Short answer
How do Polk teachers move to a higher column on the salary schedule?
Polk's two 196-day schedules, Grandfathered and Performance, have pay levels but no degree lanes. A master's, specialist or doctorate is paid on top. Degrees earned before July 1, 2011 by earlier hires sit in permanent base pay; all others are a supplement. Pay is retroactive only to the day Human Resource Services receives the official transcript.
Source: Teacher Collective Bargaining Agreement, Section 22.3 and Appendix B, Polk County Public Schools and Polk Education Association. Checked .
TeacherPayGuide is not affiliated with or endorsed by Polk County Public Schools. This guide summarizes the district's published documents as read on ; those documents and the district's human resources office decide your placement. It is general information, not legal or employment advice. Disclaimer Report an error
How is the Polk teacher salary schedule organized?
Appendix B, "Teacher Salary Schedule," opens by explaining why Polk has two schedules. Florida law has required the split since 2015-16, and the contract assigns teachers this way:
- Teacher Grandfathered Salary Schedule (196 days). Required for teachers who keep a Professional Service Contract or Continuing Contract. In the contract's words, these teachers are "denied access to 'merit pay.'"
- Teacher Performance Salary Schedule (196 days). Required for Probationary, Annual Contract and Limited Employment Agreement teachers, and open to a PSC or CC holder who gives up that contract for annual status. Section 22.29 bars anyone from moving back.
- Initial Placement Matrix. New hires and rehires from July 1, 2025 onward are placed on the Performance schedule by credited years of experience.
Sections 22.29-4 and 22.29-5 say that pay levels "do not equate to years of experience," and 22.29-2 says level movement on both schedules is bargained every year rather than automatic. For raises, 22.29-3 treats a Developing rating (possible only in a teacher's first three years) or a missing rating the same as Effective. Teachers switching from Grandfathered to Performance under 22.31 land at the Performance level equal to their current salary and must file the joint PEA-district form with Human Resource Services by June 30 for the following year.
The schedules themselves are printed as images inside the Salaries Excerpt posted on the district's salaries page. For help reading a level-based schedule, see how to read a salary schedule.
Do graduate-level courses raise pay at Polk?
Not until they add up to a degree. The "Advanced Degrees" note in Appendix B covers master's, specialist and doctorate levels and nothing in between. How the degree is paid depends on two dates:
- Hired by June 30, 2011 and degree earned by then: the degree amount is added to the teacher's pay level and becomes permanent base pay.
- Degree earned after June 30, 2011, or teacher hired after that date: the degree is paid as a separate supplement.
Either way, degree pay counts in the daily rate when a teacher is contracted for extra days or hours, and Section 22.5 pays extended-contract days at 1/196 of salary. Student Services staff such as school counselors and psychologists have the master's supplement built into their schedule.
The Polk contract does not spell out a subject rule. Section 1012.22 of the Florida Statutes does: it restricts degree-based salary to degrees held in the employee's area of certification. Before choosing a program, read master's degree vs. credits and ask Human Resource Services how it will treat your intended major.
Does Polk require approval before you take a course?
The agreement contains no advance approval step for degree programs. Section 22.3 sets the only gate: every requirement for the degree must be "completed and officially verified by the Human Resource Services Personnel Department" before compensation begins. Verification happens after the fact, so the sensible move is to ask HR in writing whether a planned degree fits your certification before you enroll. Will my district accept it? lists questions worth asking.
When are transcripts due, and when does the new column take effect?
No annual deadline appears in the contract, but timing still costs money. Section 22.3 makes salary adjustments retroactive "to the date that the official transcript was received by Human Resource Services," not to the date the degree was conferred. A teacher who finishes in May and forgets to order the transcript until October gives up five months of supplement. Order the official transcript to Human Resource Services the moment the degree posts; transcript deadlines covers how to time it.
Do the same units count toward Florida license renewal?
Polk's contract leans toward inservice for recertification. Section 14.11 says the district offers many free professional development opportunities and leaves it to each teacher to register in time to collect enough points. Teachers check their point record and register through the online District Professional Development System Scheduler (14.11-1), and under 14.11-4 points are awarded only after evidence of follow-up activity, as section 1012.98 requires.
The state rule behind it, Rule 6A-4.0051, wants 120 inservice points per validity period (five years at most), or college coursework totaling 6 semester hours at 20 points apiece, with every certificate subject represented and 20 of the points spent on students with disabilities. College courses are the alternative when district offerings do not fit a subject. Polk uses the same 6-hour or 120-point yardstick for out-of-field work: under 14.8-5, a teacher who volunteers for an authorized out-of-field assignment must earn that amount toward the new certification within 12 months. Polk's practice sits on top of the statewide rules in the Florida renewal section; the main Florida page covers pay law more broadly.
Where can Polk teachers earn graduate-level units?
Every district, Polk included, decides for itself whether a course counts for the purpose a teacher needs it for: license renewal, an added endorsement or a degree program. No provider, university or website can make that decision, so the rules above come first, and written approval from Polk's human resources office is the safest record to have before you pay.
Polk pays by completed degree, certificate level or rating rather than by units, so courses short of a degree do not change a Polk salary on their own (see units that count). Where graduate-level units still help is license renewal, explained in the renewal section, and any other purpose Polk or Florida names in writing.
| Question | What Polk says | What to look for on the provider's site |
|---|---|---|
| Type of unit | Polk: Master's, specialist, doctorate; no credit-hour pay | Semester or quarter units, graduate-level or not, and the university named on the transcript and its accreditor |
| Grade | See units that count | Letter grade or pass/fail on the transcript |
| Deadline | Polk: None for degrees; June 30 to switch schedules | Published grading and transcript-posting time, and any rush option |
| Approval | Polk: None; HR verifies after completion | Course descriptions or syllabi you can attach to an approval form |
| Price | Not set by the district | All-in price per credit, including any university or first-course fee (compare) |
Graduate-level credit providers, listed with the same facts
For renewal, or for a future move to a district that pays for units, many providers issue graduate-level units through accredited universities. Providers listed on this site, each with the same facts:
- Teacher Friendly: self-paced online, units through University of the Pacific; $336 first course for 3 credits (price notes)
- Credits for Educators: self-paced online, units through University of the Pacific; $297 for 3 credits (price notes)
- PD Courses (University of La Verne): online or pdf, semester-based, units through University of La Verne; $420 for 3 credits (price notes)
- Teaching Channel: self-paced, units through a choice of eight universities; $489 for 3 credits (price notes)
- TLC Graduate Credits: self-paced, units through CSU Pueblo; $425 for 3 credits (price notes)
- Upward Teachers: self-paced, 1 to 6 months, letter grade, units through UMass Global; $240 sale for 3 credits (price notes)
The provider directory lists 28 providers and programs by what teachers need them for, and Compare sets published prices for 16 of them side by side, with transcripts from 11 universities. A listing on this site does not mean Polk has approved a provider or course; only the district can do that. TeacherPayGuide has commercial relationships with some providers it lists; how listings work.
Polk salary questions teachers ask
Is my Polk master's supplement backdated to graduation?
No. Section 22.3 dates the adjustment from the day Human Resource Services received the official transcript.
Can I go back to the Grandfathered schedule after choosing performance pay?
No. Section 22.29 says no teacher may change from the Performance schedule to the Grandfathered schedule.
When is the Polk deadline to switch to the Performance schedule?
The signed PEA-district form goes to Human Resource Services by June 30 for the following school year, under Section 22.31.
Does Polk offer free inservice for recertification?
Yes. Section 14.11 says the district offers many free professional development opportunities; registering in time is the teacher's job.
Where can Polk teachers take graduate-level courses for license renewal?
Polk does not raise pay for units short of a degree, so check the renewal rules on this page and confirm with human resources or the state agency before you enroll. Providers that teachers compare include Teacher Friendly, Credits for Educators, PD Courses (University of La Verne), Teaching Channel, TLC Graduate Credits and Upward Teachers. They differ in format, transcript university, grading time and price; the provider directory and the Compare page list 16 providers with the same facts for each.
Sources
- Teacher Collective Bargaining Agreement, Salaries Excerpt (Appendix B), approved February 24, 2026, Polk County Public Schools. Checked
- Teacher Collective Bargaining Agreement, February 28, 2023 – June 30, 2026, School Board of Polk County and Polk Education Association. Checked
- Salaries page, Polk County Public Schools. Checked
- s. 1012.22, F.S., salary schedule requirements. Checked
- Rule 6A-4.0051, F.A.C., Florida professional certificate renewal. Checked
Reviewed November 11, 2026 by TeacherPayGuide editors.Report an error