | No. Montana does not address salary requirements in state law. | N/A |
| Nebraska | No. Nebraska does not address salary requirements in state law. | N/A |
| New Hampshire | No. New Hampshire does not address salary requirements in state law. | N/A |
| New York | No. New York does not address salary requirements in state law. | N/A |
| District of Columbia | No. The District of Columbia does not address salary requirements in law. | N/A |
| Wisconsin | No. The state authorizes local school boards to establish requirements for teacher pay. | Wis. Stat. Ann. § 118.21 Wis. Stat. Ann. § 119.40 |
| Wyoming | No. The state authorizes local school boards to establish requirements for teacher pay. | Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 21-3-110 |
| Alaska | No. The state authorizes local school boards to establish requirements for teacher pay. | Alaska Stat. Ann. § 14.14.090 |
| Arizona | No. The state authorizes local school boards to establish requirements for teacher pay. | Ariz. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 15-502 |
| Kansas | No. The state authorizes local school boards to establish requirements for teacher pay. | Kan. Stat. Ann. § 72-2228 |
| Maryland | No. The state authorizes local school boards to establish requirements for teacher pay. | Md. Educ. Code Ann. § 4-103 |
| Nevada | No. The state authorizes local school boards to establish requirements for teacher pay. | Nev. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 391.160 |
| North Dakota | No. The state authorizes local school boards to establish requirements for teacher pay. | N.D. Cent. Code Ann. § 15.1-09-33 |
| Oregon | No. The state authorizes local school boards to establish requirements for teacher pay. | Or. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 332.505 |
| South Dakota | No. The state authorizes local school boards to establish requirements for teacher pay. | S.D. Codified Laws § 13-10-2 |
| Vermont | No. The state authorizes local school boards to establish requirements for teacher pay. | Vt. Stat. Ann. tit. 16, § 1751 |
| Virginia | No. The state authorizes local school boards to establish requirements for teacher pay. | Va. Code Ann. § 22.1-296 |
| Utah | No. The state authorizes local school boards to establish requirements for teacher pay. Any advancement on an adopted salary schedule be based primarily on evaluation and may not be based on end-of-level assessment scores. Teachers may not advance on an adopted salary schedule if the more recent evaluation rating is at the lowest level of an evaluation instrument. | Utah Code Ann. § 53G-11-518 Utah Code Ann. § 53G-7-1304 |
| Indiana | No. The state authorizes local school boards to establish requirements for teacher pay. District salary schedules must base increases in pay on: experience, content area degree/credit hours, evaluation results, assignment of instructional leadership roles and the academic needs of students in the district. Teachers rated "ineffective" or "improvement necessary" may not receive a raise or increment for the following year if the teacher's employment contract is continued. | Ind. Code Ann. § 20-28-9-1.5 |
| Rhode Island | No. The state authorizes local school boards to establish requirements for teacher pay. District salary schedules must consider years of service, experience and training and have no more than twelve annual steps. | 16 R.I. Gen. Laws Ann. § 16-7-29 |
| Louisiana | No. The state authorizes local school boards to establish requirements for teacher pay. District salary schedules must consider: demand inclusive of area of certification, particular school need, geographic area, and subject area, which may include advanced degree level, experience and effectiveness. Teachers rated “ineffective” are prohibited from receiving a higher salary the following year. | La. Stat. Ann. § 17:418 |
| Florida | No. The state authorizes local school boards to establish requirements for teacher pay. District salary schedules must provide annual salary adjustments based upon performance and districts are prohibited from including advanced degrees in the teacher salary schedules unless the degree is in the individual's area of certification and is only a salary supplement. | Fla. Stat. Ann. § 1012.22 |
| Colorado | No. The state authorizes local school boards to establish requirements for teacher pay. Districts may adopt a salary schedule based on job description or job definition, a salary policy based on performance or a combination of both. Districts that choose to adopt a salary schedule must consider a teacher's education, prior experience and experience within the district. | Colo. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 22-63-401 |
| Michigan | No. The state authorizes local school boards to establish requirements for teacher pay. Districts must include job performance and job accomplishments as a significant factor in determining compensation and additional compensation. | Mich. Comp. Laws Ann. § 380.1250 |
| California | No. The state authorizes local school boards to establish requirements for teacher pay. Unless otherwise negotiated, districts must consider years of training and experience in the salary schedule. | Cal. Educ. Code Ann. § 45023 Cal. Educ. Code Ann. § 45028 |
| Connecticut | No. The state authorizes local school boards, to establish requirements for teacher pay. | Conn. Gen. Stat. Ann. § 10-153d |
| Alabama | Yes. The state has a minimum teacher salary schedule based on years of teaching experience and degree level. | Ala. Code § 16-13-231.1 State Minimum Salary Schedule Classroom Teachers |
| Arkansas | Yes. The state has a minimum teacher salary schedule based on years of teaching experience and degree level. | Ark. Code Ann. § 6-17-2403 |
| Tennessee | Yes. The state has a minimum teacher salary schedule based on years of teaching experience and degree level. | Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-3-306 State Salary Schedule |
| Georgia | Yes. The state has a minimum teacher salary schedule based on years of teaching experience and degree level. Teachers are prohibited from receiving credit for any year in which the teacher received an "unsatisfactory" or "ineffective" annual performance evaluation or for the second year in which a teacher receives two consecutive annual "needs development" ratings. | Ga. Code Ann. § 20-2-212 State Salary Schedule |
| West Virginia | Yes. The state has a minimum teacher salary schedule based on years of teaching experience and degree level/credit accumulation. | W. Va. Code Ann. § 18A-4-2 West Virginia Professional and Service Personnel State Minimum Required Salary Schedules |
| Delaware | Yes. The state has a minimum teacher salary schedule based on years of teaching experience and degree level/credit accumulation. | Del. Code Ann. tit. 14, § 1305 |
| Hawaii | Yes. The state has a minimum teacher salary schedule based on years of teaching experience and degree level/credit accumulation. | Haw. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 302A-624 Teachers' Salary Schedule |
| Illinois | Yes. The state has a minimum teacher salary schedule based on years of teaching experience and degree level/credit accumulation. | 105 Ill. Comp. Stat. Ann. 5/24-8 |
| Kentucky | Yes. The state has a minimum teacher salary schedule based on years of teaching experience and licensure rank. However, because licensure rankings in the state are based solely on advanced degree/credit accumulation, the salary schedule is not unlike other state salary schedules that are based solely on years of teaching experience and advanced degree/credit accumulation. | Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 157.390 Kentucky's Minimum Salary Schedules |
| Idaho | Yes. The state has a minimum teacher salary schedule based on years of teaching experience. Districts must provide an additional educational allocation for teachers meeting degree/credit accumulation requirements. Teachers cannot move up on the career ladder unless they have met the performance criteria for the previous three years. | Idaho Code Ann. § 33-1004B |
| North Carolina | Yes. The state has a minimum teaching salary schedule based on years of teaching experience, degree level and Board Certification. District salary schedules must provide for a difference in salaries based on different duties, training, experience, professional fitness, and continued service in the same school system. | N.C. Gen. Stat. Ann. § 115C-302.1 North Carolina Public Schools Salary Schedules |
| Maine | Yes. The state has established a minimum teacher salary requirement. | Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 20-A, § 13406 Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 20-A, § 13407 |
| New Jersey | Yes. The state has established a minimum teacher salary requirement. | N.J. Stat. Ann. § 18A:29-5 |
| Pennsylvania | Yes. The state has established a minimum teacher salary requirement. | Pa. Stat. Ann. tit. 24, § 11-1142.1 Pa. Stat. Ann. tit. 24, § 11-1150 |
| Ohio | Yes. The state has established a minimum teacher salary schedule based on years of teaching experience and degree level. In addition, the state requires Cleveland Public Schools to adopt a differentiated salary schedule for teachers based upon performance. | Ohio Rev. Code Ann. § 3317.13 Ohio Rev. Code Ann. § 3311.78 |
| Oklahoma | Yes. The state has established a minimum teacher salary schedule based on years of teaching experience, degree level and Board Certification. | Okla. Stat. Ann. tit. 70, § 5-141 State Minimum Teacher Salary Schedule |
| Texas | Yes. The state has established a minimum teacher salary schedule based on years of teaching experience. | Tex. Educ. Code Ann. § 21.402 (Vernon) 2019-20 Minimum Salary Schedule |
| South Carolina | Yes. The state has established a minimum teacher salary schedule, based on years of teaching experience and licensure rank. However, because licensure rankings in the state are based solely on advanced degree/credit accumulation, the salary schedule is not unlike other state salary schedules that are based solely on years of teaching experience and advanced degree/credit accumulation. | S.C. Code Ann. § 59-20-50 FY 19 State Minimum Salary Schedule |
| Washington | Yes. The state has established minimum and maximum teacher salary requirements. | Wash. Rev. Code Ann. § 28A.400.200 |
| Iowa | Yes. The state has established minimum teacher salary requirements. | Iowa Code Ann. § 284.15 |
| Massachusetts | Yes. The state has established minimum teacher salary requirements. | Mass. Gen. Laws Ann. ch. 71, § 40 |
| Missouri | Yes. The state has established minimum teacher salary requirements. | Mo. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 163.172 |
| New Mexico | Yes. The state has established minimum teacher salary requirements. | N.M. Stat. Ann. § 22-10A-7 N.M. Stat. Ann. § 22-10A-10 N.M. Stat. Ann. § 22-10A-11 |
| Mississippi | Yes. The state minimum teacher salary schedule is based on years of teaching experience and licensure rank. However, because licensure rankings in the state are based solely on advanced degrees, the salary schedule is not unlike other state salary schedules that are based solely on years of teaching experience and advanced degree/credit accumulation. | Miss. Code. Ann. § 37-19-7 FY 2019-2020 MAEP Salary Schedule |