1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to education; creating an alternative teacher preparation program and a 
1.3 	resident teacher license for qualified nontraditional candidates;proposing coding 
1.4 	for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 122A.
1.5 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.6 	Section 1. [122A.245] ALTERNATIVE TEACHER PREPARATION PROGRAM 
1.7 	AND RESIDENT TEACHER LICENSE FOR QUALIFIED NONTRADITIONAL 
1.8 	CANDIDATES.
1.9 		Subdivision 1.Requirements. (a) A teacher preparation program that is an 
1.10 	alternative to a postsecondary teacher preparation program and to the preparation program 
1.11 	under section 122A.24 and a two-year resident teacher license, which may be renewed 
1.12 	one time by a resident teacher in good standing, are established as a means of acquiring 
1.13 	a standard entrance license. Either (i) a college or university with a board-approved 
1.14 	alternative teacher preparation program or (ii) a nonprofit corporation formed for an 
1.15 	education-related purpose and subject to chapter 317A with a board-approved alternative 
1.16 	preparation program leading to a standard entrance license may offer this program in 
1.17 	any instructional field but must not restrict the program based on geography or on 
1.18 	an oversupply of licensed teachers in any particular instructional field. The Board of 
1.19 	Teaching must ensure that this program serves to enhance any efforts by the state or 
1.20 	a school district to reduce or eliminate the academic achievement gap among identified 
1.21 	categories of students.
1.22 	(b) To participate in this program, a candidate must:
2.1 	(1) have a bachelor's degree with a minimum 3.0 grade point average or, at the 
2.2 	board's discretion, demonstrate at least ten years of relevant successful professional 
2.3 	experience;
2.4 	(2) pass the reading, writing, and mathematics skills examination under section 
2.5 	122A.18; and
2.6 	(3) obtain a qualifying score on a board-approved content area test.
2.7 		Subd. 2.Characteristics. An alternative teacher preparation program offered by an 
2.8 	eligible college or university or nonprofit corporation under this section must include:
2.9 	(1) a maximum eight-week instructional phase that provides intensive preparation 
2.10 	for the resident teacher before that person assumes classroom responsibilities;
2.11 	(2) a research-based and results-oriented approach focused on best teaching practices 
2.12 	to increase student proficiency and growth as measured against state academic standards;
2.13 	(3) strategies to combine pedagogy and best teaching practices to better inform 
2.14 	teachers' classroom instruction;
2.15 	(4) assessment, supervision, and evaluation of the program participant to determine 
2.16 	the participant's specific needs throughout the program and to support the participant 
2.17 	in successfully completing the program;
2.18 	(5) formal instruction and intensive peer coaching during the school year that 
2.19 	provide structured guidance and regular ongoing support;
2.20 	(6) high quality, sustained, intensive, and classroom-focused staff development 
2.21 	opportunities conducted by a resident mentor or by a mentorship team that may include 
2.22 	school administrators, teachers, and postsecondary faculty members and are directed at 
2.23 	improving student learning and achievement; and
2.24 	(7) a requirement that program participants demonstrate satisfactory progress toward 
2.25 	receiving from the Board of Teaching a standard entrance license at the time the person's 
2.26 	resident teacher license finally expires.
2.27 		Subd. 3.Program approval. The Board of Teaching must approve alternative 
2.28 	teacher preparation programs under this section based on board-adopted criteria that reflect 
2.29 	best practices for alternative teacher preparation programs, consistent with this section. 
2.30 	The board must permit licensure candidates to demonstrate licensure competencies in 
2.31 	school-based settings and through other nontraditional licensure pathways.
2.32 		Subd. 4.Reissued resident teacher license; approval for standard entrance 
2.33 	license. A resident mentor under subdivision 2, clause (6), must evaluate the performance 
2.34 	of the resident teacher and submit to the board an evaluation report recommending 
2.35 	whether or not to reissue the person a resident teacher license or to issue the resident 
2.36 	teacher a standard entrance license. 
3.1 		Subd. 5.Standard entrance license. The Board of Teaching must issue a standard 
3.2 	entrance license to a resident teacher under this section who successfully performs 
3.3 	throughout the program and is recommended for licensure under subdivision 4.
3.4 		Subd. 6.Qualified teacher. A person with a valid resident teacher license under 
3.5 	this section is the teacher of record and a qualified teacher within the meaning of section 
3.6 	122A.16.

3.7 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective for the 2009-2010 school year and 
3.8 	later.