2006 Minnesota Statutes

122A.24 ALTERNATIVE PREPARATION LICENSING FOR TEACHERS.
    Subdivision 1. Requirements. (a) A preparation program that is an alternative to the
postsecondary teacher preparation program as a means to acquire an entrance license is
established. The program may be offered in any instructional field.
(b) To participate in the alternative preparation program, the candidate must:
(1) have a bachelor's degree;
(2) pass an examination of skills in reading, writing, and mathematics as required by section
122A.18;
(3) have been offered a job to teach in a school district, group of districts, or an education
district approved by the Board of Teaching to offer an alternative preparation licensure program;
(4)(i) have a college major in the subject area to be taught; or
(ii) have five years of experience in a field related to the subject to be taught; and
(5) document successful experiences working with children.
(c) An alternative preparation license is of one year duration and is issued by the Board of
Teaching to participants on admission to the alternative preparation program.
(d) The Board of Teaching must ensure that one of the purposes of this program is to enhance
the school desegregation/integration policies adopted by the state.
    Subd. 2. Characteristics. The alternative preparation program has the following
characteristics:
(1) staff development conducted by a resident mentorship team made up of administrators,
teachers, and postsecondary faculty members;
(2) an instruction phase involving intensive preparation of a candidate for licensure before
the candidate assumes responsibility for a classroom;
(3) formal instruction and peer coaching during the school year;
(4) assessment, supervision, and evaluation of a candidate to determine the candidate's
specific needs and to ensure satisfactory completion of the program;
(5) a research based and results oriented approach focused on skills teachers need to be
effective;
(6) assurance of integration of education theory and classroom practices; and
(7) the shared design and delivery of staff development between school district personnel
and postsecondary faculty.
    Subd. 3. Program approval. (a) The Board of Teaching must approve alternative preparation
programs based on criteria adopted by the board.
(b) The board shall permit demonstration of licensure competencies in school-based and
other nontraditional pathways to teacher licensure.
    Subd. 4. Approval for standard entrance license. The resident mentorship team must
prepare for the Board of Teaching an evaluation report on the performance of the alternative
preparation licensee during the school year and a positive or negative recommendation on whether
the alternative preparation licensee shall receive a standard entrance license.
    Subd. 5. Standard entrance license. The Board of Teaching must issue a standard entrance
license to an alternative preparation licensee who has successfully completed the school year in
the alternative preparation program and who has received a positive recommendation from the
licensee's mentorship team.
    Subd. 6. Qualified teacher. A person with a valid alternative preparation license is a
qualified teacher within the meaning of section 122A.16.
History: 1990 c 562 art 7 s 7; 1993 c 337 s 7; 1994 c 647 art 8 s 18; 1998 c 397 art 8 s
67-69,101; art 11 s 3; 1Sp2001 c 6 art 2 s 8