Professional Status Graduate Study Reimbursement **Process Revised July 2024**
Unit A Staff (Teachers Contract)
All staff members under the BPS Teachers contract are eligible to receive Graduate Study reimbursement per Article 37 - Professional Improvement:
The Bedford School Committee will reimburse professional school personnel who undertake graduate study courses in the pursuit of professional improvement. This reimbursement shall be in an amount equal to fifty (50) percent of the actual tuition cost of the courses to be taken and 50% of tuition and mandated fees of the courses taken at a Massachusetts State College or University, provided the following terms and conditions are met:
1. Professional Status. Eligibility requires that a professional member has achieved professional status in the Bedford Schools
2. Matriculation. All courses undertaken must be applied to the attainment of an advanced degree, i.e., Master’s Degree, Certification of Advanced Study (including a C.A.G.S. and Six Year Professional Certificate), or a Doctor’s Degree at an accredited college or university subject to the Superintendent’s prior approval of the course of studies, and other courses with prior approval of the Superintendent. In either case, the Superintendent’s approval shall not be unreasonably withheld. In all cases in which the Superintendent denies approval the Superintendent shall communicate the reasons for such denial in writing to the teacher
3. Official Transcript. Evidence of successful completion of the approved courses must be submitted to the Office of the Superintendent of Schools
4. Maximum Number of Semester Hours. Professional staff members shall be limited in the number of semester hours which may be included in this reimbursement policy to a maximum of six (6) hours per semester and six (6) hours per summer session.
5. Veterans. Military veterans who are pursuing their graduate study at institutions of higher learning, in which they are privileged by exemption from tuition charges, shall not be further reimbursed under this policy
6. Method of Reimbursement Payment. When evidence of successful completion of approved courses is submitted along with the receipt of payment of the tuition charges to the college or university, a fifty percent reimbursement voucher will be drawn on behalf of the professional staff member and payment will follow shortly thereafter.
7. Graduate study vouchers may be awarded to staff members when available in lieu of any graduate study reimbursement
8. All teachers who begin employment on or after July 1, 2002 shall be required to complete the IDEAS course or a comparable anti-racism course approved by the Superintendent within the first three (3) years, at no cost to the teacher. The teacher, upon completion of the IDEAS course, will be awarded two (2) in-service credits
Graduate Reimbursement Process
As of the 2024-2025 school year, this process has been revised and now consists of two forms:
- Form 1 (This is part 1 (one) of a 2 (two) step process. Please submit one (1) form per course: In order to prepare to assist those educators who are initiating professional studies we need this form to be completed by September 15, 2025 for the 2026 fiscal year for those in Unit A (Teacher's Contract) with professional status anticipating matriculation in an advanced degree program (Master's, C.A.G.S., Six-Year Professional, Doctor's).
As per the contract, all requests are subject to prior approval of the Superintendent. If a request is denied, the Superintendent will notify the staff member in writing. Approved staff will receive notification via email with instructions regarding next steps in the process. - Form 2: At the completion of each course you have been approved to take through the Professional Status Graduate Study Reimbursement, you will need to complete this form and supply the appropriate supporting documents in order to receive your reimbursement. The required documentation are as follows:
- Proof Of Payment (if not already supplied)
- Official Transcripts: an official transcript must be sent after the completion of each course directly to the Human Resources Department via e-mail (hrdept@bedfordps.org) or mail (ATTN: HR Dept, 97 McMahon Road, Bedford, MA 01730).
Please submit the proper documentation to Human Resources within 30 days of completing the course. All reimbursements will be processed for payment once a year in the month of June. If the contractual amount of $35,000 is exceeded, each eligible person will receive an adjusted reimbursement amount. It is your responsibility to follow up with HR to confirm that we have received all required documentation for processing.
All questions should be submitted to the HR Department: hrdept@bedfordps.org.