HF 4361

as introduced - 93rd Legislature (2023 - 2024) Posted on 03/07/2024 03:46pm

A bill for an act
relating to education; modifying provisions for teacher licensure; requiring reports;
amending Minnesota Statutes 2022, sections 122A.091, subdivision 5; 122A.181,
by adding a subdivision; 122A.182, by adding a subdivision; 122A.185, subdivision
3; 122A.20, by adding a subdivision; Minnesota Statutes 2023 Supplement, sections
120B.117, subdivision 4; 122A.18, subdivision 1; 122A.181, subdivision 2;
122A.183, subdivision 2; 122A.184, subdivision 1; 122A.185, subdivision 1;
122A.40, subdivision 8; 122A.41, subdivision 5; 122A.631, subdivisions 2, 4;
122A.70, subdivision 2; Laws 2023, chapter 55, article 5, section 65, subdivision
7; repealing Minnesota Statutes 2022, section 122A.2451, subdivision 9; Minnesota
Statutes 2023 Supplement, section 122A.185, subdivision 4.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2023 Supplement, section 120B.117, subdivision 4, is
amended to read:

Subd. 4.

Reporting.

deleted text begin Beginning in 2024 and every even-numbered year thereafter, deleted text end The
Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board must collaborate with the Department
of Education and the Office of Higher Education to publish a summary report of each of
the programs they administer and any other programs receiving state appropriations that
have or include an explicit purpose of increasing the racial and ethnic diversity of the state's
teacher workforce to more closely reflect the diversity of students. The report must include
programs under sections 122A.59, 122A.63, 122A.635, 122A.70, 122A.73, 124D.09,
124D.861, 136A.1274, 136A.1276, and 136A.1791, along with any other programs or
initiatives that receive state appropriations to address the shortage of teachers of color and
American Indian teachers. The board must, in coordination with the Office of Higher
Education and Department of Education, provide policy and funding recommendations
related to state-funded programs to increase the recruitment, preparation, licensing, hiring,
and retention of racially and ethnically diverse teachers and the state's progress toward
meeting or exceeding the goals of this section. The report must include recommendations
for state policy and funding needed to achieve the goals of this section, plans for sharing
the report and activities of grant recipients, and opportunities among grant recipients of
various programs to share effective practices with each other. The deleted text begin 2024 deleted text end new text begin initial new text end report must new text begin
also new text end include a recommendation of whether a state advisory council should be established
to address the shortage of racially and ethnically diverse teachers and what the composition
and charge of such an advisory council would be if established. The board must consult
with the Indian Affairs Council and other ethnic councils along with other community
partners, including students of color and American Indian students, in developing the report.
deleted text begin By November 3 of each odd-numbered year, deleted text end The board must submit the report to the chairs
and ranking minority members of the legislative committees with jurisdiction over education
and higher education policy and finance new text begin by November 3, 2025, and each odd-numbered
year thereafter new text end . The report must be available to the public on the board's website.

Sec. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2022, section 122A.091, subdivision 5, is amended to read:

Subd. 5.

deleted text begin Survey of districts deleted text end new text begin Supply and demand report new text end .

deleted text begin (a) deleted text end The Professional Educator
Licensing and Standards Board must deleted text begin survey the state's school districts and teacher preparation
programs and deleted text end new text begin submit a new text end report to the education committees of the legislature by deleted text begin February 1,
2019, and each odd-numbered deleted text end new text begin November 1, 2025, and each odd-numbered new text end year thereafter,
on the deleted text begin status of teacher early deleted text end new text begin supply and demand of teachers. The report must be made
available on the board's website. The report must include data regarding:
new text end

new text begin (1) new text end retirement patterns deleted text begin , the access to effective and more diverse teachers who reflect the
students under section 120B.35, subdivision 3, paragraph (b), clause (2), enrolled in a district
or school, deleted text end new text begin ;
new text end

new text begin (2) teacher licensure;
new text end

new text begin (3) teacher diversity, including whether the state's teacher workforce reflects the diversity
of the state's student population;
new text end

new text begin (4) new text end the teacher shortage, and the substitute teacher shortage, including patterns and
shortages in licensure field areas and the economic development regions of the state deleted text begin . deleted text end new text begin ;
new text end

new text begin (5) survey data from school districts and teacher preparation programs; and
new text end

deleted text begin (b) The report must also include:
deleted text end

deleted text begin (1) aggregate data on teachers' self-reported race and ethnicity;
deleted text end

deleted text begin (2) data on how deleted text end new text begin (6) whether new text end districts are making progress in hiring teachers and substitute
teachers in the areas of shortage deleted text begin ; and deleted text end new text begin .
new text end

deleted text begin (3) a five-year projection of teacher demand for each district, taking into account the
students under section 120B.35, subdivision 3, paragraph (b), clause (2), expected to enroll
in the district during that five-year period.
deleted text end

Sec. 3.

Minnesota Statutes 2023 Supplement, section 122A.18, subdivision 1, is amended
to read:

Subdivision 1.

Authority to license.

(a) The Professional Educator Licensing and
Standards Board must issue the following teacher licenses to applicants who meet the
qualifications prescribed by this chapter:

(1) Tier 1 license under section 122A.181;

(2) Tier 2 license under section 122A.182;

(3) Tier 3 license under section 122A.183; and

(4) Tier 4 license under section 122A.184.

(b) The Board of School Administrators must license supervisory personnel as defined
in section 122A.15, subdivision 2, except for athletic coaches.

new text begin (c) The Board of School Administrators is responsible for issuing licenses under its
jurisdiction after June 30, 2025.
new text end

deleted text begin (c) deleted text end new text begin (d) new text end The Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board and the Department
of Education must enter into a data sharing agreement to share:

(1) educational data at the E-12 level for the limited purpose of program approval and
improvement for teacher education programs. The program approval process must include
targeted redesign of teacher preparation programs to address identified E-12 student areas
of concern; and

(2) data in the staff automated reporting system for the limited purpose of managing and
processing funding to school districts and other entities. new text begin The board has authority to collect
nonlicensed staff data on behalf of the Department of Education, which is responsible for
managing said data.
new text end

deleted text begin (d) deleted text end new text begin (e) new text end The Board of School Administrators and the Department of Education must enter
into a data sharing agreement to share educational data at the E-12 level for the limited
purpose of program approval and improvement for education administration programs. The
program approval process must include targeted redesign of education administration
preparation programs to address identified E-12 student areas of concern.

deleted text begin (e) deleted text end new text begin (f) new text end For purposes of the data sharing agreements under paragraphs (c) and (d), the
Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board, Board of School Administrators,
and Department of Education may share private data, as defined in section 13.02, subdivision
12, on teachers and school administrators. The data sharing agreements must not include
educational data, as defined in section 13.32, subdivision 1, but may include summary data,
as defined in section 13.02, subdivision 19, derived from educational data.

Sec. 4.

Minnesota Statutes 2022, section 122A.181, is amended by adding a subdivision
to read:

new text begin Subd. 1a. new text end

new text begin Special education requirements. new text end

new text begin The Professional Educator Licensing and
Standards Board must approve an application for a Tier 1 license in a special education
field if:
new text end

new text begin (1) the application meets all the requirements under subdivision 1;
new text end

new text begin (2) the applicant receives high-quality professional development that is sustained,
intensive, and classroom-focused in order to have a positive and lasting impact on classroom
instruction, before and while teaching;
new text end

new text begin (3) the applicant participates in a program of intensive supervision that consists of
structured guidance and regular ongoing support for teachers or a teacher mentoring program;
new text end

new text begin (4) the applicant assumes the functions as a teacher only for a specified period of time
not to exceed three years; and
new text end

new text begin (5) the applicant demonstrates satisfactory progress toward professional licensure.
new text end

Sec. 5.

Minnesota Statutes 2023 Supplement, section 122A.181, subdivision 2, is amended
to read:

Subd. 2.

Professional requirements.

(a) An applicant for a Tier 1 license new text begin described in
subdivision 1 or 1a new text end must have a bachelor's degree deleted text begin to teach a class or course outside a career
and technical education or career pathways course of study deleted text end new text begin , unless the applicant meets an
exemption identified in subdivision 2a new text end .

deleted text begin (b) An applicant for a Tier 1 license must have one of the following credentials in a
relevant content area to teach a class in a career and technical education or career pathways
course of study:
deleted text end

deleted text begin (1) an associate's degree;
deleted text end

deleted text begin (2) a professional certification; or
deleted text end

deleted text begin (3) five years of relevant work experience.
deleted text end

Sec. 6.

Minnesota Statutes 2022, section 122A.182, is amended by adding a subdivision
to read:

new text begin Subd. 1a. new text end

new text begin Special education requirements. new text end

new text begin The Professional Educator Licensing and
Standards Board must approve an application for a Tier 2 license in a special education
field if:
new text end

new text begin (1) the application meets all the requirements under subdivision 1;
new text end

new text begin (2) the applicant receives high-quality professional development that is sustained,
intensive, and classroom-focused in order to have a positive and lasting impact on classroom
instruction, before and while teaching;
new text end

new text begin (3) the applicant participates in a program of intensive supervision that consists of
structured guidance and regular ongoing support for teachers or a teacher mentoring program;
and
new text end

new text begin (4) the applicant demonstrates satisfactory progress toward professional licensure.
new text end

Sec. 7.

Minnesota Statutes 2023 Supplement, section 122A.183, subdivision 2, is amended
to read:

Subd. 2.

Coursework.

An applicant for a Tier 3 license must meet the coursework
requirement by demonstrating one of the following:

(1) completion of a Minnesota-approved teacher preparation program;

(2) completion of a state-approved teacher preparation program that includes field-specific
student teaching equivalent to field-specific student teaching in Minnesota-approved teacher
preparation programs. The field-specific student teaching requirement does not apply to an
applicant that has two years of field-specific teaching experience;

(3) deleted text begin submission of a content-specific deleted text end new text begin a recommendation for licensure through the new text end licensure
new text begin via new text end portfolio new text begin process new text end ;

(4) a professional teaching license from another state, evidence that the applicant's license
is in good standing, and two years of field-specific teaching experience; or

(5) three years of teaching experience under a Tier 2 license and evidence of summative
teacher evaluations that did not result in placing or otherwise keeping the teacher on an
improvement process pursuant to section 122A.40, subdivision 8, or 122A.41, subdivision
5.

Sec. 8.

Minnesota Statutes 2023 Supplement, section 122A.184, subdivision 1, is amended
to read:

Subdivision 1.

Requirements.

The Professional Educator Licensing and Standards
Board must issue a Tier 4 license to an applicant who provides information sufficient to
demonstrate all of the following:

(1) the applicant meets all requirements for a Tier 3 license under section 122A.183,
and new text begin (i) new text end has completed a teacher preparation program under section 122A.183, subdivision
2, clause (1) or (2) new text begin , (ii) obtained licensure through the licensure via portfolio process under
section 122A.183, subdivision 2, clause (3), or (iii) holds national board certification from
the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards new text end ;

(2) the applicant has at least three years of field-specific teaching experience as a teacher
of record;

(3) the applicant has obtained a passing score on all required licensure exams under
section 122A.185; and

(4) if the applicant previously held a Tier 3 license under section 122A.183, the applicant
has completed the renewal requirements in section 122A.187.

Sec. 9.

Minnesota Statutes 2023 Supplement, section 122A.185, subdivision 1, is amended
to read:

Subdivision 1.

Tests.

(a) The board must adopt rules requiring applicants for Tier 3 and
Tier 4 licenses to pass an examination or performance assessment of general pedagogical
knowledge and examinations or assessments of licensure field specific content. An applicant
is exempt from the examination requirements if the applicant deleted text begin completed deleted text end :

(1) new text begin completed new text end a board-approved teacher preparation program;

(2) new text begin completed new text end licensure via portfolio pursuant to section 122A.18, subdivision 10, and
the portfolio has been deleted text begin approved deleted text end new text begin recommended new text end ; deleted text begin or
deleted text end

new text begin (3) obtained national board certification from the National Board for Professional
Teaching Standards; or
new text end

deleted text begin (3) deleted text end new text begin (4) completed new text end a state-approved teacher preparation program in another state and
passed licensure examinations in that state, if applicable. The content examination
requirement does not apply if no relevant content exam exists.

(b) All testing centers in the state must provide monthly opportunities for untimed content
and pedagogy examinations. These opportunities must be advertised on the test registration
website. The board must require the exam vendor to provide other equitable opportunities
to pass exams, including: (1) waiving testing fees for test takers who qualify for federal
grants; (2) providing free, multiple, full-length practice tests for each exam and free,
comprehensive study guides on the test registration website; (3) making content and pedagogy
exams available in languages other than English for teachers seeking licensure to teach in
language immersion programs; and (4) providing free, detailed exam results analysis by
test objective to assist applicants who do not pass an exam in identifying areas for
improvement. Any applicant who has not passed a required exam after two attempts must
be allowed to retake the exam, including new versions of the exam, without being charged
an additional fee.

Sec. 10.

Minnesota Statutes 2022, section 122A.185, subdivision 3, is amended to read:

Subd. 3.

Testing accommodations.

The board and the entity administering the content deleted text begin , deleted text end new text begin
and new text end pedagogy deleted text begin , and skills deleted text end examinations must allow any individual who produces
documentation of a disability in the form of an evaluation, 504 plan, or individual education
program (IEP) to receive the same testing accommodations on the content deleted text begin , deleted text end new text begin and new text end pedagogy deleted text begin ,
and skills deleted text end examinations that the applicant received during the applicant's secondary or
postsecondary education.

Sec. 11.

Minnesota Statutes 2022, section 122A.20, is amended by adding a subdivision
to read:

new text begin Subd. 4. new text end

new text begin Prohibition on teaching assignment. new text end

new text begin A school district or charter school may
not place a teacher in a teaching assignment if the teacher has been criminally charged in
state or federal court with any of the offenses listed in subdivision 1, paragraph (b), or is
charged with any other offense not listed in this section that requires the person to register
as a predatory offender under section 243.166, or a crime under a similar law of another
state or the United States.
new text end

Sec. 12.

Minnesota Statutes 2023 Supplement, section 122A.40, subdivision 8, is amended
to read:

Subd. 8.

Development, evaluation, and peer coaching for continuing contract
teachers.

(a) To improve student learning and success, a school board and an exclusive
representative of the teachers in the district, consistent with paragraph (b), may develop a
teacher evaluation and peer review process for probationary and continuing contract teachers
through joint agreement. If a school board and the exclusive representative of the teachers
do not agree to an annual teacher evaluation and peer review process, then the school board
and the exclusive representative of the teachers must implement the state teacher evaluation
plan under paragraph (c). The process must include having trained observers serve as peer
coaches or having teachers participate in professional learning communities, consistent with
paragraph (b).

(b) To develop, improve, and support qualified teachers and effective teaching practices,
improve student learning and success, and provide all enrolled students in a district or school
with improved and equitable access to more effective and diverse teachers, the annual
evaluation process for teachers:

(1) must, for probationary teachers, provide for all evaluations required under subdivision
5;

(2) must establish a three-year professional review cycle for each teacher that includes
an individual growth and development plan, a peer review process, and at least one
summative evaluation performed by a qualified and trained evaluator such as a school
administrator. For the years when a tenured teacher is not evaluated by a qualified and
trained evaluator, the teacher must be evaluated by a peer review;

(3) must include a rubric of performance standards for teacher practice that: (i) is based
on deleted text begin professional teaching standards established in rule deleted text end new text begin the standards of effective practice in
Minnesota Rules, part 8710.2000 new text end ; (ii) includes culturally responsive methodologies; and
(iii) provides common descriptions of effectiveness using at least three levels of performance;

(4) must coordinate staff development activities under sections 122A.60 and 122A.61
with this evaluation process and teachers' evaluation outcomes;

(5) may provide time during the school day and school year for peer coaching and teacher
collaboration;

(6) may include job-embedded learning opportunities such as professional learning
communities;

(7) may include mentoring and induction programs for teachers, including teachers who
are members of populations underrepresented among the licensed teachers in the district or
school and who reflect the diversity of students under section 120B.35, subdivision 3,
paragraph (b), clause (2), who are enrolled in the district or school;

(8) must include an option for teachers to develop and present a portfolio demonstrating
evidence of reflection and professional growth, consistent with section 122A.187, subdivision
3, and include teachers' own performance assessment based on student work samples and
examples of teachers' work, which may include video among other activities for the
summative evaluation;

(9) must use data from valid and reliable assessments aligned to state and local academic
standards and must use state and local measures of student growth and literacy that may
include value-added models or student learning goals to determine 35 percent of teacher
evaluation results;

(10) must use longitudinal data on student engagement and connection, and other student
outcome measures explicitly aligned with the elements of curriculum for which teachers
are responsible, including academic literacy, oral academic language, and achievement of
content areas of English learners;

(11) must require qualified and trained evaluators such as school administrators to
perform summative evaluations and ensure school districts and charter schools provide for
effective evaluator training specific to teacher development and evaluation;

(12) must give teachers not meeting professional teaching standards under clauses (3)
to (11) support to improve through a teacher improvement process that includes established
goals and timelines; and

(13) must discipline a teacher for not making adequate progress in the teacher
improvement process under clause (12) that may include a last chance warning, termination,
discharge, nonrenewal, transfer to a different position, a leave of absence, or other discipline
a school administrator determines is appropriate.

Data on individual teachers generated under this subdivision are personnel data under
section 13.43. The observation and interview notes of peer coaches may only be disclosed
to other school officials with the consent of the teacher being coached.

(c) The department, in consultation with parents who may represent parent organizations
and teacher and administrator representatives appointed by their respective organizations,
representing the Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board, the Minnesota
Association of School Administrators, the Minnesota School Boards Association, the
Minnesota Elementary and Secondary Principals Associations, Education Minnesota, and
representatives of the Minnesota Assessment Group, the Minnesota Business Partnership,
the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce, and Minnesota postsecondary institutions with
research expertise in teacher evaluation, must create and publish a teacher evaluation process
that complies with the requirements in paragraph (b) and applies to all teachers under this
section and section 122A.41 for whom no agreement exists under paragraph (a) for an annual
teacher evaluation and peer review process. The teacher evaluation process created under
this subdivision does not create additional due process rights for probationary teachers under
subdivision 5.

(d) Consistent with the measures of teacher effectiveness under this subdivision:

(1) for students in kindergarten through grade 4, a school administrator must not place
or approve the placement of a student in the classroom of a teacher who is in the improvement
process referenced in paragraph (b), clause (12), or has not had a summative evaluation if,
in the prior year, that student was in the classroom of a teacher who received discipline
pursuant to paragraph (b), clause (13), unless no other teacher at the school teaches that
grade; and

(2) for students in grades 5 through 12, a school administrator must not place or approve
the placement of a student in the classroom of a teacher who is in the improvement process
referenced in paragraph (b), clause (12), or has not had a summative evaluation if, in the
prior year, that student was in the classroom of a teacher who received discipline pursuant
to paragraph (b), clause (13), unless no other teacher at the school teaches that subject area
and grade.

All data created and used under this paragraph retains its classification under chapter 13.

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective July 1, 2025.
new text end

Sec. 13.

Minnesota Statutes 2023 Supplement, section 122A.41, subdivision 5, is amended
to read:

Subd. 5.

Development, evaluation, and peer coaching for continuing contract
teachers.

(a) To improve student learning and success, a school board and an exclusive
representative of the teachers in the district, consistent with paragraph (b), may develop an
annual teacher evaluation and peer review process for probationary and nonprobationary
teachers through joint agreement. If a school board and the exclusive representative of the
teachers in the district do not agree to an annual teacher evaluation and peer review process,
then the school board and the exclusive representative of the teachers must implement the
state teacher evaluation plan developed under paragraph (c). The process must include
having trained observers serve as peer coaches or having teachers participate in professional
learning communities, consistent with paragraph (b).

(b) To develop, improve, and support qualified teachers and effective teaching practices
and improve student learning and success, and provide all enrolled students in a district or
school with improved and equitable access to more effective and diverse teachers, the annual
evaluation process for teachers:

(1) must, for probationary teachers, provide for all evaluations required under subdivision
2;

(2) must establish a three-year professional review cycle for each teacher that includes
an individual growth and development plan, a peer review process, and at least one
summative evaluation performed by a qualified and trained evaluator such as a school
administrator;

(3) must include a rubric of performance standards for teacher practice that: (i) is based
on deleted text begin professional teaching standards established in rule deleted text end new text begin the standards of effective practice in
Minnesota Rules, part 8710.2000 new text end ; (ii) includes culturally responsive methodologies; and
(iii) provides common descriptions of effectiveness using at least three levels of performance;

(4) must coordinate staff development activities under sections 122A.60 and 122A.61
with this evaluation process and teachers' evaluation outcomes;

(5) may provide time during the school day and school year for peer coaching and teacher
collaboration;

(6) may include job-embedded learning opportunities such as professional learning
communities;

(7) may include mentoring and induction programs for teachers, including teachers who
are members of populations underrepresented among the licensed teachers in the district or
school and who reflect the diversity of students under section 120B.35, subdivision 3,
paragraph (b), clause (2), who are enrolled in the district or school;

(8) must include an option for teachers to develop and present a portfolio demonstrating
evidence of reflection and professional growth, consistent with section 122A.187, subdivision
3, and include teachers' own performance assessment based on student work samples and
examples of teachers' work, which may include video among other activities for the
summative evaluation;

(9) must use data from valid and reliable assessments aligned to state and local academic
standards and must use state and local measures of student growth and literacy that may
include value-added models or student learning goals to determine 35 percent of teacher
evaluation results;

(10) must use longitudinal data on student engagement and connection and other student
outcome measures explicitly aligned with the elements of curriculum for which teachers
are responsible, including academic literacy, oral academic language, and achievement of
English learners;

(11) must require qualified and trained evaluators such as school administrators to
perform summative evaluations and ensure school districts and charter schools provide for
effective evaluator training specific to teacher development and evaluation;

(12) must give teachers not meeting professional teaching standards under clauses (3)
to (11) support to improve through a teacher improvement process that includes established
goals and timelines; and

(13) must discipline a teacher for not making adequate progress in the teacher
improvement process under clause (12) that may include a last chance warning, termination,
discharge, nonrenewal, transfer to a different position, a leave of absence, or other discipline
a school administrator determines is appropriate.

Data on individual teachers generated under this subdivision are personnel data under
section 13.43. The observation and interview notes of peer coaches may only be disclosed
to other school officials with the consent of the teacher being coached.

(c) The department, in consultation with parents who may represent parent organizations
and teacher and administrator representatives appointed by their respective organizations,
representing the Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board, the Minnesota
Association of School Administrators, the Minnesota School Boards Association, the
Minnesota Elementary and Secondary Principals Associations, Education Minnesota, and
representatives of the Minnesota Assessment Group, the Minnesota Business Partnership,
the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce, and Minnesota postsecondary institutions with
research expertise in teacher evaluation, must create and publish a teacher evaluation process
that complies with the requirements in paragraph (b) and applies to all teachers under this
section and section 122A.40 for whom no agreement exists under paragraph (a) for an annual
teacher evaluation and peer review process. The teacher evaluation process created under
this subdivision does not create additional due process rights for probationary teachers under
subdivision 2.

(d) Consistent with the measures of teacher effectiveness under this subdivision:

(1) for students in kindergarten through grade 4, a school administrator must not place
or approve the placement of a student in the classroom of a teacher who is in the improvement
process referenced in paragraph (b), clause (12), or has not had a summative evaluation if,
in the prior year, that student was in the classroom of a teacher who received discipline
pursuant to paragraph (b), clause (13), unless no other teacher at the school teaches that
grade; and

(2) for students in grades 5 through 12, a school administrator must not place or approve
the placement of a student in the classroom of a teacher who is in the improvement process
referenced in paragraph (b), clause (12), or has not had a summative evaluation if, in the
prior year, that student was in the classroom of a teacher who received discipline pursuant
to paragraph (b), clause (13), unless no other teacher at the school teaches that subject area
and grade.

All data created and used under this paragraph retains its classification under chapter 13.

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective July 1, 2025.
new text end

Sec. 14.

Minnesota Statutes 2023 Supplement, section 122A.631, subdivision 2, is amended
to read:

Subd. 2.

Definition.

"Heritage language and culture deleted text begin teachers deleted text end new text begin teacher new text end " means deleted text begin teachers deleted text end new text begin a
teacher new text end with a new text begin familial new text end connection to deleted text begin a deleted text end new text begin their new text end community's language and culture new text begin , new text end who deleted text begin use deleted text end new text begin is
proficient in the language and engaged in the culture, and uses new text end this connection to support
students as they learn academic content deleted text begin or deleted text end new text begin , become proficient in new text end the language new text begin , new text end and new text begin engage
with the new text end culture of that particular community. new text begin For the purposes of this section, a heritage
language and culture teacher of American Sign Language is a teacher with a childhood
connection to American Sign Language and whose primary language is American Sign
Language.
new text end

Sec. 15.

Minnesota Statutes 2023 Supplement, section 122A.631, subdivision 4, is amended
to read:

Subd. 4.

Heritage language and culture teacher licensure pathway program.

(a) The
Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board shall develop a program to support
initial and additional licensure for heritage language and culture teachers new text begin , prioritizing the
participation of heritage language and culture teachers whose own heritage language is
within the top languages spoken by Minnesota students, as indicated by the Department of
Education report on primary home languages, and for which there is a licensure scarcity new text end .
The program must include:

(1) a yearlong mentorship program;

(2) monthly meetings where applicants receive guidance on completing the portfolio
process from a portfolio liaison, dedicated specifically to facilitating this program;

(3) a stipend to cover substitute teachers when meetings take place during the school
day;

(4) a waiver for all portfolio and licensure testing fees; and

(5) a portfolio review committee created by the board.

(b) For applicants seeking an initial license in a world language and culture, the applicant
must demonstrate meeting the standards of effective practice in Minnesota Rules, part
8710.2000, and content-specific pedagogical standards in Minnesota Rules, part 8710.4950,
through the portfolio process.

(c) For applicants seeking a dual license, the applicant must demonstrate meeting the
standards of effective practice in Minnesota Rules, part 8710.2000, content-specific
pedagogical standards in Minnesota Rules, part 8710.4950, and all standards for the chosen
dual license through the portfolio process.

(d) For applicants seeking an additional license in a world language and culture, the
applicant must demonstrate meeting the content-specific pedagogical standards in Minnesota
Rules, part 8710.4950.

Sec. 16.

Minnesota Statutes 2023 Supplement, section 122A.70, subdivision 2, is amended
to read:

Subd. 2.

Board grants.

The Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board must
make grant application forms available to sites interested in developing, sustaining, or
expanding a mentorship program. A school district or group of school districts, new text begin a Tribal
contract school or group of schools, a coalition of districts, teachers, and teacher education
institutions, new text end a school or coalition of schools, or a coalition of teachers may apply for a
program grant. A higher education institution or nonprofit organization may partner with a
grant applicant but is not eligible as a sole applicant for grant funds. The Professional
Educator Licensing and Standards Board, in consultation with the teacher mentoring task
force, must approve or disapprove the applications. To the extent possible, the approved
applications must reflect effective mentoring, professional development, and retention
components, and be geographically distributed throughout the state. The Professional
Educator Licensing and Standards Board must encourage the selected sites to consider the
use of its assessment procedures.

Sec. 17.

Laws 2023, chapter 55, article 5, section 65, subdivision 7, is amended to read:

Subd. 7.

Pathway preparation grants.

(a) For grants to support teachers holding a new text begin Tier
1 or new text end Tier 2 license and seeking a Tier 3 new text begin or Tier 4 new text end license:

	$	400,000	.....	2024
	$	400,000	.....	2025

(b) The following are eligible for grants under this subdivision:

(1) school districts;

(2) charter schools;

(3) service cooperatives; and

(4) partnerships between one or more teacher preparation providers, school districts, or
charter schools.

(c) Grant funds must be used to support teachers holding a new text begin Tier 1 or new text end Tier 2 license and
seeking a Tier 3 new text begin or Tier 4 new text end license through completion of a teacher preparation program or
the licensure via portfolio process. A grant recipient must provide teachers holding a new text begin Tier
1 or new text end Tier 2 license with professional development, mentorship, and coursework aligned to
state standards for teacher licensure.

(d) The Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board may collaborate with the
Department of Education and the Office of Higher Education to administer the grant program.

(e) The board may retain up to three percent of the appropriation amount to monitor and
administer the grant.

Sec. 18. new text begin REPEALER.
new text end

new text begin (a) new text end new text begin Minnesota Statutes 2022, section 122A.2451, subdivision 9, new text end new text begin is repealed.
new text end

new text begin (b) new text end new text begin Minnesota Statutes 2023 Supplement, section 122A.185, subdivision 4, new text end new text begin is repealed.
new text end

APPENDIX

Repealed Minnesota Statutes: 24-05478

122A.185 TEACHER LICENSURE ASSESSMENT.

Subd. 4.

Remedial assistance.

School districts may make available upon request appropriate and timely remedial assistance that includes a formal diagnostic component to those persons employed by the district who did not achieve a qualifying score on a board-adopted skills examination, and who received a Tier 1, Tier 2, or Tier 3 license under section 122A.181, 122A.182, or 122A.183, respectively, to teach in Minnesota.

122A.2451 ALTERNATIVE TEACHER PREPARATION PROVIDERS AND PROGRAMS.

Subd. 9.

Reports.

(a) An approved alternative teacher preparation provider must report to the Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board on items that are defined in statute regarding program candidates, completion, and effectiveness or other items that are required under section 122A.09.

(b) The Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board must submit a biennial report on the alternative teacher preparation program and providers to legislative committees having jurisdiction over kindergarten through grade 12 education policy and finance by January 15 of each odd-numbered year.