FIRST REGULAR SESSION
HOUSE COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
Reported from the Special Committee on Veterans February 21, 2007 with recommendation that House Committee Substitute for House Bill No. 135 Do Pass by Consent. Referred to the Committee on Rules pursuant to Rule 25(21)(f).
D. ADAM CRUMBLISS, Chief Clerk
AN ACT
To repeal sections 41.655 and 168.021, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof two new sections relating to the members of the military and their families.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Sections 41.655 and 168.021, RSMo, are repealed and two new sections enacted in lieu thereof, to be known as sections 41.655 and 168.021, to read as follows:
41.655. 1. The governing body or county planning commission, if any, of any county of the second classification with more than forty-eight thousand two hundred but fewer than forty-eight thousand three hundred inhabitants shall provide for the planning, zoning, subdivision and building within all or any portion of the unincorporated area extending three thousand feet outward from the boundaries of any military base located in such county and the area within the perimeter of accident potential zones one and two [if the county has a zoning commission and a board of adjustment established under sections 64.510 to 64.727, RSMo]. As used in this section, the term "accident potential zones one and two" means any land area [that was] identified in the [April, 1976] current Air Installation Compatible Use Zone Report at the north and south ends of the clear zone of a military installation located in any county of the second classification with more than forty-eight thousand two hundred but fewer than forty-eight thousand three hundred inhabitants and which is in significant danger of aircraft accidents by being beneath that airspace where the potential for aircraft accidents is most likely to occur.
2. The governing body of any county of the second classification with more than forty-eight thousand two hundred but fewer than forty-eight thousand three hundred inhabitants may adopt, administer, and enforce airport hazard area zoning regulations that are substantially similar to the airport hazard area zoning regulations in sections 67.1200 to 67.1222, RSMo, subject to any exceptions listed in this section. Such exceptions are as follows:
(1) All definitions in section 67.1200, RSMo, shall apply, except that any reference to a political subdivision in sections 67.1200 to 67.1222, RSMo, shall be construed to include any county of the second classification with more than forty-eight thousand two hundred but fewer than forty-eight thousand three hundred inhabitants;
(2) Sections 67.1207 and 67.1212, RSMo, shall not apply;
(3) The county shall employ any existing airport planning commission or airport zoning commission as created in section 67.1210, RSMo, or shall form such commission, with the following exceptions:
(a) The commission shall consist of five members as follows:
a. Three residents of the county, with at least two of such county residents residing in the township containing the military base;
b. The presiding county commissioner or such commissioner's designee; and
c. The county road commissioner;
(b) The commission may appoint an ex officio military liaison from the armed forces of the United States who is stationed at the military base;
(c) The terms of office of each member under this section shall be identical to the terms of office in section 67.1210, RSMo, with the member chosen to serve as chair serving for an initial term of two years. The commission shall elect its chairman;
(4) Sections 67.1214 to 67.1218, and section 67.1222, RSMo, shall apply in their entirety, except that any reference to a municipality in such sections shall be construed to include any county of the second classification with more than forty-eight thousand two hundred but fewer than forty-eight thousand three hundred inhabitants;
(5) Section 67.1220 shall apply in its entirety, except that the board of variance shall consist of three members as follows:
(a) Three residents of the county, with at least two of such county residents residing in the township containing the military base;
(b) The board shall elect its chairman.
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 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 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 doctoral 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 rules adopted by the state board of education, and shall be restricted to those certificates established pursuant to subdivision (1) of subsection 3 of this section; or
(3) By the state board, which 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 based upon the following criteria:
(a) Recommendation of a state-approved baccalaureate-level teacher preparation program;
(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; 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.
2. All valid teaching certificates issued pursuant to law or state board policies and regulations prior to September 1, 1988, shall be exempt from the professional development requirements of this section and 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. Anyone who holds, as of August 28, 2003, a valid PC-I, PC-II, or continuous professional certificate shall, upon expiration of his or her current certificate, be issued the appropriate level of certificate based upon the classification system established pursuant to subsection 3 of this section.
3. 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. The state board shall provide for the following levels of professional certification: an initial professional certificate and a career 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. The state board shall require holders of the four-year initial professional certificate to:
(a) Participate in a mentoring program approved and provided by the district for a minimum of two years;
(b) Complete thirty contact hours of professional development, which may include hours spent in class in an appropriate college curriculum; and
(c) Participate in a beginning teacher assistance program;
(2) (a) The career continuous professional certificate shall be issued upon verification of completion of four years of teaching under the initial professional certificate and upon verification of the completion of the requirements articulated in paragraphs (a), (b), and (c) of subdivision (1) of this subsection.
(b) The career continuous professional certificate shall be continuous based upon verification of actual employment in an educational position as provided for in state board guidelines and completion of fifteen contact hours of professional development per year which may include hours spent in class in an appropriate college curriculum. Should the possessor of a valid career continuous professional certificate fail, in any given year, to meet the fifteen-hour professional development requirement, the possessor may, within two years, make up the missing hours. In order to make up for missing hours, the possessor shall first complete the fifteen-hour requirement for the current year and then may count hours in excess of the current year requirement as make-up hours. Should the possessor fail to make up the missing hours within two years, the certificate shall become inactive. In order to reactivate the certificate, the possessor shall complete twenty-four contact hours of professional development which may include hours spent in the classroom in an appropriate college curriculum within the six months prior to or after reactivating his or her certificate. The requirements of this paragraph shall be monitored and verified by the local school district which employs the holder of the career continuous professional certificate.
(c) A holder of a career continuous professional certificate shall be exempt from the professional development contact hour requirements of paragraph (b) of this subdivision if such teacher has a local professional development plan in place within such teacher's school district and meets two of the three following criteria:
a. Has ten years of teaching experience as defined by the state board of education;
b. Possesses a master's degree; or
c. Obtains a rigorous national certification as approved by the state board of education.
4. 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 allowing a teacher who has not been employed in an educational position for three years or more to reactivate his or her last level of certification by completing twenty-four contact hours of professional development which may include hours spent in the classroom in an appropriate college curriculum within the six months prior to or after reactivating his or her certificate.
5. The state board shall, upon an appropriate background check, issue a professional certificate classification in the areas most closely aligned with an applicant's current areas of certification, commensurate with the years of teaching experience of the applicant, to any person who is hired to teach in a public school in this state and who possesses a valid teaching certificate from another state, provided that the certificate holder shall annually complete the state board's requirements for such level of certification, and 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. The board shall additionally promulgate a rule to permit the issuance of a provisional certificate of license permitting the holder to assume classroom duties pending the completion of a background check conducted pursuant to section 168.133 when the applicant is the spouse of a member of the United States armed forces stationed in Missouri who has relocated from another state within one year from the date of application for Missouri certificate of license, who otherwise qualifies under the provisions of this subsection, if a background check was required for the issuance of the teaching certificate from another state.
6. The state board may assess to holders of an initial professional certificate a fee, to be deposited into the excellence in education revolving fund established pursuant to section 160.268, RSMo, for the issuance of the career continuous professional certificate. However, such fee shall not exceed the combined costs of issuance and any criminal background check required as a condition of issuance.
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.
•