HOUSE BILL NO. 6107
November 13, 2024, Introduced by Rep. Posthumus and referred to the Committee on Education.
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 only to an individual who has
3 passed appropriate available examinations. The For an individual
4 who holds a teaching certificate from another state or a federally
5 recognized Indian tribe, the superintendent of public instruction
6 may shall accept passage of an equivalent examination approved by
7 the superintendent of public instruction state or federally
8 recognized Indian tribe that issued the individual's teaching
9 certificate to meet this the requirement for an individual holding
10 a teaching certificate from another state, country, or federally
11 recognized Indian tribe.described in this subsection. For an
12 individual who holds a teaching certificate from another country,
13 the superintendent of public instruction may accept passage of an
14 equivalent examination approved by the superintendent of public
15 instruction to meet the requirement described in this subsection.
16 (3) Except as otherwise provided in this act, the
17 superintendent of public instruction shall only issue a teaching
18 certificate only to an individual who has met the elementary or
19 secondary, as applicable, reading credit requirements established
20 under superintendent of public instruction rule. If an individual
21 holds a teaching certificate, notwithstanding any rule to the
22 contrary, the superintendent of public instruction shall not
23 advance the individual's certification to professional
24 certification unless the individual has successfully completed at
25 least a 3-credit course of study with appropriate field experiences
26 in the diagnosis and remediation of reading disabilities and
27 differentiated instruction. To meet this requirement, the course of
28 study should include the following elements, as determined by the
29 department to be appropriate for the individual's certification
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1 level and endorsements: interest inventories, English language
2 learning screening, visual and auditory discrimination tools,
3 language expression and processing screening, phonemics, phonics,
4 vocabulary, fluency, comprehension, spelling and writing assessment
5 tools, and instructional strategies. An individual may complete the
6 course of study as part of his or her the individual's teacher
7 preparation program.
8 (4) Any revisions to existing reading standards must include
9 the recognition of reading disorders and enable teachers to make
10 referrals for instruction and support for pupils with reading
11 disorders.
12 (5) Subject to subsection (8), if an individual holding a
13 teaching certificate from another state, country, or federally
14 recognized Indian tribe applies to the superintendent of public
15 instruction for a Michigan teaching certificate and meets the
16 requirements of this subsection, the superintendent of public
17 instruction shall issue to the individual a Michigan teaching
18 certificate and endorsements comparable to those the individual
19 holds in the other state or country or with the federally
20 recognized Indian tribe without requiring the individual to pass
21 the appropriate examinations otherwise required under subsection
22 (2) or to complete the reading credit requirement established under
23 superintendent of public instruction rule as described in
24 subsection (3). To be eligible to receive a Michigan teaching
25 certificate under this subsection, an individual shall provide
26 evidence satisfactory to the department that he or she the
27 individual has taught successfully for at least 3 years in a
28 position for which the individual's teaching certification from the
29 other state, country, or federally recognized Indian tribe was
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1 valid.
2 (6) Subject to subsection (8), an individual holding a
3 teaching certificate from another state, country, or federally
4 recognized Indian tribe is eligible for a Michigan professional
5 education certificate if the individual meets both of the
6 following:
7 (a) The individual has taught successfully for at least 3
8 years in a position for which the individual's teaching
9 certification from the other state, country, or federally
10 recognized Indian tribe was valid.
11 (b) The individual meets the elementary or secondary, as
12 applicable, reading credit requirement established under
13 superintendent of public instruction rule as described in
14 subsection (3).
15 (7) Subject to subsection (8), if an individual holding a
16 teaching certificate from another state, country, or federally
17 recognized Indian tribe applies to the superintendent of public
18 instruction for an additional endorsement on a valid Michigan
19 teaching certificate and meets the requirements of this subsection,
20 the superintendent of public instruction shall issue the individual
21 an endorsement comparable to that which the individual holds in the
22 other state or country or with the federally recognized Indian
23 tribe without requiring that the individual pass the appropriate
24 available examinations otherwise required under subsection (2). To
25 be eligible to receive an additional endorsement under this
26 subsection, an individual shall provide evidence satisfactory to
27 the department that he or she the individual has taught
28 successfully for at least 3 years in a position for which the
29 individual's teaching endorsement from the other state, country, or
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1 federally recognized Indian tribe is valid.
2 (8) The superintendent of public instruction shall deny a
3 Michigan teaching certificate or endorsement to an individual
4 described in subsection (5), (6), or (7) for fraud, material
5 misrepresentation, or concealment in the individual's application
6 for a certificate or for a conviction for which an individual's
7 teaching certificate may be suspended or revoked under section
8 1535a.
9 (9) For the purposes of this section, the superintendent of
10 public instruction, based upon on criteria recommended by a
11 committee of teachers, representatives of approved teacher
12 education institutions, Michigan education organizations and
13 associations, and experts in measurement and assessment, shall
14 develop, select, or develop and select 1 or more subject area
15 examinations. In addition, the superintendent of public
16 instruction, based upon on criteria recommended by the committee
17 described in this subsection, shall approve a reading subtest to be
18 taken and passed by individuals seeking pre-K to grade 3 or grade 3
19 to grade 6-level endorsement. If the department develops for use
20 under this subsection an examination that had previously been
21 contracted for using a competitive bid process, then the department
22 shall not expend on the development of that examination an amount
23 that exceeds the amount that the department expended on procurement
24 of the most recent competitively-bid version of that examination.
25 The competitive bid process must address validity, reliability, and
26 other technical standards of the examinations and of the
27 appropriate administration and use of those examinations. This
28 subsection does not apply after June 1, 2025.
29 (10) Not By not later than November 30 of each year, the
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1 superintendent of public instruction shall submit in writing a
2 report on the development or selection and use of the subject area
3 examinations to the house and senate education committees. The
4 report must also contain a financial statement regarding revenue
5 received from the assessment of fees levied under subsection (12)
6 and the amount of and any purposes for which that revenue was
7 expended.
8 (11) The examinations required by this section may be taken at
9 different times during an approved teacher preparation program, but
10 the examinations, as applicable, must be passed before an
11 individual is recommended for certification.
12 (12) The department, or if approved by the superintendent of
13 public instruction, a private testing service, may assess fees for
14 taking the appropriate available examinations described in
15 subsection (2). The fees, which must be set by the superintendent
16 of public instruction, must not exceed the actual cost of the
17 examination and of administering the examination. Fees received by
18 the department must be expended solely for administrative expenses
19 that it incurs in implementing this section. If the superintendent
20 of public instruction increases a fee charged for an examination
21 under this subsection, at least 1 year before implementing the fee
22 increase, the department shall notify each approved teacher
23 education institution of the amount of the fee increase. An
24 approved teacher education institution shall notify each of its
25 affected students of the timing and amount of such a fee increase.
26 (13) If an individual holding a teaching certificate from
27 another state, country, or federally recognized Indian tribe
28 applies for a Michigan teaching certificate and meets all
29 requirements for the Michigan teaching certificate except passage
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1 of the appropriate available examinations under subsection (2) or
2 the reading credit requirement under subsection (3), the
3 superintendent of public instruction shall issue a nonrenewable
4 temporary teaching certificate, good for 1 year, to the individual.
5 The superintendent of public instruction shall not issue a Michigan
6 teaching certificate to the individual after expiration of the
7 temporary teaching certificate unless the individual has met the
8 requirements of this section.
9 (14) As used in this section:
10 (a) "Additional endorsement" means an endorsement added to a
11 Michigan teaching certificate after initial issuance of the
12 certificate.
13 (b) "An individual holding a teaching certificate from another
14 state, country, or federally recognized Indian tribe" means an
15 individual with a valid teaching certificate or an individual who
16 is eligible for a teaching certificate in the state or country or
17 with the federally recognized Indian tribe in which or with which
18 the individual is certificated or eligible for certification.
19 (c) "Subject area examination" means an examination related to
20 an endorsement area for the purpose of demonstrating the
21 applicant's knowledge and understanding of the subject matter and
22 determining whether or not an applicant is eligible for a Michigan
23 teaching certificate or endorsement.
24 (14) (15) The superintendent of public instruction shall
25 promulgate rules for the implementation of this section.
26 (15) (16) Not By not later than January 1, 2019, the
27 superintendent of public instruction, in consultation with the
28 department of labor and economic opportunity and groups or
29 individuals representing employers, economic development agencies,
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1 trade unions, secondary school principals, middle and elementary
2 school principals, teachers, school district and intermediate
3 school district superintendents, and others as determined
4 appropriate by the department, shall promulgate rules to allow an
5 individual to use time spent engaging with local employers or
6 technical centers toward the renewal of a teaching certificate in
7 the same manner as state continuing education or professional
8 development.
9 (16) By not later than June 1, 2025, the state board shall
10 approve a teacher licensing examination for purposes of this
11 section. The examination approved under this subsection must
12 already be in existence when approved and must be administered
13 nationally.
14 (17) As used in this section:
15 (a) "Additional endorsement" means an endorsement added to a
16 Michigan teaching certificate after initial issuance of the
17 certificate.
18 (b) "An individual holding a teaching certificate from another
19 state, country, or federally recognized Indian tribe" means an
20 individual with a valid teaching certificate or an individual who
21 is eligible for a teaching certificate in the state or country or
22 with the federally recognized Indian tribe in which or with which
23 the individual is certificated or eligible for certification.
24 (c) "Subject area examination" means either of the following,
25 as applicable:
26 (i) Before June 2, 2025, an examination related to an
27 endorsement area for the purpose of demonstrating the applicant's
28 knowledge and understanding of the subject matter and determining
29 whether an applicant is eligible for a Michigan teaching
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1 certificate or endorsement.
2 (ii) On or after June 2, 2025, the examination approved by the
3 state board under subsection (16).
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Statutes affected:
House Introduced Bill: 380.1531