SF 3234

as introduced - 90th Legislature (2017 - 2018) Posted on 03/13/2018 09:47am

A bill for an act
relating to education; making technical changes related to teacher licensure;
amending Minnesota Statutes 2017 Supplement, sections 122A.06, subdivision 6;
122A.07, by adding a subdivision; 122A.09, subdivision 10; 122A.181, subdivision
4; 122A.183, subdivision 2.

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

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2017 Supplement, section 122A.06, subdivision 6, is
amended to read:

Subd. 6.

Shortage area.

"Shortage area" means:

(1) licensure fields and economic development regions reported by the commissioner
of education or the Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board as experiencing
a teacher shortage; and

(2) new text begin individuals who would reduce the shortage of teachers who reflect the racial or ethnic
diversity of students in new text end economic development regions where there is a shortage of licensed
teachers who reflect the racial or ethnic diversity of students in the region.

Sec. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2017 Supplement, section 122A.07, is amended by adding a
subdivision to read:

new text begin Subd. 6. new text end

new text begin Public employer compensation reduction prohibited. new text end

new text begin The public employer
of a member shall not reduce the member's compensation or benefits for the member's
absence from employment when engaging in the business of the board.
new text end

Sec. 3.

Minnesota Statutes 2017 Supplement, section 122A.09, subdivision 10, is amended
to read:

Subd. 10.

Permissions.

(a) Notwithstanding subdivision 9 and sections 14.055 and
14.056, the Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board may grant waivers to its
rules upon application by a school district or a charter school for purposes of implementing
experimental programs in learning or management.

(b) To enable a school district or a charter school to meet the needs of students enrolled
in an alternative education program and to enable licensed teachers instructing those students
to satisfy content area licensure requirements, the Professional Educator Licensing and
Standards Board deleted text begin annually deleted text end may permit a licensed teacher teaching in an alternative education
program to instruct students in a content area for which the teacher is not licensed, consistent
with paragraph (a).

(c) A special education license permission issued by the Professional Educator Licensing
and Standards Board for a primary employer's low-incidence region is valid in all
low-incidence regions.

(d) A candidate that has obtained career and technical education certification may apply
for a Tier 1 license under section 122A.181. Consistent with section 136F.361, the
Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board must strongly encourage approved
college or university-based teacher preparation programs throughout Minnesota to develop
alternative pathways for certifying and licensing high school career and technical education
instructors and teachers, allowing such candidates to meet certification and licensure
standards that demonstrate their content knowledge, classroom experience, and pedagogical
practices and their qualifications based on a combination of occupational testing, professional
certification or licensure, and long-standing work experience.

Sec. 4.

Minnesota Statutes 2017 Supplement, section 122A.181, subdivision 4, is amended
to read:

Subd. 4.

Application.

new text begin (a) new text end The Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board
must accept applications for a Tier 1 teaching license beginning July 1 of the school year
for which the license is requested deleted text begin and deleted text end new text begin . The board must adopt rules providing for a district
or charter school to request a waiver of the July 1 date.
new text end

new text begin (b) The board new text end must issue new text begin , issue pending review by the board, new text end or deny the Tier 1 teaching
license within 30 days of receiving the completed application.

Sec. 5.

Minnesota Statutes 2017 Supplement, section 122A.183, subdivision 2, is amended
to read:

Subd. 2.

Coursework.

A candidate 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 a
candidate that has two years of teaching experience;

(3) deleted text begin submission of a content-specific deleted text end new text begin a recommendation for new text end licensure new text begin via portfolio from
the board specific to the licensure area of the new text end portfolio;

(4) a professional teaching license from another state, evidence that the candidate's
license is in good standing, and two years of 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 section 122A.41,
subdivision 5.