HF 954

as introduced - 81st Legislature (1999 - 2000) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to education; providing for substitute 
  1.3             teacher licenses; modifying consecutive years of a 
  1.4             teacher's probationary period as consecutive school 
  1.5             years; amending Minnesota Statutes 1998, sections 
  1.6             122A.18, by adding a subdivision; and 122A.40, 
  1.7             subdivision 5. 
  1.8   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.9      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 122A.18, is 
  1.10  amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  1.11     Subd. 7a.  [SUBSTITUTE TEACHER LICENSES.] (a) The board of 
  1.12  teaching may grant a license limited to substitute teaching to a 
  1.13  person who is enrolled in and making satisfactory progress in a 
  1.14  board approved teacher program and who has successfully 
  1.15  completed student teaching.  This license shall be valid for one 
  1.16  year or until the person successfully completes the teacher 
  1.17  preparation program whichever occurs first. 
  1.18     (b) The department of children, families, and learning 
  1.19  shall develop procedures to expeditiously issue licenses under 
  1.20  paragraph (a).  Upon receipt of a person's application for 
  1.21  licensure and other required documents, the department shall 
  1.22  complete processing of the application within one week.  
  1.23     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 122A.40, 
  1.24  subdivision 5, is amended to read: 
  1.25     Subd. 5.  [PROBATIONARY PERIOD.] The first three 
  1.26  consecutive school years of a teacher's first teaching 
  2.1   experience in Minnesota in a single district is deemed to be a 
  2.2   probationary period of employment, and after completion thereof, 
  2.3   the probationary period in each district in which the teacher is 
  2.4   thereafter employed shall be one school year.  The school board 
  2.5   must adopt a plan for written evaluation of teachers during the 
  2.6   probationary period.  Evaluation must occur at least three times 
  2.7   each year for a teacher performing services on 120 or more 
  2.8   school days, at least two times each year for a teacher 
  2.9   performing services on 60 to 119 school days, and at least one 
  2.10  time each year for a teacher performing services on fewer than 
  2.11  60 school days.  Days devoted to parent-teacher conferences, 
  2.12  teachers' workshops, and other staff development opportunities 
  2.13  and days on which a teacher is absent from school must not be 
  2.14  included in determining the number of school days on which a 
  2.15  teacher performs services.  During the probationary period any 
  2.16  annual contract with any teacher may or may not be renewed as 
  2.17  the school board shall see fit.  However, the board must give 
  2.18  any such teacher whose contract it declines to renew for the 
  2.19  following school year written notice to that effect before June 
  2.20  1.  If the teacher requests reasons for any nonrenewal of a 
  2.21  teaching contract, the board must give the teacher its reason in 
  2.22  writing, including a statement that appropriate supervision was 
  2.23  furnished describing the nature and the extent of such 
  2.24  supervision furnished the teacher during the employment by the 
  2.25  board, within ten days after receiving such request.  The school 
  2.26  board may, after a hearing held upon due notice, discharge a 
  2.27  teacher during the probationary period for cause, effective 
  2.28  immediately, under section 122A.44.