Step and Lane Adjustments for Teachers

Step and Lane Adjustments for Teachers

All newly assigned teachers are placed on Lane I, Step 01 of the Teachers Salary Schedule. Teachers with previous teaching experience with the Chicago Public Schools (CPS), or outside the system, can apply for salary step adjustments. Teachers with a master's degree who successfully complete additional approved graduate level courses or lane credit professional development courses offered through the CPS Teachers Academy for Professional Development can apply for salary lane adjustments. For questions about step and lane adjustments, please contact the Employee Services at 773-553-1142.

Step Adjustments

The maximum step adjustment for full-time employment inside (or outside) CPS will be no higher than the third step (03) in all lanes of the salary schedule. Teachers with temporary teaching certificates and a minimum of two years teaching experience can be placed on Step 03 of the Teachers Salary Schedule if they complete and sign Section III of the Application for Salary Step Adjustment - Commitment to Acquire a Regular Teaching Certificate. To receive a salary step adjustment for previous teaching experience within CPS:

Regular Appointed Teachers should complete a Salary Adjustment Application.
Full-Time Basis Substitutes should complete an Application for Salary Step Adjustment.
A teacher must submit appropriate document to Employee Services within sixty (60) calendar days of hire.

If the applications are received after 60 days, the effective date becomes the date all documentation is received. If official documentation is not received within one year of the start date, no step adjustment can be granted. To receive a salary step adjustment for teaching experience outside CPS, a teacher must:

Complete an Affidavit of Outside Teaching Experience in Accredited Schools and an Application for Salary Step Adjustment.
Submit both documents to Employee Services within sixty (60) calendar days of hire.

If the application and/or the affidavit are received more than 60 days after a teacher's start date, the effective date becomes the date all documentation is received. If official documentation is not received within one year of the start date, no step adjustment can be granted.

Lane Adjustments

Teachers who successfully complete approved graduate level courses or lane credit professional development courses offered through the CPS Teachers Academy for Professional Development can apply for lane adjustments. To receive a lane adjustment to Lane II, III, IV, V, or VI on the Teachers Salary Schedule, a teacher must:

Complete an Application for Salary Lane Adjustment.
Submit an application and official transcripts to Employee Services within sixty (60) days of hire.

If the application and/or transcripts are received after 60 days, the effective date becomes the date all documentation is received.

Special Lane Considerations

Effective September 18, 2000, any CPS teacher receiving a Masters of Jurisprudence Degree in Child and Family Law from Loyola University's School of Law will be granted Lane II placement. Teachers who have already received their Masters in Child and Family Law from Loyola will be placed on Lane II of the salary schedule upon submission of Application for Salary Lane Adjustment and receipt of transcripts. Lane placement will not be retroactive to the date such teachers received their Masters of Jurisprudence in Child and Family Law. Chicago Public Schools does not grant lane credit for advanced degrees in the fields of medicine, law and theology.

Teachers working in schools in which Spanish is the language spoken by at least 10% of the students may receive lane credit for a maximum of 12 semester hours of non-graduate level Spanish. To receive this lane credit, a teacher must get prior approval for each course from the principal of his or her school, Employee Services, and complete the Non-Graduate Spanish Courses Application.

Legal Statement (Title IX): It is the policy of the Board of Education of the City of Chicago not to discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, age, disability or sex. Inquiries concerning the application of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 and the regulations promulgated thereunder concerning sex discrimination should be referred to the Title IX Officer, Chicago Public Schools, 125 S. Clark St., Chicago, Illinois 60603, 773-553-2688 (TTY-773-553-2699).