SF 40

1st Unofficial Engrossment - 87th Legislature (2011 - 2012) Posted on 02/14/2011 03:25pm

1.1A bill for an act

1.2relating to education; amending teacher licensure provisions; establishing
1.3an alternative teacher preparation program and limited-term teacher license;
1.4requiring reports;amending Minnesota Statutes 2010, sections 122A.09,
1.5subdivision 4; 122A.16; 122A.23, subdivision 1; proposing coding for new
1.6law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 122A; repealing Minnesota Statutes 2010,
1.7section 122A.24.
1.8BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.9    Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 122A.09, subdivision 4, is amended to
1.10read:
1.11    Subd. 4. License and rules. (a) The board must adopt rules to license public school
1.12teachers and interns subject to chapter 14.
1.13(b) The board must adopt rules requiring a person to successfully complete a skills
1.14examination in reading, writing, and mathematics as a requirement for initial teacher
1.15licensure. Such rules must require college and universities offering a board-approved
1.16teacher preparation program to provide remedial assistance to persons who did not
1.17achieve a qualifying score on the skills examination, including those for whom English is
1.18a second language.
1.19(c) The board must adopt rules to approve teacher preparation programs. The board,
1.20upon the request of a postsecondary student preparing for teacher licensure or a licensed
1.21graduate of a teacher preparation program, shall assist in resolving a dispute between the
1.22person and a postsecondary institution providing a teacher preparation program when the
1.23dispute involves an institution's recommendation for licensure affecting the person or the
1.24person's credentials. At the board's discretion, assistance may include the application
1.25of chapter 14.
2.1(d) The board must provide the leadership and shall adopt rules for the redesign of
2.2teacher education programs to implement a research based, results-oriented curriculum that
2.3focuses on the skills teachers need in order to be effective. The board shall implement new
2.4systems of teacher preparation program evaluation to assure program effectiveness based
2.5on proficiency of graduates in demonstrating attainment of program outcomes. Teacher
2.6preparation programs including alternative teacher preparation programs under section
2.7122A.245, among other programs, must include a board-approved performance-based
2.8assessment that measures teacher candidates in three areas: planning for instruction and
2.9assessment; engaging students and supporting learning; and assessing student learning.
2.10(e) The board must adopt rules requiring candidates for initial licenses to successfully
2.11complete an examination of general pedagogical knowledge and examinations of
2.12licensure-specific teaching skills. The rules shall be effective by September 1, 2001.
2.13The rules under this paragraph also must require candidates for initial licenses to teach
2.14prekindergarten or elementary students to successfully complete, as part of the examination
2.15of licensure-specific teaching skills, test items assessing the candidates' knowledge,
2.16skill, and ability in comprehensive, scientifically based reading instruction under section
2.17122A.06 , subdivision 4, and their knowledge and understanding of the foundations of
2.18reading development, the development of reading comprehension, and reading assessment
2.19and instruction, and their ability to integrate that knowledge and understanding.
2.20(f) The board must adopt rules requiring teacher educators to work directly with
2.21elementary or secondary school teachers in elementary or secondary schools to obtain
2.22periodic exposure to the elementary or secondary teaching environment.
2.23(g) The board must grant licenses to interns and to candidates for initial licenses.
2.24(h) The board must design and implement an assessment system which requires a
2.25candidate for an initial license and first continuing license to demonstrate the abilities
2.26necessary to perform selected, representative teaching tasks at appropriate levels.
2.27(i) The board must receive recommendations from local committees as established
2.28by the board for the renewal of teaching licenses.
2.29(j) The board must grant life licenses to those who qualify according to requirements
2.30established by the board, and suspend or revoke licenses pursuant to sections 122A.20 and
2.31214.10 . The board must not establish any expiration date for application for life licenses.
2.32(k) The board must adopt rules that require all licensed teachers who are renewing
2.33their continuing license to include in their renewal requirements further preparation in
2.34the areas of using positive behavior interventions and in accommodating, modifying, and
2.35adapting curricula, materials, and strategies to appropriately meet the needs of individual
2.36students and ensure adequate progress toward the state's graduation rule.
3.1(l) In adopting rules to license public school teachers who provide health-related
3.2services for disabled children, the board shall adopt rules consistent with license or
3.3registration requirements of the commissioner of health and the health-related boards who
3.4license personnel who perform similar services outside of the school.
3.5(m) The board must adopt rules that require all licensed teachers who are renewing
3.6their continuing license to include in their renewal requirements further reading
3.7preparation, consistent with section 122A.06, subdivision 4. The rules do not take effect
3.8until they are approved by law. Teachers who do not provide direct instruction including, at
3.9least, counselors, school psychologists, school nurses, school social workers, audiovisual
3.10directors and coordinators, and recreation personnel are exempt from this section.
3.11(n) The board must adopt rules that require all licensed teachers who are renewing
3.12their continuing license to include in their renewal requirements further preparation
3.13in understanding the key warning signs of early-onset mental illness in children and
3.14adolescents.
3.15EFFECTIVE DATE.This section is effective immediately and applies to
3.16individuals who complete a teacher preparation program by the end of the 2013-2014
3.17school year or later.

3.18    Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 122A.16, is amended to read:
3.19122A.16 HIGHLY QUALIFIED TEACHER DEFINED.
3.20(a) A qualified teacher is one holding a valid license, under this chapter, to perform
3.21the particular service for which the teacher is employed in a public school.
3.22(b) For the purposes of the federal No Child Left Behind Act, a highly qualified
3.23teacher is one who holds a valid license under this chapter, including under section
3.24122A.245, among other sections, to perform the particular service for which the teacher is
3.25employed in a public school or who meets the requirements of a highly objective uniform
3.26state standard of evaluation (HOUSSE).
3.27All Minnesota teachers teaching in a core academic subject area, as defined by the
3.28federal No Child Left Behind Act, in which they are not fully licensed may complete the
3.29following HOUSSE process in the core subject area for which the teacher is requesting
3.30highly qualified status by completing an application, in the form and manner described by
3.31the commissioner, that includes:
3.32(1) documentation of student achievement as evidenced by norm-referenced test
3.33results that are objective and psychometrically valid and reliable;
4.1(2) evidence of local, state, or national activities, recognition, or awards for
4.2professional contribution to achievement;
4.3(3) description of teaching experience in the teachers' core subject area in a public
4.4school under a waiver, variance, limited license or other exception; nonpublic school; and
4.5postsecondary institution;
4.6(4) test results from the Praxis II content test;
4.7(5) evidence of advanced certification from the National Board for Professional
4.8Teaching Standards;
4.9(6) evidence of the successful completion of course work or pedagogy courses; and
4.10(7) evidence of the successful completion of high quality professional development
4.11activities.
4.12Districts must assign a school administrator to serve as a HOUSSE reviewer to
4.13meet with teachers under this paragraph and, where appropriate, certify the teachers'
4.14applications. Teachers satisfy the definition of highly qualified when the teachers receive
4.15at least 100 of the total number of points used to measure the teachers' content expertise
4.16under clauses (1) to (7). Teachers may acquire up to 50 points only in any one clause (1)
4.17to (7). Teachers may use the HOUSSE process to satisfy the definition of highly qualified
4.18for more than one subject area.
4.19(c) Achievement of the HOUSSE criteria is not equivalent to a license. A teacher
4.20must obtain permission from the Board of Teaching in order to teach in a public school.

4.21    Sec. 3. Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 122A.23, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
4.22    Subdivision 1. Preparation equivalency. When a license to teach is authorized to
4.23be issued to any holder of a diploma or a degree of a Minnesota state university, or of the
4.24University of Minnesota, or of a liberal arts university, or a technical training institution,
4.25such license may also, in the discretion of the Board of Teaching or the commissioner of
4.26education, whichever has jurisdiction, be issued to any holder of a diploma or a degree
4.27of a teacher training institution of equivalent rank and standing of any other state. The
4.28diploma or degree must be granted by virtue of the completion of completing a course in
4.29teacher preparation essentially equivalent in content to that required by such Minnesota
4.30state university or the University of Minnesota or a liberal arts university in Minnesota
4.31or a technical training institution as preliminary to the granting of a diploma or a degree
4.32of the same rank and class. For purposes of granting a Minnesota teaching license to a
4.33person who receives a diploma or degree from a state-accredited, out-of-state teacher
4.34training program leading to licensure, the Board of Teaching must establish criteria and
4.35streamlined procedures to recognize the experience and professional credentials of the
5.1person holding the out-of-state diploma or degree and allow that person to demonstrate to
5.2the board his or her qualifications for receiving a Minnesota teaching license based on
5.3performance measures the board adopts under this section.

5.4    Sec. 4. [122A.245] ALTERNATIVE TEACHER PREPARATION PROGRAM
5.5AND LIMITED-TERM TEACHER LICENSE.
5.6    Subdivision 1. Requirements. (a) To improve academic excellence, improve ethnic
5.7and cultural diversity in the classroom, and close the academic achievement gap, the
5.8Board of Teaching must approve qualified teacher preparation programs under this section
5.9that are a means to acquire a two-year limited-term license, which the board may renew
5.10one time for an additional one-year term, and to prepare for acquiring a standard license.
5.11The following entities are eligible to participate under this section:
5.12(1) a school district or charter school that forms a partnership with a college or
5.13university that has a board-approved alternative teacher preparation program; or
5.14(2) a school district or charter school, after consulting with a college or university
5.15with a board-approved teacher preparation program, forms a partnership with a nonprofit
5.16corporation organized under chapter 317A for an education-related purpose that has a
5.17board-approved teacher preparation program.
5.18(b) Before participating in this program, a candidate must:
5.19(1) have a bachelor's degree with a 3.0 or higher grade point average unless the
5.20board waives the grade point average requirement based on board-adopted criteria;
5.21(2) pass the reading, writing, and mathematics skills examination under section
5.22122A.09, subdivision 4, paragraph (b); and
5.23(3) obtain qualifying scores on applicable board-approved content area and
5.24pedagogy examinations under section 122A.09, subdivision 4, paragraph (e).
5.25(c) The Board of Teaching must issue a two-year limited-term license to a person
5.26who enrolls in an alternative teacher preparation program.
5.27    Subd. 2. Characteristics. An alternative teacher preparation program under this
5.28section must include:
5.29(1) a minimum 200-hour instructional phase that provides intensive preparation
5.30before the teacher candidate assumes classroom responsibilities;
5.31(2) a research-based and results-oriented approach focused on best teaching practices
5.32to increase student proficiency and growth measured against state academic standards;
5.33(3) strategies to combine pedagogy and best teaching practices to better inform
5.34teacher candidates' classroom instruction;
6.1(4) assessment, supervision, and evaluation of teacher candidates to determine
6.2their specific needs throughout the program and to support their efforts to successfully
6.3complete the program;
6.4(5) intensive, ongoing, and multiyear professional learning opportunities that
6.5accelerate teacher candidates' professional growth, support student learning, and provide a
6.6workplace orientation, professional staff development, and mentoring and peer review
6.7focused on standards of professional practice and continuous professional growth; and
6.8(6) a requirement that teacher candidates demonstrate to the local site team under
6.9subdivision 5 their satisfactory progress toward acquiring a standard license from the
6.10Board of Teaching.
6.11    Subd. 3. Program approval. The Board of Teaching must approve alternative
6.12teacher preparation programs under this section based on board-adopted criteria that
6.13reflect best practices for alternative teacher preparation programs, consistent with this
6.14section. The board must permit teacher candidates to demonstrate mastery of pedagogy
6.15and content standards in school-based settings and through other nontraditional means.
6.16    Subd. 4. Employment conditions. Where applicable, teacher candidates with a
6.17limited-term license under this section are members of the local employee organization
6.18representing teachers and subject to the terms of the local collective bargaining agreement
6.19between the exclusive representative of the teachers and the school board. A collective
6.20bargaining agreement between a school board and the exclusive representative of the
6.21teachers must not prevent or restrict or otherwise interfere with a school district's ability to
6.22employ a teacher prepared under this section.
6.23    Subd. 5. Approval for standard license. A school board or its designee must
6.24appoint members to a local site team that includes teachers, school administrators,
6.25and postsecondary faculty under subdivision 1, paragraph (a), clause (1), or staff of a
6.26participating nonprofit corporation under subdivision 1, paragraph (a), clause (2), to
6.27evaluate the performance of the teacher candidate. The evaluation must be consistent with
6.28board-adopted performance measures, use the Minnesota state standards of effective
6.29practice and subject matter content standards for teachers established in rule, and include
6.30a report to the board recommending whether or not to issue the teacher candidate a
6.31standard license.
6.32    Subd. 6. Applicants trained in other states. A person who successfully completes
6.33another state's alternative teacher preparation program, consistent with section 122A.23,
6.34subdivision 1, may apply to the Board of Teaching for a standard license under subdivision
6.357.
7.1    Subd. 7. Standard license. The Board of Teaching must issue a standard license
7.2to an otherwise qualified teacher candidate under this section who successfully performs
7.3throughout a program under this section, successfully completes all required skills,
7.4pedagogy, and content area examinations under section 122A.09, subdivision 4, paragraphs
7.5(a) and (e), and is recommended for licensure under subdivision 5 or successfully
7.6demonstrates to the board his or her qualifications for licensure under subdivision 6.
7.7    Subd. 8. Highly qualified teacher. A person holding a valid limited-term license
7.8under this section is a highly qualified teacher and the teacher of record under section
7.9122A.16.
7.10    Subd. 9. Reports. The Board of Teaching must submit an interim report on the
7.11efficacy of this program to the policy and finance committees of the legislature with
7.12jurisdiction over kindergarten through grade 12 education by February 15, 2013, and a
7.13final report by February 15, 2015.
7.14EFFECTIVE DATE.This section is effective for the 2011-2012 school year and
7.15later.

7.16    Sec. 5. REPEALER.
7.17Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 122A.24, is repealed.
7.18EFFECTIVE DATE.This section is effective August 1, 2011.