HOUSE BILL NO. 5928
September 11, 2024, Introduced by Reps. Martin, Jaime Greene and Johnsen and referred to the
Committee on Government Operations.
A bill to amend 1976 PA 451, entitled
"The revised school code,"
by amending section 1531 (MCL 380.1531), as amended by 2023 PA 110.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
1 Sec. 1531. (1) Except as otherwise provided in this act, the
2 superintendent of public instruction shall determine the
3 requirements for and issue all licenses, certificates, and
4 endorsements for teachers, including preprimary teachers and
5 teachers as counselors, in the public schools of this state.
6 (2) Except as otherwise provided in this act, the
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1 superintendent of public instruction shall only issue a teaching
2 certificate or additional endorsement to an individual who has
3 passed appropriate available examinations. The superintendent of
4 public instruction may accept passage of an equivalent examination
5 approved by the superintendent of public instruction to meet this
6 requirement for an individual holding a teaching certificate from
7 another state, country, or federally recognized Indian tribe.
8 (3) Except as otherwise provided in this act, the
9 superintendent of public instruction shall only issue a teaching
10 certificate to an individual who has met the elementary or
11 secondary, as applicable, reading credit requirements established
12 under superintendent of public instruction rule. If an individual
13 holds a teaching certificate, notwithstanding any rule to the
14 contrary, the superintendent of public instruction shall not
15 advance the individual's certification to professional
16 certification unless the individual has successfully completed at
17 least a 3-credit course of study with appropriate field experiences
18 in the diagnosis and remediation of reading disabilities and
19 differentiated instruction. To meet this requirement, the course of
20 study should include the following elements, as determined by the
21 department to be appropriate for the individual's certification
22 level and endorsements: interest inventories, English language
23 learning screening, visual and auditory discrimination tools,
24 language expression and processing screening, phonemics, phonics,
25 vocabulary, fluency, comprehension, spelling and writing assessment
26 tools, and instructional strategies. An individual may complete the
27 course of study as part of his or her teacher preparation program.
28 (4) Any revisions to existing reading standards must include
29 the recognition of reading disorders and enable teachers to make
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1 referrals for instruction and support for pupils with reading
2 disorders.
3 (5) Subject to subsection (8), if an individual holding a
4 teaching certificate from another state, country, or federally
5 recognized Indian tribe applies to the superintendent of public
6 instruction for a Michigan teaching certificate and meets the
7 requirements of this subsection, the superintendent of public
8 instruction shall issue to the individual a Michigan teaching
9 certificate and endorsements comparable to those the individual
10 holds in the other state or country or with the federally
11 recognized Indian tribe without requiring the individual to pass
12 the appropriate examinations otherwise required under subsection
13 (2) or to complete the reading credit requirement established under
14 superintendent of public instruction rule as described in
15 subsection (3). To be eligible to receive a Michigan teaching
16 certificate under this subsection, an individual shall provide
17 evidence satisfactory to the department that he or she the
18 individual has taught successfully for at least 3 years in a
19 position for which the individual's teaching certification from the
20 other state, country, or federally recognized Indian tribe was
21 valid.
22 (6) Subject to subsection (8), an individual holding a
23 teaching certificate from another state, country, or federally
24 recognized Indian tribe is eligible for a Michigan professional
25 education certificate if the individual meets both of the
26 following:
27 (a) The individual has taught successfully for at least 3
28 years in a position for which the individual's teaching
29 certification from the other state, country, or federally
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1 recognized Indian tribe was valid.
2 (b) The individual meets the elementary or secondary, as
3 applicable, reading credit requirement established under
4 superintendent of public instruction rule as described in
5 subsection (3).
6 (7) Subject to subsection (8), if an individual holding a
7 teaching certificate from another state, country, or federally
8 recognized Indian tribe applies to the superintendent of public
9 instruction for an additional endorsement on a valid Michigan
10 teaching certificate and meets the requirements of this subsection,
11 the superintendent of public instruction shall issue the individual
12 an endorsement comparable to that which the individual holds in the
13 other state or country or with the federally recognized Indian
14 tribe without requiring that the individual pass the appropriate
15 available examinations otherwise required under subsection (2). To
16 be eligible to receive an additional endorsement under this
17 subsection, an individual shall provide evidence satisfactory to
18 the department that he or she the individual has taught
19 successfully for at least 3 years in a position for which the
20 individual's teaching endorsement from the other state, country, or
21 federally recognized Indian tribe is valid.
22 (8) The superintendent of public instruction shall deny a
23 Michigan teaching certificate or endorsement to an individual
24 described in subsection (5), (6), or (7) for fraud, material
25 misrepresentation, or concealment in the individual's application
26 for a certificate or for a conviction for which an individual's
27 teaching certificate may be suspended or revoked under section
28 1535a.
29 (9) For the purposes of this section, the superintendent of
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1 public instruction, based upon on criteria recommended by a
2 committee of teachers, representatives of approved teacher
3 education institutions, Michigan education organizations and
4 associations, and experts in measurement and assessment, shall
5 develop, select, or develop and select 1 or more subject area
6 examinations. In addition, the superintendent of public
7 instruction, based upon on criteria recommended by the committee
8 described in this subsection, shall approve a reading subtest to be
9 taken and passed by individuals seeking pre-K to grade 3 or grade 3
10 to grade 6-level endorsement. If the department develops for use
11 under this subsection an examination that had previously been
12 contracted for using a competitive bid process, then the department
13 shall not expend on the development of that examination an amount
14 that exceeds the amount that the department expended on procurement
15 of the most recent competitively-bid version of that examination.
16 The competitive bid process must address validity, reliability, and
17 other technical standards of the examinations and of the
18 appropriate administration and use of those examinations.
19 (10) Not later than November 30 of each year, the
20 superintendent of public instruction shall submit in writing a
21 report on the development or selection and use of the subject area
22 examinations to the house and senate education committees. The
23 report must also contain a financial statement regarding revenue
24 received from the assessment of fees levied under subsection (12)
25 (13) and the amount of and any purposes for which that revenue was
26 expended.
27 (11) The examinations required by this section may be taken at
28 different times during an approved teacher preparation program, but
29 the examinations, as applicable, must be passed before an
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1 individual is recommended for certification.
2 (12) The superintendent of public instruction shall issue a
3 subject area endorsement to an individual who has passed the
4 Michigan Test for Teacher Certification for that subject area.
5 (13) (12) The department, or if approved by the superintendent
6 of public instruction, a private testing service, may assess fees
7 for taking the appropriate available examinations described in
8 subsection (2). The fees, which must be set by the superintendent
9 of public instruction, must not exceed the actual cost of the
10 examination and of administering the examination. Fees received by
11 the department must be expended solely for administrative expenses
12 that it incurs in implementing this section. If the superintendent
13 of public instruction increases a fee charged for an examination
14 under this subsection, at least 1 year before implementing the fee
15 increase, the department shall notify each approved teacher
16 education institution of the amount of the fee increase. An
17 approved teacher education institution shall notify each of its
18 affected students of the timing and amount of such a fee increase.
19 (14) (13) If an individual holding a teaching certificate from
20 another state, country, or federally recognized Indian tribe
21 applies for a Michigan teaching certificate and meets all
22 requirements for the Michigan teaching certificate except passage
23 of the appropriate available examinations under subsection (2) or
24 the reading credit requirement under subsection (3), the
25 superintendent of public instruction shall issue a nonrenewable
26 temporary teaching certificate, good for 1 year, to the individual.
27 The superintendent of public instruction shall not issue a Michigan
28 teaching certificate to the individual after expiration of the
29 temporary teaching certificate unless the individual has met the
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1 requirements of this section.
2 (15) (14) As used in this section:
3 (a) "Additional endorsement" means an endorsement added to a
4 Michigan teaching certificate after initial issuance of the
5 certificate.
6 (b) "An individual holding a teaching certificate from another
7 state, country, or federally recognized Indian tribe" means an
8 individual with a valid teaching certificate or an individual who
9 is eligible for a teaching certificate in the state or country or
10 with the federally recognized Indian tribe in which or with which
11 the individual is certificated or eligible for certification.
12 (c) "Subject area examination" means an examination related to
13 an endorsement area for the purpose of demonstrating the
14 applicant's knowledge and understanding of the subject matter and
15 determining whether or not an applicant is eligible for a Michigan
16 teaching certificate or endorsement.
17 (16) (15) The superintendent of public instruction shall
18 promulgate rules for the implementation of this section.
19 (17) (16) Not later than January 1, 2019, the superintendent
20 of public instruction, in consultation with the department of labor
21 and economic opportunity and groups or individuals representing
22 employers, economic development agencies, trade unions, secondary
23 school principals, middle and elementary school principals,
24 teachers, school district and intermediate school district
25 superintendents, and others as determined appropriate by the
26 department, shall promulgate rules to allow an individual to use
27 time spent engaging with local employers or technical centers
28 toward the renewal of a teaching certificate in the same manner as
29 state continuing education or professional development.
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Statutes affected:
House Introduced Bill: 380.1531