TEACHER CERT. ALTERNATIVE PROCESS S.B. 965 (S-4):
SUMMARY AS PASSED BY THE SENATE
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Senate Bill 965 (Substitute S-4 as passed by the Senate)
Sponsor: Senator Wayne Kuipers
Committee: Education
Date Completed: 12-7-09
CONTENT
The bill would amend the Revised School Code to require the Superintendent of Public Instruction to establish a process for a person to earn an interim teaching certificate under which he or she could teach in the public schools and, after three years of satisfactory performance, receive a provisional teaching certificate. The bill would do the following:
-- Require a person to participate in an alternative teaching program, hold a bachelor's degree, and pass applicable exams, in order to receive an interim certificate.
-- Require alternative teaching programs to meet criteria related to credit hours, subject matter training, and enrollment.
-- Establish criteria regarding observation and coaching, and progress toward a provisional teaching certificate, for a person holding an interim certificate to teach in a public school.
-- Require the State Board of Education to develop standards for granting a Michigan teaching certificate after a person taught under an interim certificate.
The bill is tie-barred to Senate Bills 638, 925, 926, 981, 982, and 994.
(Senate Bill 638 would add consistent ineffectiveness in teaching as a ground for the discharge or demotion of a teacher on continuing tenure. Senate Bill 925 would provide for the creation of "schools of excellence", and Senate Bill 926 would require the creation of a teacher identifier system with the ability to match an individual teacher to pupils whom the teacher taught. Senate Bills 981 and 982 would provide for the designation of certain low-performing school districts as "turnaround school districts". Senate Bill 994 would appropriate to the Department of Education any funds received under the Federal Race to the Top grant program, to be used to establish a grant program for school districts.)
Senate Bill 965 (S-4) is described in detail below.
The bill would require the Superintendent to establish a process for a person to earn an interim teaching certificate that would qualify him or her to teach in the public schools and earn a provisional teaching certificate using the process. The process would have to meet all applicable requirements for an alternative teaching certificate process under the Federal No Child Left Behind Act.
The process would have to provide that the Superintendent would grant an interim teaching certificate to a person who met all of the following requirements, as determined by the Superintendent:
-- Participated in an alternative teaching program approved by the Superintendent.
-- Held a bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited college or university with a grade point average of at least 2.75 on a 4.0 scale or the equivalent on another scale, as determined by the Superintendent.
-- Passed applicable examinations (described below).
In order for an alternative teaching program to be approved, the program provider would have to provide for its participants an intensive training program in teaching that constituted the equivalent of at least 12 college credit hours, as determined by the Superintendent, and that included training in at least all of the following subjects:
-- Child development or child psychology.
-- Family and community relationships.
-- Diverse learners.
-- Instructional strategies.
-- A form of field-based experience in a classroom setting.
The program provider also would have to accept for participation only people who met the bill's requirements for a bachelor's degree and a 2.75 grade point average.
For teaching at the secondary level under an interim certificate, a person would have to pass both the basic skills examination and the appropriate available subject area examination for each subject area in which he or she was qualified to be certified.
A person who possessed an interim teaching certificate could be employed to teach in a public school in the same manner as a person holding a Michigan teaching certificate issued under Section 1531 of the Code, if both of the following requirements were met:
-- The school district or public school academy in which the person was teaching under an interim certificate provided intensive observation and coaching in a manner and to the extent prescribed by the Superintendent.
-- The person was making satisfactory progress toward meeting the requirements for being awarded a Michigan teaching certificate under Section 1531, as established by the Superintendent.
The State Board of Education would be required to develop standards for granting a person a Michigan teaching certificate issued under Section 1531 after he or she had demonstrated satisfactory teaching performance for three years under an interim certificate.
A person earning a provisional certificate under the bill would be subject to administrative rules governing teachers, as established by the Superintendent.
The Superintendent or the State Board of Education, as applicable, would have to promulgate rules considered necessary to implement the bill.
As used in the bill, "basic skills examination", "elementary certification examination", and "subject area examination" would mean those terms as defined in Section 1531.
(Section 1531 requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to determine the requirements for and issue all licenses and certificates for teachers in the public schools of the State. Except as otherwise provided, the Superintendent may issue a teaching certificate only to a person who has passed appropriate exams, as follows:
-- For a secondary level teaching certificate, has passed both the basic skills exam and the appropriate available subject area exam for each subject area in which he or she applies to be certified.
-- For an elementary level teaching certificate, has passed the basic skills exam and, if it is available, the elementary certification exam, and has passed the appropriate available subject area exam for each subject area, if any, in which he or she applies to be certified.
In addition, except as otherwise provided, the Superintendent may issue a teaching certificate only to a person who has met the elementary or secondary reading credit requirements established under rule.
Section 1531 defines "basic skills examination" as an exam developed or selected by the Superintendent, or developed pursuant to recommendations of a teacher examination advisory committee, for the purpose of demonstrating the applicant's knowledge and understanding of basic language and mathematical skills and other skills necessary for the certificate sought, and for determining whether an applicant is eligible for a provisional Michigan teaching certificate (a certificate issued to a candidate for certification who meets specified criteria).
"Elementary certification examination" means a comprehensive exam for elementary certification that has been developed or selected by the Superintendent for demonstrating the applicant's knowledge and understanding of the core subjects normally taught in elementary classrooms and for determining whether an applicant is eligible for an elementary level teaching certificate.
"Subject area examination" means an exam related to a specific area of certification, that has been developed or selected by the Superintendent for the purpose of demonstrating the applicant's knowledge and understanding of the subject matter and determining whether an applicant is eligible for a Michigan teaching certificate.)
Proposed MCL 380.1531i Legislative Analyst: Curtis Walker
FISCAL IMPACT
State: The Department of Education would incur additional costs under this legislation. The costs would reflect the amount of administrative time and resources necessary for the State Superintendent to establish a process for a person to earn an interim teaching certificate as prescribed by the bill.
Local: Local districts could see some slight additional costs from the "intensive observation and coaching" required of the district when employing a person with an interim teaching certificate.
Fiscal Analyst: Kathryn Summers
Analysis was prepared by nonpartisan Senate staff for use by the Senate in its deliberations and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent. sb965/0910