1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to education; establishing an alternative teacher preparation program 
1.3 	and limited term teacher license;proposing coding for new law in Minnesota 
1.4 	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 
1.7 	PROGRAM AND TEACHER LICENSE FOR QUALIFIED NONTRADITIONAL 
1.8 	CANDIDATES.
1.9 		Subdivision 1.Requirements. (a) The Board of Teaching may approve teacher 
1.10 	preparation programs that are an alternative to a postsecondary teacher preparation 
1.11 	program and to the preparation program under section 122A.24 as a means of acquiring a 
1.12 	two-year provisional license in preparation for meeting the requirements for acquiring a 
1.13 	standard entrance license. Programs must be sponsored by a school district with a written 
1.14 	agreement with the teacher bargaining unit or a charter school with the agreement of its 
1.15 	licensed staff, in partnership with either:
1.16 	(1) a college or university with a board-approved alternative teacher preparation 
1.17 	program; or
1.18 	(2) a nonprofit corporation formed for an education-related purpose and subject to 
1.19 	chapter 317A that forms a partnership with a college or university with a board-approved 
1.20 	teacher preparation program.
1.21 	(b) A program approved under paragraph (a) may only offer this program if one of 
1.22 	the following conditions exists:
2.1 	(1) a need for teachers exists based on the participating district's or charter's 
2.2 	determination that in the previous school year too few qualified candidates applied for 
2.3 	the number of posted teacher positions;
2.4 	(2) a need exists to more adequately have its staff reflect the racial and cultural 
2.5 	diversity of the student population; or
2.6 	(3) an identified need exists to enhance efforts to reduce or eliminate the achievement 
2.7 	gap.
2.8 	(c) To participate in this program, a candidate must:
2.9 	(1) have a bachelor's degree with either a minimum 3.0 grade point average or has 
2.10 	met other criteria specified by the Board of Teaching;
2.11 	(2) pass the reading, writing, and mathematics skills examination under section 
2.12 	122A.18; and
2.13 	(3) obtain qualifying scores on board-approved content area and pedagogy tests.
2.14 		Subd. 2.Characteristics. An alternative teacher preparation program offered by an 
2.15 	eligible college or university or nonprofit corporation under this section must include:
2.16 	(1) a minimum 200-hour instructional phase that provides intensive preparation 
2.17 	before that person assumes classroom responsibilities;
2.18 	(2) a research-based and results-oriented approach focused on best teaching practices 
2.19 	to increase student proficiency and growth as measured against state academic standards;
2.20 	(3) strategies to combine pedagogy and best teaching practices to better inform 
2.21 	teachers' classroom instruction;
2.22 	(4) assessment, supervision, and evaluation of the program participant to determine 
2.23 	the participant's specific needs throughout the program and to support the participant 
2.24 	in successfully completing the program;
2.25 	(5) formal instruction and intensive peer coaching during the school year that 
2.26 	provide structured guidance and regular ongoing support;
2.27 	(6) high-quality, sustained, intensive, and classroom-embedded staff development 
2.28 	opportunities conducted by a mentor or by a mentorship team that may include school 
2.29 	administrators, teachers, and postsecondary faculty members and are directed at improving 
2.30 	student learning and achievement; and
2.31 	(7) a requirement that program participants demonstrate satisfactory progress toward 
2.32 	receiving a standard entrance license from the Board of Teaching at the time the person's 
2.33 	provisional teacher license expires. 
2.34 		Subd. 3.Program approval. The Board of Teaching must approve alternative 
2.35 	teacher preparation programs under this section based on board-adopted criteria that reflect 
2.36 	best practices for alternative teacher preparation programs, consistent with this section. 
3.1 	The board must permit licensure candidates to demonstrate licensure competencies in 
3.2 	school-based settings and through other nontraditional licensure pathways.
3.3 		Subd. 4.Employment conditions. Conditions of employment for the provisionally 
3.4 	licensed teacher under this section shall be established as part of the agreement under 
3.5 	subdivision 1, paragraph (a), between the district and the teacher bargaining unit or the 
3.6 	charter school and its licensed staff.
3.7 		Subd. 5.Approval for standard entrance license. A local school site team that 
3.8 	may include school administrators, teachers, and postsecondary faculty members must 
3.9 	evaluate the performance of the teacher candidate using Minnesota Rules, part 8710.2000, 
3.10 	and submit to the board an evaluation report recommending whether or not to issue a 
3.11 	teacher candidate a standard entrance license.
3.12 		Subd. 6.Standard entrance license. The Board of Teaching may issue a standard 
3.13 	entrance license to a teacher candidate under this section who successfully performs 
3.14 	throughout the program and is recommended for licensure under subdivision 4.
3.15 		Subd. 7.Qualified teacher. A person with a valid provisional teacher license 
3.16 	under this section is the teacher of record and a qualified teacher within the meaning 
3.17 	of section 122A.16.
3.18 		Subd. 8.Reports. The Board of Teaching must submit an interim report on the 
3.19 	efficacy of this program to the kindergarten through grade 12 education policy and finance 
3.20 	committees of the legislature by February 15, 2013, and a final report by February 15, 
3.21 	2015.

3.22 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective for the 2011-2012 school year and 
3.23 	later.