Basic contract requirements

Sec. 2. (a) Except as provided under section 7.3 of this chapter, a contract entered into by a teacher and a school corporation must: (1) be in writing; (2) be signed by both parties; and (3) contain the: (A) beginning date of the school term as determined annually by the school corporation; (B) number of days in the school term as determined annually by the school corporation; (C) total salary to be paid to the teacher during the school year; and (D) number of salary payments to be made to the teacher during the school year. (b) The contract may provide for the annual determination of the teacher's annual compensation based on a local compensation plan specifying a salary range, which is part of the contract. The compensation plan may be changed by the school corporation before the later of May 1 of a year, with the changes effective the next school year, or the date specified in a collective bargaining agreement applicable to the next school year. A teacher affected by the changes shall be furnished with printed copies of the changed compensation plan not later than thirty (30) days after the adoption of the compensation plan. (c) A contract under this section is also governed by the following statutes: (1) IC 20-28-9-5 through IC 20-28-9-6. (2) IC 20-28-9-9 through IC 20-28-9-11. (3) IC 20-28-9-13. (4) IC 20-28-9-14. (d) A governing body shall provide the blank contract forms, carefully worded by the secretary of education, and have them signed. The contracts are public records open to inspection by the residents of each school corporation. (e) An action may be brought on a contract that conforms with subsections (a)(1), (a)(2), and (d).