The State Board of Education is authorized and directed to devise a program to provide professional and staff development stipends sufficient to allow eligible licensed personnel, paraprofessionals, and aides to participate in development programs which will enable such employ-
ees to increase their education pertaining to their job classification or to obtain appropriate degrees to become certified teachers. Such stipends shall be provided to individuals on a reimbursable basis on a state approved schedule. The State Board of Education shall be authorized to require the local professional and staff development plan to include professional and staff development for licensed personnel, paraprofessionals, aides, and education secretaries before state funding for the purposes of this Code section will be made available to a local system. As used in this Code section, the term “paraprofessional” shall be defined as provided in Code Section 20-2-204.