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H.F. No. 140 - Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board (First Unofficial Engrossment)
 
Author: Senator Eric R. Pratt
 
Prepared By: Ann Marie Lewis, Senate Counsel (651/296-5301)
 
Date: April 21, 2017



 

Article 1 - Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board

Section 1.  Teacher.  Substitutes the Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board (PELSB) for the Board of Teaching.

Section 2.  Board.  Substitutes the PELSB for the Board of Teaching.

Section 3.  Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board Membership.

Subdivision 1.  Appointment of members.  Establishes a nine-member board appointed by the Governor. 

Subd. 2.  Eligibility; board composition.  Requires the board to be comprised of the following members:

  1. Five teachers, at least one of whom teaches in a charter school, one from a related service category licensed by the board, and one of whom is licensed in a geographic or license shortage area.  None of the teacher representatives may be serving in an administrative function or any position with the exclusive bargaining representative of teachers;

  2. One superintendent;

  3. One school district human resources director;

  4. One elementary or secondary school principal; and

  5. One member of the public that may be a current or former school board member.

Subd. 2a.  First appointments.  (a) Directs the governor to nominate all board members.  Establishes the initial terms of the board members.

(b) Declares current members of the Board of Teaching ineligible for first appointments to the PELSB for four years.

Subd. 4.  Terms, compensation; removal; vacancies.  Establishes chapter 214 as the controlling law for provisions related to board operations if they are not provided for in this chapter.

Subd. 4a.  Administration.  (a) Directs the board to appoint an executive director of the PELSB and review the director and set their salary. 

(b) Establishes the executive director as the chief administrative office for the board.  

(c) Requires the Department of Administration to provide administrative support services according to Minnesota Statutes, section 16B.371.

(d) Requires the Department of Education to provide offices and other space at no cost until January 1, 2020.  After that date, allows the board to contract with the Department of Education or the Department of Administration for offices and other space. 

Effective Date. Makes the section effective September 1, 2017. 

Section 4.  Meetings.  Substitutes the PELSB for the Board of Teaching. Requires the executive director to fulfill the duties of section 122A.09, subdivision 9. 

Effective Date. Makes the section effective September 1, 2017. 

Section 5.  Code of ethics.   Substitutes the PELSB for the Board of Teaching. 

Effective Date.  Makes the section effective July 1, 2018. 

Section 6.  Advise members of profession.  Substitutes the PELSB for the Board of Teaching. 

Effective Date.  Makes the section effective July 1, 2018. 

Section 7.  Election of chair and officers.  Substitutes the PELSB for the Board of Teaching. 

Effective Date. Makes the section effective September 1, 2017. 

Section 8.  Licensing.  (a) Requires the PELSB to license teachers except for supervisory personnel.  Prohibits the board from delegating its licensing authority.  Directs the board to evaluate candidates for compliance with licensure requirements and to develop licensure verification requirements. 

(b) Directs the board to adopt rules to establish a passing score on a board-adopted skills examination for a tier 2, 3, or 4 teaching license. 

(c) Directs the board to adopt rules to approve teacher preparation programs, alternative teacher preparation programs, and Montessori teacher training programs.

(e) Directs the board to adopt rules establishing a passing score on pedagogy and licensure-specific teaching skills exams for Tier 2, 3, or 4 teaching licenses. 

(g) Provides licensure renewal requirements for Tier 3 and 4 teacher licensure candidates. 

(j) Strikes the provision for life licenses. 

(n) Strikes a requirement for the Board of Teaching to adopt rules related to applicants trained in other states and in alternative teaching licensure programs. 

Effective Date.  Makes the section effective July 1, 2018. 

Section 9.  Teacher and administrator preparation and performance data; report.  Substitutes the PELSB for the Board of Teaching. Requires the teacher and administrator preparation program survey results on student and graduate satisfaction to be disaggregated by race, except when disaggregation would reveal personally identifiable information or would not yield statistically reliable results. 

Effective Date. Makes the section effective September 1, 2017. 

Section 10.  Register of persons licensed.  Substitutes the PELSB for the Board of Teaching. 

Effective Date. Makes the section effective September 1, 2017. 

Section 11.  Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board money.  Substitutes the PELSB for the Board of Teaching. 

Effective Date.  Makes the section effective immediately. 

Section 12.  Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board must adopt rules.  (a) Requires the board to adopt rules to implement certain sections. 

(b) Declares that session law or statute prevail when a rule is in conflict with a session law or statute.  Requires terms adopted in rule to be clearly defined and not construed to conflict with terms adopted in statute or session law. 

(c) Direct the board to describe a proposed rule's effect on teacher supply and demand.

Effective Date.  Makes the section effective July 1, 2018. 

Section 13.  Permissions.  Substitutes the PELSB for the Board of Teaching.  Strikes language relating to one-year professional licenses for Montessori trained teachers teaching in a Montessori program. Strikes language relating to one-year waivers for certain career and technical education teachers.  Allows a candidate that has a career and technical education certification to apply for a tier 1 license. 

Effective Date. Makes the section effective July 1, 2018. 

Section 14.  District Verification of Teacher Licenses.  Substitutes the PELSB for the Department. 

Effective Date.  Makes the section effective September 1, 2017. 

Section 15.  Survey of districts.  Ends the Commissioner’s survey of school districts and teacher preparation programs in 2020. 

Section 16. Services provided. Strikes language relating to the Commissioner providing services to the Board of Teaching. 

Effective Date. Makes the section effective July 1, 2018. 

Section 17.  Officers; staff.  Strikes the Board of Teaching’s executive secretary from the list of board executive secretaries or executive director excluded from serving in the unclassified civil service. 

Effective Date. Makes the section effective September 1, 2017. 

Section 18. Coordination with Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board. Substitutes the PELSB for the Board of Teaching. 

Effective Date. Makes the section effective September 1, 2017. 

Section 19.  Transfer of Powers.  (a) Transfers the responsibilities of the Board of Teaching and the Department of Education related to licensure and credentialing of teachers to the Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board. Transfers all classified and unclassified positions associated with the transferred responsibilities to the PELSB. 

(b) Transfers the responsibilities of the Department of Education related to licensure of school administrators to the Board of School Administrators. 

(c) Requires the PELSB to review all Board of Teaching rules and amend or repeal the rules not consistent with statute.  Requires the PELSB to review all teacher preparation programs approved by the Board of Teaching. 

Effective Date. Makes the section effective September 1, 2017. 

Section 20.  First Appointments.  Requires the governor to make the first appointment to the board by September 1, 2017, for terms that begin January 1, 2018.

Section 21.  Implementation Report.  Directs the PELSB to report to the legislature on the implementation of the teacher licensure system. 

Effective Date. Makes the section effective September 1, 2017. 

Section 22.  Revisor Instruction.  Directs the revisor to substitute the term “Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board” for “Board of Teaching” in Minnesota statutes and rules. 

Article 2 - Licensure

Section 1.  Validity of Certificates or Licenses.  Allows all teacher licenses in effect on September 1, 2017 to remain valid for an additional year after the scheduled expiration date. 

Effective Date. Makes the section effective September 1, 2017.

Section 2.  Authority to license.  Substitutes the PELSB for the Board of Teaching. Strikes language authorizing the Commissioner of Education to issue licenses under the jurisdiction of the Board of Teaching and the Board of School Administrators. 

Effective Date. Makes the section effective September 1, 2017. 

Section 3.  Support personnel qualifications.  (a) Substitutes the PELSB for the Board of Teaching. 

(b) Directs the board to adopt rules to establish a passing score on a board-adopted skills examination for a tier 2, 3, or 4 teaching license. 

(c) Strikes reference to the board granting professional five-year licenses. 

Effective Date. Makes the section effective July 1, 2018. 

Section 4.  Reading specialist.  Substitutes the PELSB for the Board of Teaching. 

Effective Date. Makes the section effective July 1, 2018. 

Section 5.  Supervisory and coach qualifications; code of ethics.  Substitutes the PELSB for the commissioner of education. 

Effective Date. Makes the section effective July 1, 2018. 

Section 6.  Technology Strategies. Strikes a reference to the Board of Teaching to be the board. 

Effective Date. Makes the section effective September 1, 2017. 

Section 7.  Permission to substitute teach.  Substitutes the PELSB for the Board of Teaching. Allows a retired teacher who held a Tier 3 or 4 teaching license to receive a lifetime qualified short-call or long-call substitute teaching license.  Allows a person holding this lifetime license to reapply to the board for a Tier 1, Tier 3 or Tier 4 license. 

Effective Date. Makes the section effective July 1, 2018. 

Section 8.  Temporary military license.  Substitutes the PELSB for the Board of Teaching. Directs the board to provide candidates with information about the tiered licensure system. 

Effective Date. Makes the section effective July 1, 2018. 

Section 9.  Background checks.  Substitutes the PELSB for the Board of Teaching. Substitutes the Board of School Administrators for the Commissioner of Education.  Requires a candidate that has their license revoked due to the background check results to notify their employing school district or charter school that their license has been revoked. 

Effective Date. Makes the section effective July 1, 2018. 

Section 10.  Tiered Licensure System.

Subdivision 1.  Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board to issue licenses.  (a) Directs the PELSB to license teachers.  Declares that the tiered licensure system supersedes the current teacher licensure system. 

(b) Requires the board to issue licenses to qualified candidates. 

Subd. 2.  Licensure tiers.  Establishes a table tor the tiered licensure system.  Provides for four tiers and their respective qualifications, durations and renewal limits. 

Subd. 3.  Assessment Alternatives.  Allows a Tier 3 or Tier 4 licensure candidate who, after two attempts, has not passed the skill examination to demonstrate that they have the required skills by either completing a portfolio or teaching for three years in a Minnesota school and having received a summative evaluation and showing satisfactory evidence of successful teaching. 

Effective Date. Makes the section effective July 1, 2018. 

Section 11.  Expiration and Renewal.

Subdivision 1.  License form requirements.  Requires each license to have the date of issue and the name of the teacher preparation provider on it. Establishes renewal requirements for Tier 3 or Tier 4 licensees to show satisfactory evidence of successful teaching or administrative experience for at least one school year in the grades or subjects for which the license is valid or completing additional preparation.  

Subd. 2.  Professional Growth.  (a) Requires Tier 3 or Tier 4 license holders, as a condition of renewal, to demonstrate to the PELSB evidence of professional reflection and growth in best teaching practices, including practices in meeting the needs of English learners. 

(b) Requires the PELSB requirements for license renewal to include the items in paragraph (a). 

Effective Date. Makes the section effective July 1, 2018. 

Section 12.  Licensure Denial; Appeal.

Subdivision 1.  Denial letter. (a) Requires the PELSB to inform licensure candidates within 30 days on whether their initial application or renewal of a teaching license has been approved or denied.  A denial letter must inform the candidate of the process for seeking review of the denial and of the appeals process.  

(b) Defines “denial” as denial of an initial license or a denial of a renewal license. 

Subd. 2.  Review of denial.  Establishes a process for the PELSB to review a candidate’s application.  Allows the board 60 days from the date the request for review is received to review the denial.  

Subd. 3.  Appeal.  Allows a candidate whose application for license or license renewal has been denied to appeal the decision by filing a written request with the PELSB.  

Section 13.  Bilingual and English as a second language licenses. Substitutes the PELSB for the Board of Teaching. Provides a reference to the tiered licensure section. 

Effective Date. Makes the section effective July 1, 2018. 

Section 14.  Suspension or revocation of licenses.  Substitutes the PELSB for the Board of Teaching. 

Effective Date. Makes the section effective July 1, 2018. 

Section 15.  Licensure via portfolio.  Substitutes the PELSB for the Board of Teaching. Requires a candidate to submit one portfolio demonstrating pedagogical competence and one portfolio demonstrating content competence. If the candidate is adding a licensure field, they are required to submit one portfolio for each field they seek to add. 

Section 16.  Teacher licensure agreements with adjoining states. S ubstitutes the PELSB for the Board of Teaching. 

Effective Date. Makes the section effective July 1, 2018. 

Section 17. Alternative teacher preparation providers and programs.

Subdivision 1.  Definitions.  Defines “provider” or “unit” and “program”. 

Subd. 2.  Purpose.  State the purpose of the alternative teacher preparation program as a means to provide pathways to teacher licensure outside the traditional methods, improve ethnical and cultural diversity in the classroom, and to close the achievement gap.  

Subd. 3.  Eligibility.  Allows a school district, charter school, or certain nonprofit corporations to be eligible to participate as a provider under this section. 

Subd. 4.  Provider approval.   Requires approval of a provider before they can operate an approved program.  In order to be approved by the PELSB, the provider must meet the following requirements:

  1. have evidence and history of fiscal solvency, capacity, and operation;

  2. have evidence of necessary infrastructure to provide accurate, timely, and secure data for the purposes of admission, candidate monitoring, testing, background checks, and license recommendations;

  3. have policies and procedures in place ensuring the security of candidate records;

  4. have instructional capacity of provide an  adequate instructional phase; and

  5. meets other board-adopted rules for teacher preparation providers. 

Subd. 5.  Program approval.  Requires approved programs to have the following characteristics:

  1. an instructional phase that provides intensive preparation and observed classroom experience before the teacher candidate assumes classroom responsibilities;

  2. a research-based and results-oriented approach;

  3. a strategy to combine pedagogy and best teaching practices;

  4. provide assessment, supervision, and evaluation of teacher candidates;

  5. provide intensive and ongoing professional learning opportunities; and

  6. a process to review a candidate’s final proficiency of required licensure content standards that leads to recommendation for a Tier 3 teaching license.

Subd. 6.  Nontraditional means; program instructors.  Requires the board to allow alternative teacher preparation program providers and teacher candidates to demonstrate pedagogy and content standard proficiency in school-based programs and through other nontraditional means. Allows the board to permit instructors to hold a baccalaureate degree only. 

Subd. 7.  Program disapproval, suspension.  Allows the board to suspend or revoke approval of a program that fails to meet or is deficient in any of the program requirements.  

Subd. 8.  Candidate program completion; teacher licensure.  (a) Requires the board to issue a Tier 3 license to a candidate that has successfully completed a licensure program with a recommendation from the provider. 

(b) Requires the board to issue a Tier 4 license to a candidate that has successfully completed a licensure program, obtains a qualifying score on board-adopted licensure exams or demonstrate qualifications to the board their qualifications for licensure. 

(c) Allows a person who has successfully completed an out-of-state alternative teacher preparation program to apply to the board for a Tier 3 license. 

Subd. 9.  Reports.  Requires an approved provider to report to the PELSB on program candidates, completions rates, and effectiveness.  Requires the PELSB to report to the legislature on the program and providers. 

Section 18.  Exceptions.  Substitutes the PELSB for the Board of Teaching. 

Effective Date.  Makes the section effective July 1, 2018. 

Section 19.  Teachers of deaf and hard-of-hearing students;  licensure requirements. Substitutes the PELSB for the Board of Teaching.

Effective Date. Makes the section effective July 1, 2018. 

Section 20. Teachers of blind and visually impaired students; licensure requirements.

Substitutes the PELSB for the Board of Teaching. 

Effective Date. Makes the section effective July 1, 2018. 

Section 21. Exemption for career and technical education instructors. Allows someone teaching under the exception to apply for a teaching license once the section expires in June 30, 2020. 

Effective Date. Makes the section effective July 1, 2018. 

Section 22. Teachers. Strikes language related to variances for teacher in early childhood family education programs. 

Effective Date.  Makes the section effective July 1, 2018. 

Section 23. Compliance with rules. Substitutes the PELSB for the Board of Teaching and the Commissioner for career and technical education programs for children with a disability. 

Effective Date. Makes the section effective July 1, 2018. 

Section 24.  American Indian language and culture education licenses.  Substitutes the PELSB for the Board of Teaching. 

Effective Date. Makes the section effective September 1, 2017. 

Section 25.  Persons eligible for employment; exemptions.  Substitutes the PELSB for the Board of Teaching and the Commissioner for American Indian language and culture education licenses. 

Effective Date. Makes the section effective September 1, 2017. 

Section 26. Teacher standards.  Substitutes the PELSB for the Board of Teaching to teachers at the state academies.  Requires an administrator at the state academies to be subject to the licensure standards of the Board of School Administrators. 

Effective Date. Makes the section effective July 1, 2018. 

Section 27.  Definitions.  Substitutes the PELSB for the Board of Teaching. 

Effective Date. Makes the section effective July 1, 2018. 

Section 28.  Licenses under jurisdiction of the Board of Teaching.

Subdivision 1. One-year license. Requires a one-year license to be treated as a Tier 1 license. 

Subd. 2. Two-year license. Requires a two-year license to be treated as a Tier 2 license. 

Subd. 3. Three-year license. Requires a three-year license to be treated as a Tier 3 license. 

Subd. 4. Five-year license. Requires a five-year license to be treated as a Tier 4 license. 

Effective Date.  Makes the section effective September 1, 2017. 

Section 29. Repealer. Repeals 122A.162 (Licensure Rules); 122A.163 (Teacher Rule Variances; Commissioner); 122A.18, subdivisions 4, 4a, and 7 (Expiration and renewal and Limited provisional licenses); 122A.23, subdivisions 1 and 2 (Preparation equivalency and Applicants licensed in other states); 122A.245 (Alternative teacher preparation program and preliminary teacher license) and 122A.25 (Nonlicensed community experts; variance).

Article 3 - Nonteacher Credentialing

Section 1.  Rulemaking.  Substitutes the PELSB for the Board of Teaching. 

Effective Date. Makes the section effective immediately.

AMB/syl

 
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