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Chapter 122A

Section 122A.18

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122A.18 BOARD TO ISSUE LICENSES.

Subdivision 1.Authority to license.

(a) The Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board must issue the following teacher licenses to candidates who meet the qualifications prescribed by this chapter:

(1) Tier 1 license under section 122A.181;

(2) Tier 2 license under section 122A.182;

(3) Tier 3 license under section 122A.183; and

(4) Tier 4 license under section 122A.184.

(b) The Board of School Administrators must license supervisory personnel as defined in section 122A.15, subdivision 2, except for athletic coaches.

(c) The Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board and the Department of Education must enter into a data sharing agreement to share:

(1) educational data at the E-12 level for the limited purpose of program approval and improvement for teacher education programs. The program approval process must include targeted redesign of teacher preparation programs to address identified E-12 student areas of concern; and

(2) data in the staff automated reporting system for the limited purpose of managing and processing funding to school districts and other entities.

(d) The Board of School Administrators and the Department of Education must enter into a data sharing agreement to share educational data at the E-12 level for the limited purpose of program approval and improvement for education administration programs. The program approval process must include targeted redesign of education administration preparation programs to address identified E-12 student areas of concern.

(e) For purposes of the data sharing agreements under paragraphs (c) and (d), the Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board, Board of School Administrators, and Department of Education may share private data, as defined in section 13.02, subdivision 12, on teachers and school administrators. The data sharing agreements must not include educational data, as defined in section 13.32, subdivision 1, but may include summary data, as defined in section 13.02, subdivision 19, derived from educational data.

[See Note.]

Subd. 2. Support personnel qualifications.

The Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board must issue licenses and credentials under its jurisdiction to persons the board finds to be qualified and competent for support personnel positions in accordance with section 120B.36.

[See Note.]

Subd. 2a.Reading strategies.

(a) All colleges and universities approved by the Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board to prepare persons for classroom teacher licensure must include in their teacher preparation programs research-based best practices in reading, consistent with section 122A.06, subdivision 4, that enable the licensure candidate to know how to teach reading in the candidate's content areas. Teacher candidates must be instructed in using students' native languages as a resource in creating effective differentiated instructional strategies for English learners developing literacy skills. These colleges and universities also must prepare early childhood and elementary teacher candidates for professional five-year teaching licenses for the portion of the examination under section 122A.09, subdivision 4, paragraph (e), covering assessment of reading instruction.

(b) Board-approved teacher preparation programs for teachers of elementary education must require instruction in applying comprehensive, scientifically based, and balanced reading instruction programs that:

(1) teach students to read using foundational knowledge, practices, and strategies consistent with section 122A.06, subdivision 4, so that all students achieve continuous progress in reading; and

(2) teach specialized instruction in reading strategies, interventions, and remediations that enable students of all ages and proficiency levels to become proficient readers.

(c) Nothing in this section limits the authority of a school district to select a school's reading program or curriculum.

[See Note.]

Subd. 2b.Reading specialist.

The Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board must adopt rules providing for reading teacher licensure.

[See Note.]

Subd. 3.Supervisory and coach qualifications; code of ethics.

The commissioner of education must issue licenses under its jurisdiction to persons the commissioner finds to be qualified and competent for their respective positions under the rules it adopts. The commissioner of education may develop, by rule, a code of ethics for supervisory personnel covering standards of professional practices, including areas of ethical conduct and professional performance and methods of enforcement.

[See Note.]

Subd. 3a.Technology strategies.

All colleges and universities approved by the Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board to prepare persons for classroom teacher licensure must include in their teacher preparation programs the knowledge and skills teacher candidates need to deliver digital and blended learning and curriculum and engage students with technology.

[See Note.]

Subd. 4.Expiration and renewal.

(a) Each license the Department of Education issues through its licensing section must bear the date of issue and the name of the state-approved teacher training provider. Licenses must expire and be renewed according to the respective rules the Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board, the Board of School Administrators, or the commissioner of education adopts. Requirements for renewing a license must include showing satisfactory evidence of successful teaching or administrative experience for at least one school year during the period covered by the license in grades or subjects for which the license is valid or completing such additional preparation as the Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board prescribes. The Board of School Administrators shall establish requirements for renewing the licenses of supervisory personnel except athletic coaches. The Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board shall establish requirements for renewing the licenses of athletic coaches.

(b) Applicants for license renewal who have been employed as a teacher during the renewal period of their expiring license, as a condition of license renewal, must present to their local continuing education and relicensure committee or other local relicensure committee evidence of work that demonstrates professional reflection and growth in best teaching practices, including among other things, practices in meeting the varied needs of English learners, from young children to adults under section 124D.59, subdivisions 2 and 2a. The applicant must include a reflective statement of professional accomplishment and the applicant's own assessment of professional growth showing evidence of:

(1) support for student learning;

(2) use of best practices techniques and their applications to student learning;

(3) collaborative work with colleagues that includes examples of collegiality such as attested-to committee work, collaborative staff development programs, and professional learning community work; or

(4) continual professional development that may include (i) job-embedded or other ongoing formal professional learning or (ii) for teachers employed for only part of the renewal period of their expiring license, other similar professional development efforts made during the relicensure period.

The Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board must ensure that its teacher relicensing requirements also include this paragraph.

(c) The Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board shall offer alternative options for license renewal for teachers who are accepted into and complete the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards certification process, and offer additional continuing relicensure options for teachers who earn National Board for Professional Teaching Standards certification. Continuing relicensure requirements for teachers who do not maintain National Board for Professional Teaching Standards certification are those the board prescribes, consistent with this section.

[See Note.]

Subd. 4a.Limited provisional licenses.

The board may grant two-year provisional licenses to licensure candidates in a field in which they were not previously licensed or in a field in which a shortage of licensed teachers exists. A shortage is defined as an inadequate supply of licensed personnel in a given licensure area as determined by the commissioner.

Subd. 5.

[Repealed by amendment, 2016 c 189 art 24 s 3]

Subd. 6.Human relations.

The Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board shall accept training programs completed through Peace Corps, VISTA, or Teacher Corps in lieu of completing the human relations component of the training program for purposes of issuing or renewing a teaching license.

[See Note.]

Subd. 7.Limited provisional licenses.

The Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board may grant provisional licenses, which shall be valid for two years, in fields in which licenses were not issued previously or in fields in which a shortage of licensed teachers exists. A shortage is defined as a lack of or an inadequate supply of licensed personnel within a given licensure area in a school district that has notified the Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board of the shortage and has applied to the Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board for provisional licenses for that district's licensed staff.

[See Note.]

Subd. 7a.Permission to substitute teach.

(a) The Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board may allow a person who otherwise qualifies for a Tier 1 license in accordance with section 122A.181, subdivision 2, or is enrolled in and making satisfactory progress in a board-approved teacher program and who has successfully completed student teaching to be employed as a short-call substitute teacher.

(b) The Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board may issue a lifetime qualified short-call or long-call substitute teaching license to a person who:

(1) was a qualified teacher under section 122A.16 while holding a Tier 3 or Tier 4 teaching license issued by the board, under sections 122A.183 and 122A.184, respectively, and receives a retirement annuity from the Teachers Retirement Association or the St. Paul Teachers Retirement Fund Association;

(2) holds an out-of-state teaching license and receives a retirement annuity as a result of the person's teaching experience; or

(3) held a Tier 3 or Tier 4 teaching license issued by the board, under sections 122A.183 and 122A.184, respectively, taught at least three school years in an accredited nonpublic school in Minnesota, and receives a retirement annuity as a result of the person's teaching experience.

A person holding a lifetime qualified short-call or long-call substitute teaching license is not required to complete continuing education clock hours. A person holding this license may reapply to the board for either:

(i) a Tier 3 or Tier 4 teaching license under sections 122A.183 and 122A.184, respectively, and must again complete continuing education clock hours one school year after receiving the Tier 3 or Tier 4 teaching license; or

(ii) a Tier 1 license under section 122A.181, provided that the candidate has a bachelor's degree, an associate's degree, or an appropriate professional credential in the content area the candidate will teach, in accordance with section 122A.181, subdivision 2.

[See Note.]

Subd. 7b.Temporary limited licenses; personnel variances.

(a) The Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board must accept applications for a temporary limited teaching license beginning July 1 of the school year for which the license is requested and must issue or deny the temporary limited teaching license within 30 days of receiving the complete application.

(b) The Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board must accept applications for a personnel variance beginning July 1 of the school year for which the variance is requested and must issue or deny the personnel variance within 30 days of receiving the complete application.

[See Note.]

Subd. 7c.Temporary military license.

The Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board shall establish a temporary license in accordance with section 197.4552 for teaching. The fee for a temporary license under this subdivision shall be $87.90 for an online application or $86.40 for a paper application. The board must provide candidates for a license under this subdivision with information regarding the tiered licensure system provided in sections 122A.18 to 122A.184.

[See Note.]

Subd. 8.Background checks.

(a) The Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board and the Board of School Administrators must request a criminal history background check from the superintendent of the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension on all first-time teaching applicants for licenses under their jurisdiction. Applicants must include with their licensure applications:

(1) an executed criminal history consent form, including fingerprints; and

(2) a money order or cashier's check payable to the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension for the fee for conducting the criminal history background check.

(b) The superintendent of the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension shall perform the background check required under paragraph (a) by retrieving criminal history data as defined in section 13.87 and shall also conduct a search of the national criminal records repository. The superintendent is authorized to exchange fingerprints with the Federal Bureau of Investigation for purposes of the criminal history check. The superintendent shall recover the cost to the bureau of a background check through the fee charged to the applicant under paragraph (a).

(c) The Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board or the Board of School Administrators may issue a license pending completion of a background check under this subdivision, but must notify the individual and the school district or charter school employing the individual that the individual's license may be revoked based on the result of the background check.

[See Note.]

Subd. 9.

[Repealed, 2012 c 239 art 2 s 21]

Subd. 10.Licensure via portfolio.

(a) The Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board must adopt rules establishing a process for an eligible candidate to obtain any teacher license under subdivision 1, or to add a licensure field, via portfolio. The portfolio licensure application process must be consistent with the requirements in this subdivision.

(b) A candidate for a license must submit to the board one portfolio demonstrating pedagogical competence and one portfolio demonstrating content competence.

(c) A candidate seeking to add a licensure field must submit to the board one portfolio demonstrating content competence for each licensure field the candidate seeks to add.

(d) The board must notify a candidate who submits a portfolio under paragraph (b) or (c) within 90 calendar days after the portfolio is received whether or not the portfolio is approved. If the portfolio is not approved, the board must immediately inform the candidate how to revise the portfolio to successfully demonstrate the requisite competence. The candidate may resubmit a revised portfolio at any time and the board must approve or disapprove the revised portfolio within 60 calendar days of receiving it.

(e) A candidate must pay to the board a $300 fee for the first portfolio submitted for review and a $200 fee for any portfolio submitted subsequently. The revenue generated from the fee must be deposited in an education licensure portfolio account in the special revenue fund. The fees are nonrefundable for applicants not qualifying for a license. The board may waive or reduce fees for candidates based on financial need.

[See Note.]

NOTE: The amendments to subdivisions 1, 2, 2b, 7a, 7c, and 8 by Laws 2017, First Special Session chapter 5, article 3, sections 3 to 8, are effective July 1, 2018. Laws 2017, First Special Session chapter 5, article 3, sections 3 to 8, the effective dates.

NOTE: Subdivisions 2a, 3, 3a, 4, 4a, 6, 7, and 7b are repealed by Laws 2017, First Special Session chapter 5, article 3, section 36, paragraph (b), effective July 1, 2018. Laws 2017, First special Session chapter 5, article 3,section 36, paragraph (b).

NOTE: Subdivision 7c was also amended by Laws 2017, First Special Session chapter 5, article 11, section 3, effective July 1, 2019, to read as follows:

"Subd. 7c.Temporary military license.

The Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board shall establish a temporary license in accordance with section 197.4552 for teaching. The fee for a temporary license under this subdivision shall be $87.90 for an online application or $86.40 for a paper application. The board must deposit the fees received from applicants in the educator licensure account in the special revenue fund. The board must provide candidates for a license under this subdivision with information regarding the tiered licensure system provided in sections 122A.18 to 122A.184."

NOTE: Subdivision 8 was also amended by Laws 2017, First Special Session chapter 5, article 11, section 4, effective July 1, 2019, to read as follows:

"Subd. 8.Background checks.

(a) The Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board and the Board of School Administrators must request a criminal history background check from the superintendent of the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension on all first-time teaching applicants for licenses under their jurisdiction. Applicants must include with their licensure applications:

(1) an executed criminal history consent form, including fingerprints; and

(2) payment to conduct the criminal history background check. The Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board and the commissioner of education must deposit payments received under this subdivision in the educator licensure background check account in the special revenue fund.

(b) The superintendent of the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension shall perform the background check required under paragraph (a) by retrieving criminal history data as defined in section 13.87 and shall also conduct a search of the national criminal records repository. The superintendent is authorized to exchange fingerprints with the Federal Bureau of Investigation for purposes of the criminal history check. The superintendent shall recover the cost to the bureau of a background check through the fee charged to the applicant under paragraph (a).

(c) The Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board or the Board of School Administrators may issue a license pending completion of a background check under this subdivision, but must notify the individual and the school district or charter school employing the individual that the individual's license may be revoked based on the result of the background check."

NOTE: Subdivision 10, as added by Laws 2017, First Special Session chapter 5, article 3, section 9, is effective July 1, 2018. Laws 2017, First Special Session chapter 5, article 3, section 9, the effective date.

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Revisor of Statutes