FIRST REGULAR SESSION
HOUSE BILL NO. 814
91ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY REPRESENTATIVE SHIELDS.
Read 1st time February 15, 2001, and 1000 copies ordered printed.
TED WEDEL, Chief Clerk
AN ACT
To repeal sections 161.097, 168.011, 168.015 and 168.021, RSMo 2000, relating to certification of teachers, and to enact in lieu thereof five new sections relating to the same subject.
Section A. Sections 161.097, 168.011, 168.015, and 168.021, RSMo 2000, are repealed and five new sections enacted in lieu thereof, to be known as sections 161.097, 168.011, 168.015, 168.021 and 168.023, to read as follows:
161.097. 1. The state board of education shall establish standards and procedures by which it will evaluate all teacher training institutions in this state for the approval of teacher education programs. The state board of education shall not require teacher training institutions to meet national or regional accreditation as a part of its standards and procedures in making those evaluations, but it may accept such accreditations in lieu of such approval if standards and procedures set thereby are at least as stringent as those set by the board. The state board of education's standards and procedures for evaluating teacher training institutions shall equal or exceed those of national or regional accrediting associations, and shall establish reciprocal approval of teacher training institutions which have been approved by the state board of education, or similar entity performing such functions, of any other state in the United States.
2. Upon approval or establishment of reciprocity by the state board of education of the teacher education program at a particular teacher training institution, any person who graduates from that program, and who meets other requirements which the state board of education shall prescribe by rule, regulation and statute shall be granted a certificate or license to teach in the public schools of this state. However, no such rule or regulation shall require that the program from which the person graduates be accredited by any national or regional accreditation association.
3. Notwithstanding any provision in the law to the contrary, the state board of education may accredit a graduate law school and any graduate of such an accredited law school shall be allowed to take the examination for admission to the bar of Missouri.
168.011. 1. No person shall be employed to teach in any position in a public school until he or she has received a valid certificate of license, from this state or from another state through the reciprocity process established pursuant to section 168.021, entitling him or her to teach in that position.
2. Teaching in the state of Missouri, performing other related education duties, school administration, and teacher education are hereby declared to be professions with all the appropriate rights, responsibilities and privileges accorded to other recognized professions.
168.015. 1. There is hereby established within the department of elementary and secondary education, the "Missouri Advisory Council of Certification for Educators", hereinafter known as the "advisory council", which shall be composed of twenty-five members to be appointed by the state board of education on the recommendation of the commissioner of education. Of the twenty-five members of the council, fifteen must be active public school classroom teachers.
2. The duties and responsibilities of the advisory council shall include, but not be limited to:
(1) Making recommendations for the criteria and procedures whereby the quality and effectiveness of teacher and school administrator education programs within the state shall be evaluated;
(2) Making recommendations for the requirements for the certification of public school teachers and administrators;
(3) Making recommendations for the standards for renewal of certificates for public school teachers and administrators using academic course work as well as other types of professional development;
(4) Making recommendations concerning rules and regulations with respect to suspension and revocation of certificates of license to teach;
(5) Requesting and receiving reports from committees consisting of representatives from various professional groups, qualified in respective curriculum areas and other specialized areas, to assist in the formulation of recommendations of the advisory committee to the commissioner of education with respect to certification of public school teachers and administrators;
(6) Making recommendations for limiting the issuance of temporary certificates that are granted to those who do not meet the full requirements for either certification or reciprocity;
(7) Making recommendations as to which national teacher certification reciprocity system, if any, should be adopted by the board.
168.021. 1. Certificates of license to teach in the public schools of the state shall be granted as follows:
(1) By the state board, [under] pursuant to rules and regulations prescribed by it[,]:
(a) Upon the basis of college credit;
(b) Upon the basis of examination;
(2) By the state board, [under] pursuant to rules and regulations prescribed by the state board with advice from the advisory council established by section 168.015 to any individual who presents to the state board a valid doctor of philosophy degree from an accredited institution of higher education accredited by a regional accrediting association such as North Central Association. Such certificate shall be limited to the major area of postgraduate study of the holder, shall be issued only after successful completion of the examination required for graduation pursuant to section 168.033 if appropriate, and shall be restricted to those certificates established pursuant to subdivisions (1) and (2) of subsection 4 of this section; or
(3) By the state board to an applicant seeking reciprocal certification in this state, [which] in which case the state board shall issue the professional certificate classification in both the general and specialized areas most closely aligned with the current areas of certification approved by the state board, commensurate with the years of teaching experience of the applicant, [and] provided that such applicant shall not receive reciprocal certification in this state unless such applicant has at least three years of prior teaching experience. Nothing in this subdivision shall prevent any such teacher having less than three years of experience from obtaining certification in the same manner as other teachers in this state. Applications for reciprocal certification for any teacher having the requisite years of experience shall be based upon the following criteria:
(a) Recommendation of either a state-approved baccalaureate-level teacher preparation program or a reciprocally approved baccalaureate level teacher preparation program pursuant to section 161.097, RSMo;
(b) [Successful attainment of the Missouri qualifying score on the exit assessment for teachers or administrators designated by the state board of education. Applicants who have not successfully achieved a qualifying score on the designated examinations will be issued a two-year nonrenewable provisional certificate] Recommendation of any national teacher certification reciprocity system, if such a system is recommended by the advisory board pursuant to section 168.015 and adopted by the board; provided that, if no such system is adopted, then this paragraph shall not apply; and
(c) Upon completion of a background check and possession of a valid teaching certificate [in the state from which the applicant's teacher preparation program was completed] from another state.
2. All valid teaching certificates issued pursuant to law or state board policies and regulations prior to September 1, 1988, shall continue in effect until they expire, are revoked or suspended, as provided by law. When such certificates are required to be renewed, the state board or its designee shall grant to each holder of such a certificate the certificate most nearly equivalent to the one so held.
3. Any teacher holding a third class county certificate in the state during the 1972-73 school year shall upon his written request be given an examination by a person designated by the state commissioner of education to determine his eligibility to be granted a certificate of license to teach. The examination shall be comparable to those given by county superintendents to eligible applicants prior to July 1, 1974. Upon successful completion of the examination the applicant shall be issued a certificate by the state board of education entitling the holder to teach in the public schools of the state for a period of three years. A request for such examination must be presented to the commissioner of education on or before March first of the year in which the examination is to be administered. The commissioner of education shall cause the examination to be administered and the certificate issued to those successfully completing it prior to April first of the year in which the application for the examination was received.
4. After September 1, 1988, certificates of license to teach in the public schools of the state shall be based upon minimum requirements prescribed by the state board of education which shall provide for levels of certification including, but not limited to, an initial professional certificate and culminating with a continuous professional certificate:
(1) The initial professional certificate shall be issued upon completion of requirements established by the state board of education and shall be valid based upon verification of actual teaching within a specified time period established by the state board of education;
(2) One or more levels of renewable professional certificates shall be issued upon verification of completion of criteria established by the state board of education;
(3) The continuous professional certificate shall be issued upon verification of completion of criteria, which shall not exceed a master's degree or its equivalent and ten years' employment in an educational position in this state or any other state, established by the state board of education. The continuous professional certificate shall be continuous based upon verification of actual employment in an educational position as provided for in state board guidelines.
5. Policies and procedures shall be established by which a teacher who was not retained due to a reduction in force may retain the current level of certification. There shall also be established policies and procedures for a teacher who has not been employed in an educational position for three years or more for reasons other than reduction in force.
6. The state board shall establish policies by which residents of states other than the state of Missouri may be assessed a fee for a certificate license to teach in the public schools of Missouri. Such fee shall be in an amount sufficient to recover any or all costs associated with the issuing of a certificate of license to teach.
7. Any member of the public school retirement system of Missouri who entered covered employment with ten or more years of educational experience in another state or states and held a certificate issued by another state and subsequently worked in a school district covered by the public school retirement system of Missouri for ten or more years who later became certificated in Missouri shall have that certificate dated back to his or her original date of employment in a Missouri public school.
168.023. 1. In addition to the certification requirements established pursuant to section 168.021, the state board of education shall, prior to July 1, 2002, adopt rules establishing a "fast-track certification program" for persons seeking to teach in this state who meet the qualifications of this section. Such rules shall allow persons to obtain such fast-track certification if:
(1) The person:
(a) Possesses at least a master's degree from an institution of higher education accredited by a regional accrediting association such as the North Central Association; provided that the area in which such person is seeking to teach or has been hired to teach pursuant to this section shall be limited to such person's major area of postgraduate study;
(b) Passes a "fast-track certification course", which shall be no longer than one semester in length, to be developed by the department of elementary and secondary education and offered at any of the four-year public institutions of higher education in this state that the department of elementary and secondary education may designate, or at any other accredited four-year institution of higher education in this state if such institution chooses to offer a program in compliance with this paragraph.
Upon successful completion of the requirements of this subdivision, the applicant shall be granted a provisional certificate for one year; and
(2) After receipt of provisional certification, the teacher submits, in his or her final application for fast-track certification, evidence of one year of satisfactory or higher teacher performance evaluations in the subject matter or certificate area for which such person is seeking fast-track certification.
2. Fast-track certifications obtained pursuant to this section shall be:
(1) Limited to such person's major area of postgraduate study;
(2) Of the same force and effect as other teacher certifications; and
(3) Subject to renewal or revocation in the same manner as other teacher certifications.
3. The state board of education may promulgate rules and forms for the enforcement of this section. No rule or
portion of a rule promulgated pursuant to this section shall take effect unless such rule has been promulgated
pursuant to chapter 536, RSMo.
Missouri House of Representatives