HF 3062

as introduced - 83rd Legislature (2003 - 2004) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act
  1.2             relating to education; requiring highly qualified 
  1.3             teachers to teach students in core academic subjects; 
  1.4             amending Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 122A.16. 
  1.5   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.6      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 122A.16, is 
  1.7   amended to read: 
  1.8      122A.16 [QUALIFIED TEACHER DEFINED.] 
  1.9      (a) A qualified teacher is one holding a valid license, 
  1.10  under this chapter, to perform the particular service for which 
  1.11  employed in a public school. 
  1.12     (b) All licensed teachers providing direct instruction to 
  1.13  students in a core academic subject must satisfy the federal 
  1.14  definition of "highly qualified teacher" under the No Child Left 
  1.15  Behind Act so that: 
  1.16     (1) all elementary school teachers newly hired at the 
  1.17  beginning of the 2002-2003 school year or later to teach in a 
  1.18  Title I, Part A program are licensed, hold at least a bachelor's 
  1.19  degree from an accredited postsecondary institution, and pass a 
  1.20  rigorous state test under section 122A.18 that demonstrates 
  1.21  subject knowledge and teaching skills in reading, writing, 
  1.22  mathematics, and other areas of the basic elementary school 
  1.23  curriculum; and 
  1.24     (2) all middle and secondary school teachers newly hired at 
  1.25  the beginning of the 2002-2003 school year or later to teach in 
  2.1   a Title I, Part A program are licensed, hold at least a 
  2.2   bachelor's degree from an accredited postsecondary institution, 
  2.3   and demonstrate a high level of competency by (1) passing a 
  2.4   rigorous academic subject area test under section 122A.18 in 
  2.5   each core academic subject the teacher teaches, or (2) 
  2.6   successful completion, in each of the academic subjects in which 
  2.7   the teacher teaches, of an academic major, a graduate degree, 
  2.8   course work equivalent to an academic major, or advanced 
  2.9   certification. 
  2.10     All teachers other than newly hired teachers under clauses 
  2.11  (1) and (2) or teachers in rural areas, including elementary 
  2.12  school teachers, middle school content teachers, secondary 
  2.13  school content teachers, charter school teachers, vocational 
  2.14  education teachers, and bilingual and English as a second 
  2.15  language teachers, who provide direct instruction to students in 
  2.16  core academic subjects must satisfy the definition of a highly 
  2.17  qualified teacher under clause (1) or (2), as appropriate, by 
  2.18  the end of the 2005-2006 school year.  Teachers in rural areas 
  2.19  must satisfy the definition of a highly qualified teacher under 
  2.20  clauses (1) and (2) by the end of the 2006-2007 school year, or 
  2.21  through the High Objective Uniform State Standard of Evaluation 
  2.22  (HOUSSE) process. 
  2.23     Core academic subjects under this section include English, 
  2.24  reading, or language arts; mathematics; sciences; world 
  2.25  languages; civics and government; economics; history; and arts 
  2.26  including music, visual arts, and dance. 
  2.27     (c) All Minnesota teachers holding the following licenses 
  2.28  and teaching in a core academic subject area in which they are 
  2.29  licensed as reported under the state's STAR system, are highly 
  2.30  qualified: 
  2.31     (1) teachers holding an elementary license for grades 
  2.32  kindergarten through 6, 1 through 6, or kindergarten through 3 
  2.33  who teach elementary core subjects, except world languages, in 
  2.34  grades kindergarten through 6; 
  2.35     (2) teachers holding a social studies license for grades 5 
  2.36  through 8, 5 through 12, 7 through 12, or 9 through 12 who teach 
  3.1   civics and government, history, geography, or economics, or an 
  3.2   appropriate subject license for grades 7 to 12; 
  3.3      (3) teachers holding a business education license for 
  3.4   grades 7 through 12 or 5 through 12 who teach economics; 
  3.5      (4) teachers holding a mathematics license for grades 5 
  3.6   through 8, 5 through 12, 7 through 12 or 9 through 12 who teach 
  3.7   mathematics; 
  3.8      (5) teachers holding a communication arts and literature 
  3.9   license for grades 5 through 12 or 5 through 8, an English 
  3.10  license for grades 7 through 12, or an English language arts 
  3.11  license for grades 7 through 12 who teach language arts or 
  3.12  English; 
  3.13     (6) teachers holding a reading license for grades 
  3.14  kindergarten through 12, an elementary remedial reading license, 
  3.15  a secondary remedial reading license for grades 7 through 12, or 
  3.16  a secondary developmental reading license for grades 7 through 
  3.17  12 who teach reading; 
  3.18     (7) teachers holding a license for a specific language 
  3.19  corresponding to a student's grade level who teach world 
  3.20  languages; 
  3.21     (8) teachers holding a general science license for grades 5 
  3.22  through 8 or 5 through 9 who teach general science; 
  3.23     (9) teachers holding a life science license for grades 7 
  3.24  through 12 or 9 through 12 or a general science license for 
  3.25  grades 5 through 9 who teach biology or life science; 
  3.26     (10) teachers holding a chemistry or physical science 
  3.27  license for grades 7 through 12 or 9 through 12 or a general 
  3.28  science license for grades 5 through 9 who teach chemistry; 
  3.29     (11) teachers holding an earth and space science license 
  3.30  for grades 7 through 12 or 9 through 12 or a general science 
  3.31  license for grades 5 through 9 who teach earth and space 
  3.32  science; 
  3.33     (12) teachers holding a physics or physical science license 
  3.34  for grades 7 through 12 or 9 through 12 or a general science 
  3.35  license for grades 5 through 9 who teach physics; and 
  3.36     (13) teachers holding a vocal or instrumental music license 
  4.1   for grades kindergarten through 12 or a visual arts license for 
  4.2   grades kindergarten through 12, prekindergarten through 6, 7 
  4.3   through 12, or prekindergarten through 12 who teach arts, or a 
  4.4   dance/theatre license for grades kindergarten through 12. 
  4.5      (d) All Minnesota teachers teaching in a core academic 
  4.6   subject area in which they are not fully licensed are not highly 
  4.7   qualified under paragraph (b) and may complete the following 
  4.8   HOUSSE process in the core subject area for which the teacher is 
  4.9   requesting highly qualified status by completing an application, 
  4.10  provided in a form and manner developed by the commissioner, 
  4.11  that includes: 
  4.12     (1) documentation of student achievement that demonstrates 
  4.13  at least one year of academic growth as evidenced by 
  4.14  norm-referenced test results that are objective and 
  4.15  psychometrically valid and reliable; 
  4.16     (2) evidence of local, state, or national activities, 
  4.17  recognition, or awards for professional contribution to 
  4.18  achievement; 
  4.19     (3) description of teaching experience in the core subject 
  4.20  area taught by the teacher under a waiver, variance, limited 
  4.21  license, or other exception; in a nonpublic school; or in a 
  4.22  postsecondary teaching experience; 
  4.23     (4) test results from the Praxis II content test; 
  4.24     (5) evidence of advanced certification from organizations, 
  4.25  such as the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards 
  4.26  (NBPTS) or the American Board for Certification of Teaching 
  4.27  Excellence (ABCTE); 
  4.28     (6) evidence of the successful completion of course work or 
  4.29  pedagogy courses; and 
  4.30     (7) evidence of the successful completion of high quality 
  4.31  professional development activities. 
  4.32     Teachers satisfy the definition of highly qualified when 
  4.33  the teachers receive a total of at least 100 points under 
  4.34  clauses (1) to (7).  Teachers may use the HOUSSE process to 
  4.35  satisfy the definition of highly qualified for more than one 
  4.36  subject area in a single academic discipline. 
  5.1      [EFFECTIVE DATE.] This section is effective the day 
  5.2   following final enactment. 
  5.3      Sec. 2.  [SUNSET.] 
  5.4      The amendments to section 1, paragraphs (b), (c), and (d), 
  5.5   are repealed effective June 30, 2006.