§6–1004.

    (a)    (1)    There is a teacher leadership track on level four of the career ladder.

        (2)    A teacher on the teacher leadership track:

            (i)    Shall:

                1.    Be an NBC teacher; or

                2.    If there is no assessment comparable to NBC for the teacher’s subject area, have a master’s degree in the teacher’s subject area; and

            (ii)    Is responsible for mentoring peers and serving as an expert resource on content and pedagogy for their school, their district, and the State.

    (b)    (1)    The first tier of the teacher leadership track is a lead teacher.

        (2)    A lead teacher shall:

            (i)    Meet all skill and credential requirements for levels one through three on the career ladder;

            (ii)    Be able to lead, in an effective and disciplined way, teams of teachers working to improve the curriculum, instruction, and assessment in the school;

            (iii)    Have the skills and knowledge to mentor new teachers or less skilled teachers to enable them to develop their skills, including mentoring teachers who are pursuing NBC;

            (iv)    Have sufficient research expertise, including expertise in action research, in order to lead teams of teachers that will use research to develop programs, curriculum, teaching techniques, and other interventions;

            (v)    Be able to conduct formal evaluations of the interventions developed under item (iv) of this paragraph to determine the extent to which the interventions are successful and to alter the interventions as necessary to improve outcomes for students; and

            (vi)    Teach students using culturally responsive and trauma–informed pedagogy.

        (3)    (i)    When a lead teacher position becomes available in a county, a lead teacher shall be selected in accordance with this paragraph.

            (ii)    Throughout the process of selecting a lead teacher under this paragraph, priority shall be given to teachers who have experience teaching in schools that:

                1.    Reflect the racial and ethnic diversity of the State; or

                2.    Have received a grant under § 5–223 of this article.

            (iii)    Distinguished teachers, professor distinguished teachers, and, if necessary because of a limited number of distinguished and professor distinguished teachers, lead teachers who teach in the county shall provide a list of qualified candidates to:

                1.    The principal of the school in which the position is available; and

                2.    The local superintendent.

            (iv)    The principal of the school in which the position is available and the local superintendent shall appoint a candidate from the list provided under subparagraph (ii) of this paragraph.

        (4)    Beginning with teachers listed under § 6–1002(f)(3) of this subtitle as specified by the State Board, a lead teacher shall:

            (i)    Teach in the classroom on average 50% of the teacher’s working time; and

            (ii)    Spend the remaining time on other teacher activities, including:

                1.    Mentoring newer and struggling teachers and teachers who are pursuing NBC; and

                2.    Leading workshops and demonstrations at the school level.

    (c)    (1)    The second tier of the teacher leadership track is a distinguished teacher.

        (2)    A distinguished teacher shall have demonstrated exceptional skills in all the requirements for a lead teacher, which may be determined through an evaluation of:

            (i)    The teaching capability of the teacher’s mentees;

            (ii)    Whether the teams the teacher led resulted in effective improvements in curriculum, instruction, and assessment;

            (iii)    The quality of the teacher’s published work, including publication in refereed journals;

            (iv)    The demand for the teacher’s counsel and guidance, both inside and outside of the teacher’s school;

            (v)    The teacher’s ethical standards and ability to promote a school culture in which all students are expected to achieve at high levels and all professionals are expected to work to help students achieve at high levels; and

            (vi)    The teacher’s ability to inspire, guide, and develop teachers to achieve a high level of competence.

        (3)    (i)    When a distinguished teacher position becomes available in a county, a distinguished teacher shall be selected in accordance with this paragraph.

            (ii)    Throughout the process of selecting a distinguished teacher under this paragraph, priority shall be given to lead teachers who have experience teaching in classrooms and leading teams of teachers in schools that:

                1.    Reflect the racial and ethnic diversity of the State; or

                2.    Have received a grant under § 5–223 of this article.

            (iii)    Professor distinguished teachers and, if necessary because of a limited number of professor distinguished teachers, distinguished teachers who teach in the county shall provide a list of qualified candidates to:

                1.    The principal of the school in which the position is available; and

                2.    The local superintendent.

            (iv)    The principal of the school in which the position is available and the local superintendent shall appoint a candidate from the list provided in subparagraph (ii) of this paragraph.

        (4)    Beginning with teachers listed under § 6–1002(f)(3) of this subtitle as specified by the State Board, a distinguished teacher shall:

            (i)    Teach in the classroom on average 40% of the teacher’s working time; and

            (ii)    Spend the remaining time on other teacher activities, including:

                1.    Mentoring lead teachers; and

                2.    Leading workshops and demonstrations at the school and district level.

    (d)    (1)    The third tier of the teacher leadership track is a professor distinguished teacher.

        (2)    A professor distinguished teacher is a distinguished teacher with exceptional accomplishments, which may be demonstrated by:

            (i)    The publication of research papers as a university professor; or

            (ii)    Being qualified to teach and be a leader in both an institution of higher education and an elementary or secondary school.

        (3)    Candidates to be a professor distinguished teacher include:

            (i)    A senior faculty member in a professional development school who holds a doctorate and is qualified to serve as a clinical professor; and

            (ii)    A teacher who:

                1.    Is based at an institution of higher education;

                2.    Serves as a mentor and instructor of teachers in training;

                3.    Mentors new teachers during induction; and

                4.    Designs and leads professional development across the State.

        (4)    (i)    A county board shall appoint a professor distinguished teacher in consultation with the appropriate institution of higher education.

            (ii)    Throughout the process of selecting a professor distinguished teacher under this paragraph, priority shall be given to distinguished teachers who have experience teaching, leading teachers, and developing teachers in schools that:

                1.    Reflect the racial and ethnic diversity of the State; or

                2.    Have received a grant under § 5–223 of this article.

        (5)    Beginning with teachers listed under § 6–1002(f)(3) of this subtitle as specified by the State Board, a professor distinguished teacher shall teach in a classroom on average 20% of the teacher’s working time.

    (e)    When the career ladder under § 6–1002(a) of this subtitle is determined by the Accountability and Implementation Board to be well established throughout the State, a county board shall select:

        (1)    A mentor teacher for induction programs and teacher training practicums from the teacher leadership track; and

        (2)    An expert to write curriculum and assessment items and develop model lessons from the distinguished teacher and professor distinguished teacher tiers of the teacher leadership track.

    (f)    (1)    Except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection, a teacher in the teacher leadership track shall spend a portion of their working time teaching in the classroom.

        (2)    A teacher in the teacher leadership track may be assigned nonteaching duties for a period of time, but shall return to teaching in the classroom after a certain period of time, as determined by the county board.