Bill Text: MI HB5906 | 2013-2014 | 97th Legislature | Introduced

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Bill Title: Education; teachers; requirements for professional teaching certificate and requirements for alternative teaching certificate process; revise. Amends secs. 1531 & 1531i of 1976 PA 451 (MCL 380.1531 & 380.1531i).

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2014-11-12 - Printed Bill Filed 11/07/2014 [HB5906 Detail]

Download: Michigan-2013-HB5906-Introduced.html

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HOUSE BILL No. 5906

 

November 6, 2014, Introduced by Rep. Rogers and referred to the Committee on Education.

 

     A bill to amend 1976 PA 451, entitled

 

"The revised school code,"

 

by amending sections 1531 and 1531i (MCL 380.1531 and 380.1531i),

 

section 1531 as amended by 2007 PA 32 and section 1531i as added by

 

2009 PA 202.

 

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:

 

     Sec. 1531. (1) Except as provided in this act, the

 

superintendent of public instruction shall determine the

 

requirements for and issue all licenses and certificates for

 

teachers, including preprimary teachers, and the requirements for

 

an endorsement of teachers as qualified counselors and an

 

endorsement of teachers for teaching a foreign language in an

 

elementary grade in the public schools of the state.

 

     (2) Except as otherwise provided in this act, the

 

superintendent of public instruction shall only issue a teaching

 

certificate to a person who has passed appropriate examinations as

 

follows:

 

     (a) For a secondary level teaching certificate, has passed

 

both the basic skills examination and the appropriate available

 

subject area examination for each subject area in which he or she

 

applies to be certified.

 

     (b) For an elementary level teaching certificate, has passed

 

the basic skills examination and, if it is available, the

 

elementary certification examination, and has passed the

 

appropriate available subject area examination for each subject

 

area, if any, in which he or she applies to be certified.

 

     (3) Except as otherwise provided in this act, the

 

superintendent of public instruction shall issue a Michigan

 

teaching certificate to a person holding a certificate from another

 

state or a teaching degree from an out-of-state teacher preparation

 

institution who applies for a Michigan teaching certificate only if

 

the person passes appropriate examinations as follows:

 

     (a) For a secondary level teaching certificate, pass both the

 

basic skills examination and the appropriate available subject area

 

examination for each subject area in which he or she applies is

 

qualified to be certified. The superintendent of public instruction

 

may accept passage of an equivalent examination approved by the

 

superintendent of public instruction to meet 1 or both of these

 

requirements.

 

     (b) For an elementary level teaching certificate, pass the

 

basic skills examination and, if it is available, the elementary

 

certification examination, and pass the appropriate available

 

subject area examination for each subject area, if any, in which he

 

or she applies to be certified. The superintendent of public

 

instruction may accept passage of an equivalent examination

 

approved by the superintendent of public instruction to meet 1 or

 

more of these requirements.

 

     (4) Except as otherwise provided in this act, the

 

superintendent of public instruction shall only issue a teaching

 

certificate to a person who has met the elementary or secondary, as

 

applicable, reading credit requirements established under

 

superintendent of public instruction rule. If a person holds a

 

teaching certificate, then beginning July 1, 2009, notwithstanding

 

any rule to the contrary, the superintendent of public instruction

 

shall not advance the person's certification to professional

 

certification unless the person has successfully completed at least

 

a 3-credit course of study with appropriate field experiences in

 

the diagnosis and remediation of reading disabilities and

 

differentiated instruction. To meet this requirement, the course of

 

study should include the following elements, as determined by the

 

department to be appropriate for the person's certification level

 

and endorsements: interest inventories, English language learning

 

screening, visual and auditory discrimination tools, language

 

expression and processing screening, phonemics, phonics,

 

vocabulary, fluency, comprehension, spelling and writing assessment

 

tools, and instructional strategies. A person may complete the

 

course of study either as part of his or her teacher preparation

 

program or during the first 6 years of his or her employment in

 

classroom teaching.

 

     (5) Not later than January 11, 2002, the superintendent of

 

public instruction, in cooperation with appropriate curriculum

 

specialists and teacher educators, shall revise existing reading

 

standards to recognize reading disorders and to enable teachers to

 

make referrals for instruction and support for pupils with reading

 

disorders.

 

     (6) Subject to subsection (8), if a person holding a teaching

 

certificate from another state applies to the superintendent of

 

public instruction for a Michigan teaching certificate and meets

 

the requirements of this subsection, the superintendent of public

 

instruction shall issue to the person a Michigan professional

 

education teaching certificate and applicable endorsements

 

comparable to those the person holds in the other state, without

 

requiring the person to pass a basic skills examination or the

 

applicable subject area examination otherwise required under

 

subsection (2) or (3). To be eligible to receive a Michigan

 

professional education teaching certificate under this subsection,

 

a person shall provide evidence satisfactory to the department that

 

he or she meets all of the following requirements:

 

     (a) Has taught successfully for at least 3 years in a position

 

for which the person's teaching certification from the other state

 

was valid.

 

     (b) Has earned, after his or her initial certification in

 

another state, at least 18 semester credit hours in a planned

 

course of study at an institution of higher education approved by

 

the superintendent of public instruction or has earned, at any

 

time, a master's or doctoral degree approved by the superintendent

 

of public instruction.Has met ongoing professional learning

 

requirements established by the superintendent of public

 

instruction.

 

     (c) Has met the elementary or secondary, as applicable,

 

reading credit requirement established under superintendent of

 

public instruction rule.

 

     (7) A person who receives a teaching certificate and

 

endorsement or endorsements under subsection (6) is eligible to

 

receive 1 or more additional endorsements comparable to

 

endorsements the person holds in another state only if the person

 

passes the appropriate subject area examinations required under

 

subsection (2) or (3).

 

     (8) The superintendent of public instruction shall deny a

 

Michigan teaching certificate to a person described in subsection

 

(6) for fraud, material misrepresentation, or concealment in the

 

person's application for a certificate or for a conviction for

 

which a person's teaching certificate may be revoked under section

 

1535a.

 

     (9) The department, based upon criteria recommended pursuant

 

to subsection (11), shall provide to approved teacher education

 

institutions guidelines and criteria approved by the superintendent

 

of public instruction for use in the development or selection of a

 

basic skills examination and approved guidelines and criteria for

 

use in the development or selection of subject area examinations.

 

     (10) For the purposes of this section, the superintendent of

 

public instruction, based upon criteria recommended pursuant to

 

subsection (11), shall develop, select, or develop and select 1 or

 

more basic skills examinations and subject area examinations. In

 

addition, the superintendent of public instruction, based upon

 

criteria recommended pursuant to subsection (11), shall approve an

 

elementary certification examination and a reading subject area

 

examination.

 

     (11) The superintendent of public instruction shall appoint an

 

11-member teacher examination advisory committee comprised of

 

representatives of approved teacher education institutions and

 

Michigan education organizations and associations. Not more than

 

1/2 of the members comprising this committee shall be certified

 

teachers. This committee shall recommend criteria to be used by the

 

superintendent of public instruction in the development, selection,

 

or development and selection of 1 or more basic skills

 

examinations, and criteria to be used by the superintendent of

 

public instruction in the development, selection, or development

 

and selection of subject area examinations. In addition, the

 

committee shall recommend guidelines for the use and administration

 

of those examinations. The basic skills examinations referred to in

 

this subsection may be developed by the superintendent of public

 

instruction or selected by the superintendent of public instruction

 

from commercially or university developed examinations. In

 

addition, an approved teacher education institution, pursuant to

 

guidelines and criteria described in subsection (9), may develop an

 

examination at its own expense for approval by the superintendent

 

of public instruction. An approved teacher education institution

 

that develops its own examination is liable for any litigation that

 

results from the use of its examination.

 

     (12) The superintendent of public instruction shall appoint a

 

7-member standing technical advisory council comprised of persons

 

who are experts in measurement and assessment. This council shall

 

advise the superintendent of public instruction and the teacher

 

examination committee on the validity, reliability, and other

 

technical standards of the examinations that will be used or are

 

being used and of the administration and use of those examinations.

 

     (13) Not later than November 30 of each year, the

 

superintendent of public instruction shall submit in writing a

 

report on the development or selection and use of the basic skills

 

examination, the elementary certification examination, and the

 

subject area examinations to the house and senate education

 

committees. The report shall also contain a financial statement

 

regarding revenue received from the assessment of fees levied

 

pursuant to subsection (15) and the amount of and any purposes for

 

which that revenue was expended.

 

     (14) The basic skills examination, the elementary

 

certification examination, and the subject area examinations

 

required by this section may be taken at different times, during an

 

approved teacher preparation program, but the basic skills

 

examination must be passed before a person is enrolled for student

 

teaching admitted to an approved teacher preparation program and

 

the elementary certification examination and the subject area

 

examinations, as applicable, must be passed before a person is

 

recommended for certification.enrolled for student teaching.

 

     (15) The department, or if approved by the superintendent of

 

public instruction, a private testing service, may assess fees for

 

taking the basic skills examination, elementary certification

 

examination, and the subject area examinations. The fees, which

 

shall be set by the superintendent of public instruction, shall not

 

exceed $50.00 for a basic skills examination or $75.00 for an

 

elementary certification examination or a subject area examination.

 

However, if a subject area examination for vocational education

 

includes a performance examination, an additional fee may be

 

assessed for taking the performance examination, not to exceed the

 

actual cost of administering the performance examination. Fees

 

received by the department shall be expended solely for

 

administrative expenses that it incurs in implementing this

 

section.

 

     (16) If a person holding a teaching certificate from another

 

state applies for a Michigan teaching certificate and meets all

 

requirements for the Michigan teaching certificate except passage

 

of the appropriate examinations under subsection (3), the

 

superintendent of public instruction shall issue a nonrenewable

 

temporary teaching certificate, good for 1 year, to the person. The

 

superintendent of public instruction shall not issue a Michigan

 

teaching certificate to the person after expiration of the

 

temporary teaching certificate unless the person passes appropriate

 

examinations as described in subsection (3).

 

     (17) As used in this section:

 

     (a) "Basic skills examination" means an examination developed

 

or selected by the superintendent of public instruction or

 

developed pursuant to subsection (11) by an approved teacher

 

education institution for the purpose of demonstrating the

 

applicant's knowledge and understanding of basic language and

 

mathematical skills and other skills necessary for the certificate

 

sought, and for determining whether or not an applicant is eligible

 

for a provisional Michigan teaching certificate.

 

     (b) "Elementary certification examination" means a

 

comprehensive examination for elementary certification that has

 

been developed or selected by the superintendent of public

 

instruction for demonstrating the applicant's knowledge and

 

understanding of the core subjects normally taught in elementary

 

classrooms and for determining whether or not an applicant is

 

eligible for an elementary level teaching certificate.

 

     (c) "Subject area examination" means an examination related to

 

a specific area of certification, which examination has been

 

developed or selected by the superintendent of public instruction

 

for the purpose of demonstrating the applicant's knowledge and

 

understanding of the subject matter and determining whether or not

 

an applicant is eligible for a Michigan teaching certificate.

 

     (18) The superintendent of public instruction shall promulgate

 

rules for the implementation of this section.

 

     (19) Notwithstanding any rule to the contrary, the

 

superintendent of public instruction shall continue to issue state

 

elementary or secondary continuing education certificates pursuant

 

to R 390.1132(1) of the Michigan administrative code to persons who

 

completed the requirements of that rule by December 31, 1992 and

 

who apply for that certificate not later than March 15, 1994. If

 

the superintendent of public instruction has issued a state

 

elementary or secondary professional education certificate to a

 

person described in this section, the superintendent of public

 

instruction shall consider the person to have a state elementary or

 

secondary, as applicable, continuing education certificate.

 

     Sec. 1531i. (1) The superintendent of public instruction shall

 

establish a an alternative teaching certificate process for a

 

person to earn an interim teaching certificate under this section

 

that qualifies the person to teach in the public schools and to

 

earn a Michigan teaching certificate using the process under this

 

section. The process shall meet all applicable requirements for an

 

alternative teaching certification process under the no child left

 

behind act of 2001, Public Law 107-110. The process shall not allow

 

for an interim teaching certificate for special education.

 

     (2) The process established under subsection (1) shall provide

 

that the superintendent of public instruction will grant an interim

 

teaching certificate to a person who meets all of the following:

 

     (a) Is a participant in an alternative teaching program that

 

is approved by the superintendent of public instruction. To be

 

approved, a program provider shall demonstrate to the satisfaction

 

of the superintendent of public instruction that it meets all of

 

the following:

 

     (i) Provides for its participants an intensive training program

 

in teaching that is determined by the superintendent of public

 

instruction to constitute the equivalent of at least 12 college

 

credit hours and that includes training in at least all of the

 

following subject areas:

 

     (A) Child development or child psychology.

 

     (B) Family and community relationships.

 

     (C) Diverse learners.

 

     (D) Instructional strategies.

 

     (E) A form of field-based experience in a classroom setting.

 

     (ii) Has a proven record of producing successful teachers in 1

 

or more other states or is modeled after a program that has a

 

proven record of producing successful teachers in 1 or more other

 

states.

 

     (iii) Accepts for participation only persons who meet the

 

requirements of subdivision (b).

 

     (b) Holds a bachelor's, master's, doctorate, or professional

 

degree from a regionally accredited college or university with a

 

grade point average of at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scale or the

 

equivalent on another scale, as determined by the superintendent of

 

public instruction.

 

     (c) Passes both the basic skills examination and the

 

appropriate available subject area examination for each subject

 

area in which he or she applies to be certified.

 

     (3) A person earning a provisional certificate under this

 

section will be subject to provisions of administrative rules

 

governing teachers, as established by the superintendent of public

 

instruction.

 

     (4) A person who possesses an interim teaching certificate

 

under this section may be employed to teach in a public school in

 

the same manner as a person holding a Michigan teaching certificate

 

issued under section 1531 if all of the following requirements are

 

met:

 

     (a) While the person is teaching under an interim teaching

 

certificate, the school district or public school academy in which

 

the person is teaching provides intensive observation and coaching

 

in a manner and to the extent prescribed by the superintendent of

 

public instruction.

 

     (b) The person is making satisfactory progress toward meeting

 

the requirements for being awarded a Michigan teaching certificate

 

under section 1531, as established by the superintendent of public

 

instruction under subsection (5).

 

     (5) The superintendent of public instruction shall develop

 

standards for granting a person a Michigan teaching certificate

 

issued under section 1531 after the person has demonstrated

 

satisfactory teaching performance for 3 years under an interim

 

teaching certificate successfully completed the alternative

 

teaching program and has met the requirements established by the

 

superintendent of public instruction for a Michigan teaching

 

certificate.

 

     (6) The superintendent of public instruction shall promulgate

 

rules that he or she considers necessary to implement this section.

 

     (7) As used in this section, "basic skills examination",

 

"elementary certification examination", and "subject area

 

examination" mean those terms as defined in section 1531.