1997 Minnesota Statutes

     125.230 Teaching residency program. 

    Subdivision 1.    Establishment.  A school district with 
 a teaching residency plan approved by the board of teaching may 
 hire graduates of approved Minnesota teacher preparation 
 programs as teaching residents.  A district shall employ each 
 resident for one school year.  The district and the resident may 
 agree to extend the residency for one additional school year.  A 
 school may employ no more than one teaching resident for every 
 eight full-time equivalent licensed teachers.  No more than 600 
 eligible teachers may be employed as teacher residents in any 
 one school year. 

    Subd. 2.    Teacher eligibility.  Persons eligible to be 
 hired as teaching residents must have received their initial 
 license no more than two years prior to applying for a residency 
 and must have less than nine months of full-time equivalency 
 teaching experience as a licensed teacher. 

    Subd. 3.    Program components.  In order to be approved 
 by the board of teaching, a school district's residency program 
 must at minimum include: 

    (1) training to prepare teachers to serve as mentors to 
 teaching residents; 

    (2) a team mentorship approach to expose teaching residents 
 to a variety of teaching methods, philosophies, and classroom 
 environments; 

    (3) ongoing peer coaching and assessment; 

    (4) assistance to the teaching resident in preparing an 
 individual professional development plan that includes goals, 
 activities, and assessment methodologies; and 

    (5) collaboration with one or more teacher education 
 institutions, career teachers, and other community experts to 
 provide local or regional professional development seminars or 
 other structured learning experiences for teaching residents. 

    A teaching resident's direct classroom supervision 
 responsibilities shall not exceed 80 percent of the 
 instructional time required of a full-time equivalent teacher in 
 the district.  During the time a resident does not supervise a 
 class, the resident shall participate in professional 
 development activities according to the individual plan 
 developed by the resident in conjunction with the school's 
 mentoring team.  Examples of development activities include 
 observing other teachers, sharing experiences with other 
 teaching residents, and professional meetings and workshops. 

    Subd. 4.    Employment conditions.  A school district 
 shall pay a teaching resident a salary equal to 75 percent of 
 the salary of a first-year teacher with a bachelor's degree in 
 the district.  The resident shall be a member of the local 
 bargaining unit and shall be covered under the terms of the 
 contract, except for salary and benefits, unless otherwise 
 provided in this subdivision.  The school district shall provide 
 health insurance coverage for the resident if the district 
 provides it for teachers, and may provide other benefits upon 
 negotiated agreement. 

    Subd. 5.    Applies toward probationary period.  A 
 teaching residency shall count as one year of a teacher's 
 probationary period under section 125.12, subdivision 3, or 
 section 125.17, subdivision 2.  A residency extended for one 
 year shall not count as an additional year under this 
 subdivision. 

    Subd. 6.    Learning and development revenue eligibility. 
  A school district with an approved teaching residency program 
 may use learning and development revenue for each teaching 
 resident in kindergarten through grade six.  A district also may 
 use the revenue for a paraprofessional who is a person of color 
 enrolled in an approved teacher preparation program.  A school 
 district shall not use a teaching resident to replace an 
 existing teaching position unless: 

    (1) there is no teacher available who is properly licensed 
 to fill the vacancy, who has been placed on unrequested leave of 
 absence in the district, and who wishes to be reinstated; and 

    (2) the district's collective bargaining agreement includes 
 a memorandum of understanding that permits teaching residents to 
 fill an existing teaching position. 

    Subd. 7.    Recommendation for licensure requirements.  
 (a) The board of teaching shall develop for teachers of students 
 in prekindergarten through grade 12, model teaching residency 
 outcomes and assessments, and mentoring programs. 

    (b) The board of teaching shall report to the education 
 committees of the legislature by February 15, 1994, on 
 developing a residency program as part of teacher licensure.  
 The report shall at least discuss: 

    (1) whether a teacher residency program should be a 
 prerequisite to obtaining an initial teaching license or a 
 continuing teacher license; 

    (2) the number of teacher residency positions available 
 statewide by school district; 

    (3) how a teacher residency program and a mentorship 
 program for school teachers can be structured; 

    (4) whether additional state funding for teacher residency 
 programs is required; 

    (5) the interrelationship between existing teacher 
 preparation programs and a teacher residency program; 

    (6) issues related to implementing a teacher residency 
 program, including a timeline for implementing the program; and 

    (7) how a teacher residency program may impact upon a 
 teacher licensed in another state who seeks a teaching position 
 in Minnesota. 

    HIST: 1993 c 224 art 7 s 20; 1994 c 647 art 7 s 6-8