Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

130th MAINE LEGISLATURE
                     FIRST SPECIAL SESSION-2021
Legislative Document                                                                              No. 1379
H.P. 1013                                                            House of Representatives, April 7, 2021
            An Act To Establish a Lifetime Substitute Teacher Certification for
            Established and Successful Educators
    Received by the Clerk of the House on April 5, 2021. Referred to the Committee on
Education and Cultural Affairs pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered printed pursuant to
Joint Rule 401.
                                                                                        ROBERT B. HUNT
                                                                                                   Clerk
Presented by Representative FECTEAU of Augusta.
                                         Printed on recycled paper
 1   Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
 2       Sec. 1. 20-A MRSA §13027 is enacted to read:
 3   §13027. Lifetime substitute teaching certificate
 4        1. Application, review and certificate issuance. A person who meets the eligibility
 5   requirements of subsection 2 may apply for a lifetime substitute teaching certificate by
 6   filing an application with the department. The commissioner shall review the application,
 7   and if the commissioner approves the application, the commissioner shall issue the
 8   applicant a lifetime substitute teaching certificate.
 9       2. Eligibility. To be eligible for a lifetime substitute teaching certificate, a person
10   must have held for at least 10 years a professional teacher certificate issued pursuant to this
11   Title that has never been revoked or suspended.
12       3. State and federal laws, rules and regulations. A lifetime substitute teaching
13   certificate holder is subject to all state and federal laws, rules and regulations related to
14   criminal history record checks and special education training.
15       4. Proof of qualifications. The department may not require a holder of a lifetime
16   substitute teaching certificate to provide proof of professional development, continuing
17   education credits, education or other similar qualifications to maintain the certificate.
18        5. Revocation. A lifetime substitute teaching certificate is subject to the same laws
19   for revocation as any teaching certificate.
20       6. Renewal not required. A person who holds a lifetime substitute teaching
21   certificate is not required to renew the certificate.
22       7. No annual fee. The department may assess a one-time fee for a lifetime substitute
23   teaching certificate but may not require a holder of a lifetime substitute teaching certificate
24   to pay an annual fee to maintain the certificate.
25       Sec. 2. Rules. The Department of Education shall adopt rules setting a reasonable
26   one-time fee for a lifetime substitute teaching certificate under the Maine Revised Statutes,
27   Title 20-A, section 13027, subsection 7. Rules adopted pursuant to this section are routine
28   technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A.
29                                           SUMMARY
30       This bill authorizes the Commissioner of Education to issue lifetime substitute teaching
31   certificates to teachers in the State who have held for at least 10 years a professional teacher
32   certificate that has never been revoked or suspended.
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