FILED SENATE
Mar 11, 2019
GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
S.B. 219
SESSION 2019 PRINCIPAL CLERK
S D
SENATE BILL DRS35086-MK-43B
Short Title: Modify Teacher Licensing Requirements. (Public)
Sponsors: Senators McInnis, Tillman, and Johnson (Primary Sponsors).
Referred to:
1 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
2 AN ACT TO MODIFY TEACHER LICENSURE REQUIREMENTS.
3 The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
4 SECTION 1. G.S. 115C-270.1 reads as rewritten:
5 "§ 115C-270.1. Definitions.
6 As used in this Article, the following definitions shall apply:
7 (1) Accredited educator preparation program or accredited EPP. – An entity that
8 is located in the United States and accredited to prepare, train, and recommend
9 students for educator licensure by the Council for the Accreditation of
10 Educator Preparation.
11 (1a) Administrator. – An administrator or supervisor who serves in general and
12 program administrator roles, as classified by the State Board. Administrators
13 shall include superintendents, assistant or associate superintendents,
14 principals, assistant principals, or curriculum-instructional specialists.
15 (2) Professional educator. – An administrator, teacher, or student services
16 personnel.
17 (3) Recognized educator preparation program or recognized EPP. – As defined in
18 G.S. 115C-269.1(15).
19 (4) Student services personnel. – An individual providing specialized assistance
20 to students, teachers, administrators, or the education program in general, as
21 classified by the State Board. Student services personnel shall include
22 individuals employed in school counseling, school social work, school
23 psychology, audiology, speech-language pathology, and media coordination.
24 (5) Teacher. – An individual whose major responsibility is to either teach or
25 directly supervise teaching, as classified by the State Board."
26 SECTION 2. G.S. 115C-270.10 reads as rewritten:
27 "§ 115C-270.10. Licensure fees.
28 (a) Fee Schedule. – The State Board of Education shall establish by rule a schedule of
29 fees for professional educator licensure and administrative changes. The fees established under
30 this section shall not exceed the actual cost of providing the service. The schedule may include
31 fees for any of the following services:
32 (1) Application for demographic or administrative changes to a license.
33 (2) Application for a duplicate license or for copies of documents in the licensure
34 files.
35 (3) Application for a renewal, extension, addition, upgrade, reinstatement, and
36 variation to a license.
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 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2019
1 (4) Initial application for a new graduate from any accredited or recognized
2 educator preparation program.
3 (5) Initial application Application for an out-of-state applicant.
4 (6) All other applications.
5 An applicant must pay any nonrefundable or nontransferable service fees at the time an
6 application is submitted.
7 (a1) Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this section, the State Board of Education shall
8 reimburse the initial application fee for any new graduate from any recognized EPP or accredited
9 educator preparation program the first time an applicant submits an application for teacher
10 licensure, if the applicant has successfully earned an initial professional license in North
11 Carolina. The State Board shall issue the reimbursement to the application fee within 30 days of
12 the date the applicant successfully earns an initial professional license in North Carolina.
13 …."
14 SECTION 3. G.S. 115C-270.15 reads as rewritten:
15 "§ 115C-270.15. Examination requirements for initial professional licenses.
16 (a) Examination Score Requirements Scores. – The State Board of Education shall
17 require permit an applicant for an initial professional license to demonstrate the applicant's
18 academic and professional preparation by achieving a prescribed minimum score on a standard
19 examination appropriate and adequate for that purpose. Elementary education (K-6) and special
20 education general curriculum teachers shall may also achieve a prescribed minimum score on
21 subtests or standard examinations specific to teaching reading and mathematics.mathematics for
22 the purposes of applying for an initial professional license.
23 (b) Establishment of Minimum Scores. – The State Board shall adopt rules that establish
24 the minimum scores for any required standard examinations and other measures necessary to
25 assess the qualifications of professional educators as required under this section. For purposes of
26 this section, the State Board shall not be subject to Article 2A of Chapter 150B of the General
27 Statutes. At least 30 days prior to changing any rule adopted under this section, the State Board
28 shall provide written notice to all recognized educator preparation programs and to all local
29 boards of education. The written notice shall include the proposed revised rule. The State Board
30 of Education shall make any required standard initial professional licensure exam exams rigorous
31 and and, for applicants applying for licensure based on standard examination scores, raise the
32 prescribed minimum score as necessary to ensure that each applicant has received high-quality
33 academic and professional preparation to teach effectively.
34 (c) Time Line for Completion of Examinations. – The State Board of Education shall
35 permit an applicant to fulfill any such meet minimum scores established under subsection (b) of
36 this section for testing requirement before or during the applicant's second third year of teaching,
37 provided the applicant took the examination at least once during the first year of teaching."
38 SECTION 4. G.S. 115C-270.20 reads as rewritten:
39 "§ 115C-270.20. Licensure requirements.
40 (a) Teacher Licenses. – The State Board shall adopt rules for the issuance of the following
41 classes of teacher licenses, includinglicenses. The rules shall include (i) requirements for
42 out-of-state applicants consistent with the provisions of G.S. 115C-270.25 and (ii) an alternative
43 method of an applicant demonstrating academic and professional preparation if the applicant
44 does not meet minimum scores for standard examinations by submitting one of the following:
45 (1) The teacher demonstrates effectiveness by having met or exceeded expected
46 student growth in the teacher's most recent year of teaching, as measured by
47 the teacher's own value-added data through the Education Value-Added
48 Assessment System (EVAAS), or an equivalent measure of teacher
49 effectiveness and growth used by the teacher's school or in another state.
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1 (2) The teacher submits an affidavit signed by the following individuals for the
2 school in which the teacher was most recently employed at the time of
3 application stating the teacher is an effective teacher:
4 a. A principal, or an equivalent position as the administrative head of the
5 teacher's school.
6 b. A superintendent of a local school administrative unit, or an equivalent
7 position as the administrative head of a school system, or a member of
8 the governing body of the school.
9 (a1) Classes of Licenses. – Classes of teacher licenses shall be issued and include required
10 levels of preparation for each classification:classification as follows:
11 (1) Continuing professional license or CPL. – A Except as otherwise provided in
12 G.S. 115C-270.25, a five-year renewable license issued to a teacher who has
13 at least three years of licensed teaching experience and meets other
14 administrative requirements established by the State Board. A CPL shall
15 remain in effect for five years after retirement.
16 (2) Emergency license or EL. – A one-year nonrenewable license issued to an
17 individual who holds a bachelor's degree with coursework relevant to the
18 requested licensure area, but has not successfully completed a recognized or
19 accredited educator preparation program and does not qualify for a residency
20 license. An emergency license shall only be requested by the local board of
21 education, and applicants for emergency licenses shall meet all other
22 requirements established by the State Board, including preservice training,
23 prior to teaching.
24 (3) Initial professional license or IPL. – A three-year nonrenewable license issued
25 to an individual who has successfully completed an accredited educator
26 preparation program or a recognized educator preparation program and meets
27 other administrative requirements established by the State Board.
28 (4) Lifetime license. – A license issued to a teacher after 50 or more years of
29 teaching as a licensed teacher that requires no renewal.
30 (5) Residency License or RL. – A one-year license, renewable twice, that meets
31 both of the following requirements:
32 a. Is requested by the local board of education and accompanied by a
33 certification of supervision from the an accredited or recognized
34 educator preparation program in which the individual is enrolled.
35 b. The individual for whom the license is requested meets all of the
36 following requirements:
37 1. Holds a bachelor's degree.
38 2. Has either completed coursework relevant to the requested
39 licensure area or passed the content area examination relevant
40 to the requested licensure area that has been approved by the
41 State Board.
42 3. Is enrolled in a recognized or accredited educator preparation
43 program.
44 4. Meets all other requirements established by the State Board,
45 including completing preservice requirements prior to
46 teaching.
47 …."
48 SECTION 5. G.S. 115C-270.25 reads as rewritten:
49 "§ 115C-270.25. Out-of-state license applicants.
50 (a) Initial applications from an individual An applicant with an out-of-state teacher's full
51 license in good standing shall require the applicant to provide evidence of that teacher's
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1 effectiveness, when available, as measured by the evaluation system used in that applicant's state
2 of current licensure at the time of application, including any growth measures included in that
3 evaluation system. Applications that include the evidence of that educator's effectiveness shall
4 be prioritized for review over initial applications from applicants with out-of-state licenses that
5 do not include that information. An individual who does not include evidence of that teacher's
6 effectiveness with the initial application shall only be eligible for an IPL.be issued a continuing
7 professional license (CPL) immediately by the State Board of Education upon the applicant
8 meeting any administrative requirements established by the State Board.
9 (b) An out-of-state applicant who successfully completed or is enrolled in an accredited
10 educator preparation program in another state, but has not yet received a full teaching license in
11 another state, shall only be required to meet the same requirements of an applicant who
12 successfully completed or is enrolled in a recognized educator preparation program located in
13 North Carolina."
14 SECTION 6. G.S. 93B-15.1(i) reads as rewritten:
15 "(i) For the purposes of this section, the The State Board of Education shall be considered
16 an occupational licensing board for all of the provisions of this section, except for the provisions
17 of subsection (b) of this section regarding military spouses who hold a current teaching license
18 from another jurisdiction, when issuing teacher licenses under Article 17E of Subchapter V of
19 Chapter 115C of the General Statutes. For military spouses who hold a current teaching license
20 in another jurisdiction, the provisions of G.S. 115C-270.25 shall apply when issuing teacher
21 licenses."
22 SECTION 7. This act is effective when it becomes law and applies to applicants for
23 teacher licensure on or after that date.
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Statutes affected:
Filed: 115C-270.1, 115C-270.10, 115C-270.15, 115C-270.20, 115C-270.25, 93B-15.1
Edition 1: 115C-270.1, 115C-270.10, 115C-270.15, 115C-270.20, 115C-270.25, 93B-15.1
Edition 2: 115C-270.15, 115C-270.20
Edition 3: 115C-270.15, 115C-270.20, 115C-270.25, 115C-302.1, 93B-15.1, 115C-270.30
Edition 4: 115C-270.15, 115C-270.20, 115C-270.25, 115C-302.1, 93B-15.1, 115C-270.30
Ratified: 115C-270.15, 115C-270.20, 115C-270.25, 93B-15.1, 115C-302.1, 115C-270.30
SL 2019-71: 115C-270.15, 115C-270.20, 115C-270.25, 93B-15.1, 115C-302.1, 115C-270.30